Week 3 Review: Concrete Rose

From Goodreads:

International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood.

If there's one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it's that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad's in prison.

Life’s not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav's got everything under control.

Until, that is, Maverick finds out he's a father.

Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it's not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he's offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he's expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he's different.

When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can't just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He'll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man.

My Review:
Yeah, I loved reading this book! It was so fantastic to spend this time, at this time, with Maverick at this time, when he finds out he's the father of the baby he renames Seven. So a pretty tumultuous time! And he was in such a tough place, between his newfound fatherhood and his being in a gang. 

I have to say, it was interesting to see these characters who were the adults in The Hate U Give, but who are the teens right now. And it's so interesting to see, because they  have the experiences that shape them and grow into the adults that we know and love, but they don't start out that way.

I'm an anxious person. And throughout this book, I was so worried about Maverick making decisions that would end poorly, from drug dealing to going after his cousin's killer. I mean, we know it turns out all right in the end, but I still worried, because what's a book without conflict? But it was so great to read! 

Just one little side note, with having this set in the past, well, Kobe is mentioned in this book. I don't know anything about sports, but I'm pretty sure that this is the basketball player how tragically died last year. So that was bittersweet! 

I really love that ending. Maverick proved himself to be the better person, even though it would be so tempting to go the other way. He has responsibilities that he's been taking seriously, but he really focuses to do the right thing for him and his family, and that was really great to read! 

I loved reading this book, and I loved spending this time with the characters! 

Author: Angie Thomas 
Series: The Hate U Give #0
Read: January 19th, 2021
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: January 12th 2021

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars