Notes From Your BooksellerAngie Thomas has delivered yet another pitch-perfect return to Garden Heights, set seventeen years before The Hate U Give. In Concrete Rose, we meet a young Maverick Carter — he’s not yet Starr’s father, but at seventeen years old himself, he already knows the importance of taking care of his family. Though set in the past, this raw and eye-opening exploration into what it means to be a man in the Black community is just as relevant today. A must-read for all.
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.
