Two things: 1. Angie Thomas never dissapoint. 2. Maverick is best father ever

Took me a while to pick up this book, and when I did, it was difficult to put it back down again. Honestly, I have no critisism about Concrete Rose, it's truly a masterpiece, powerfully providing insight of racism in the world, the life of a black man and his over-fertility struggles and everything inbetween. In regards to literature, this book has nothing wrong. It's not boring or slow paced, it's not overwhelming or undetailed due to being too fast paced. I'm going to read the hate you give next, because I felt I may as well read the Prequal first. I love Maverick. As much of an idiot as he is, he's hard headed, hard working and works more than complaining; something we could all take a leaf out of his book.

A fantastic Prequel If you’ve read The Hate U Give read this book as well. The characters are fantastic, and I loved this book. The story is fantastic, and keeps you entertained throughout the novel. Angie Thomas shines as a writer here, and what I believe is one of the best voices in YA Contemporary today. The romance between Maverick and Lisa is so sweet and I loved them. I recommend this for fans of The Hate U Give and YA Contemporary.

It’s strange reading this prequel because most of the large events you already know, if you’ve read The Hate U Give. But it is still interesting seeing these characters as their younger selves and the events that snowballed into the powder keg that was the sequel too. I ended up vacillating between being really interested in what was occurring and feeling like I already knew everything, so the tension in the plot wasn’t really present. In the end, this is another book where the voice is so quintessentially YA, in the same earnest and heartfelt way the authors other books are, that even when you’re retreading ground, it’s an empathic and compelling experience.

"It's kinda like how we have to do with ourselves. Get rid of things that don't do us any good. If it won't help the rose grow, you've gotta let it go." I fell in love with Angie Thomas's writing ever since I read The Hate U Give back in 2017. And so every time she released a new book, I instantly put it on my to-read list. Concrete Rose is actually a prequel to The Hate U Give. This book revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give and focuses on Maverick Carter—Starr's father. You don't have to worry if you haven't read The Hate U Give because for the most part it's a completely different story and you can read it individually. But for those of you who are a fan of The Hate U Give, you will get to know the history and what happened to Maverick when he was younger through this book."Keep pushing, Mav... Tough situations don't last. Tough people do."Unlike Maverick's character in The Hate U Give, seventeen-year-old Maverick is still very young and he made many mistakes along the way. Most of his mistakes were made when he was controlled by his emotions and he ended up making rash decisions that he will regret later. There are a few moments when I was flabbergasted by all the problems that Mav need to face at such a young age. While he's in the middle of all those trouble, Mav was under a lot of pressure because he needs to provide for his baby and help his mom pay the bills (since his dad is in prison). I was able to sympathize with his position and tried to understand why he decided to go back to drug dealing. I feel like Angie Thomas portrayed Mav's character really well; and there are times when I feel like I was in his shoes and sense the frustration that he's going through. One of the most important character in this book is Mr. Wyatt, he owns a grocery store and is very strict. Mav works part time for Mr. Wyatt to earn some money, and he had to suffer a lot because Mr. Wyatt doesn't tolerate Mav coming in late, lying, or coming to work intoxicated. Even though Mav resents Mr. Wyatt's strictness, he actually took Mr. Wyatt's advice into account. I think Mr. Wyatt's role in this book kind of plays as a father figure for Mav as well. Another main character in this book is Lisa, Mav's girlfriend. From the very beginning, Lisa never approved of Mav's gang activity, because she believes that Mav is able to become more than that. I was very nervous when Mav reached the turning point in this story—when he needs to make a major life decision that requires a lot of courage. After he managed to overcome that, Mav matured a lot as a person and resolve to lead a better life going forward. "I like to be reminded that beauty can come from much of nothing. To me that’s the whole point of flowers." Overall, I still enjoyed Angie Thomas's writing very much and I think I will read anything that she writes in the future. So far she's given us 3 incredible stories that focuses on Black lives. From the very beginning of this book, I'm constantly eager to see how the story is going to turn out. However, I wasn't really invested emotionally in the characters' lives like I did with the characters in The Hate U Give—that book almost made me cry. Other than that, I find this book very captivating and I think teenagers/young adult can learn about the consequences that they need to face when they make rash decisions. Definitely looking forward to what kind of story Angie Thomas will be offering us next!☺️ Read my full review here: http://www.thebookielooker.com/2021/0...

The expectations I have for Angie Thomas books are astronomical. Let's just say that to start. This book made me uncomfortable in a few different ways: both the contents in the book and my thoughts really were fruit for thought. So yeah this book was good.

Enjoyed this - interesting to get some more insight into Maverick's backstory - but it didn't grab me emotionally in the way The Hate U Give did. I think that's partly a case of prequelitis (if you already know what happens to the characters, some of the suspense is lost) and partly because The Hate U Give really brought out the ways in which the community and family looked out for each other and there's not so much of that in this story.

Despite not having anything in common with maverick (main character) except age I was able to connect and empathise with him and his story. This speaks to Angie Thomas’s skills as a writer. I definitely recommend this book to everyone

3.75 rating

angie thomas’s writing is 👌🏼 *chefs kiss*