I struggle to describe how much I loved this novel. I read it one sitting, storming through the pages while waiting for Angie Thomas to break my heart. Real life, on the page, pulling you in directions both expected and unexpected, leaving you wanting more. One of my favorite books this year.

OMG, OMG, OMG. Angie Thomas does it again and better than ever with this one! I loved THUG and On the Come Up, but this book was by far, above and beyond, her best one yet!
It helps that Mav and Lisa are about the same age as me so the 90's cultural touch points were very similar to my own. This book was full of surprises and nods to THUG in ways that I really loved. I also loved the connection to Nik Stone's books. I will be recommending this one to everyone I know who loves Angie Thomas!

I enjoyed this so much more than I expected to. I think I forgot how much I enjoyed The Hate U Give, but even then, Concrete Rose might be better. Mav is an incredible character with so much depth and understanding even from the start. I loved the portrayal of teen fatherhood. My only complaint is that I felt the ending wrapped up too quickly. This might have been helped if I remembered more about the characters from THUG, but I still felt that the ending was a little lacklustre compared to the emotional punch that came from the rest of the book.

I read The Hate U Give and thought it was one of the most well written, heartbreaking books I have ever read. When I found out that Angie Thomas was doing Maverick's story in Concrete Rose I was so excited. I ended up so disappointed. I did not connect to any of the characters. It felt like a big part of this was about how difficult it was having a son at such a young age. I thought it would be more about what Maverick did to leave the gang. That seemed to hardly be a focus of the story. I was excepting chocolate chip cookies with this book and ended up with a bunch of oatmeal raisin cookies. Decent but disappointing.

An excellent prequel to The Hate U Give. The depth of Mavericks character is shown and how he became the changed man and devoted Dad in the future. He makes so many mistakes and almost chooses the wrong path but simply having his mother and other role models hold him accountable makes him into a man. I do not know much about gang culture but felt like I was right in the middle of it. It expanded my understanding of how hard it is to get out of the situation and generation after generation follow their parents footsteps. Maverick breaks the cycle and the story shows how challenging it can be. I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley, thank you to them. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a prequel for The Hate You Give (THYG). I love Angie Thomas' writing and this book only cemented that! If you enjoy learning about characters prestory, this is a great one that helps us understand how Star's family was created. Based on Thomas' seeing a similar life in her own neighborhood, this novel will open our eyes to the desire to become family when it's thrown your way. I will read every book she writes and can't wait to see her next one!
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I am so glad that Angie Thomas wrote Maverick's back story. He was one of the standout characters in The Hate U Give. Concrete Rose tells the story of a teenage Maverick. His father is incarcerated and his mother works nonstop to support the family. Maverick struggles with many things in this book-following the same path as his father took and his friends are taking, how to help his family out of poverty, how poor choices can lead to lasting consequences. He deals with some very difficult scenarios in this book which will shape him into the man he becomes. I enjoyed this one-maybe not as much as The Hate U Give but those who loved Star's story will find an equally fascinating and deep story with Maverick in Concrete Rose.

I had planned to read this before the release date, but life and dealing with pandemics with a mental health disorder got in the way. But I'm so glad I finally read through this one. I really love that Angie decided to give us Maverick's story before The Hate U Give. It lived up to my expectations, and then some. I really love Angie's writing and how she won't shy away from sensitive topics. I really loved Maverick in The Hate U Give as the father who would do anything for his kids. This is why I loved getting to see how he went from a kid to a man who stepped up for his kids. A really beautiful book! I enjoyed it very much.

Angie Thomas never disappoints. I loved this - the historical (eek) setting, the detail, the depth we got on a character we already knew from The Hate U Give. Excellent and highly recommended.

I ended up liking this book so much more than I thought I would. I thought it might be odd to read something through the POV of a male teenager that I couldn’t relate to. But his voice was so authentic and funny and I really enjoyed it. I especially liked how it was set in the late 90s, when I was a teenager, so that definitely helped me identify with parts of the story. It’s been a few years since I’ve read THUG, but Concrete Rose tied in really well with it as an origin story. Highly recommend!

I loved going back to Garden Heights in Concrete Rose. Mav was one of my favorite characters in The Hate U Give, and I really enjoyed this look into who he was when he was a teenager and what made him who he is as we know him in The Hate U Give. In interviews, Thomas has said that one of the things she wanted to accomplish with this book was show that Black men and Black boys have emotions, that they're not heartless, and she absolutely delivered. This book had heavy moments, light moments, and everything in between. A stellar followup (if a prequel can be called that).

This book was amazing! It was so refreshing to hear the story of Mav, I just fell in love with this character in the hate you give.... so needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed an entire book about his life and how he came to be Stars dad. Angie did a great job bringing his character to fruition. Highly recommend reading.

A prequel to Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give , this is a beautifully written insight into the life of 17-year-old Maverick Carter and his life in Garden Heights before Starr, Seven, and Sekani.
I loved that we learn about the story of the Carters and how Maverick became involved with Seven's mom, how Seven (and Starr) got his name, and the journey it took for Lisa to forgive Maverick by the time we get to THUG. The dialogue is well-written and there are genuinely funny and real moments (don't you just hate when an author tells you a character is funny?). Absolutely loved this book!

Angie Thomas just keeps getting better. I loved getting to know young Big Mav. It's hard to know what the right choice is sometimes. Especially when the right choice makes things so much harder. I've already loaned my copy to my neighbor.

I loved The Hate U Give and always wanted to know more about Mav and that is exactly what this book delivered. Angie Thomas once again crafts an amazing story with characters so well written they read as if they were real people.

As a prequal to the text, The Hate You Give, this book, Concrete Rose, gives readers an opportunity to look at life Through the eyes of a young Maverick, as he deals with his mistakes and misgivings to become the father he is to Starr.

I was kindly provided with an advance readers' copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I waited to listen to this on audio, since I had such a good experience listening to the first book, The Hate U Give, on audio. The narrator is Dion Graham, who is an *chef's kiss* amazing narrator. Maverick was one of my favorite characters in THUG, and seeing his coming of age story through his eyes gave me a different perspective on the Carter family, and increased my love for them exponentially. The way that Angie Thomas meets stereotypes head on and explores and subverts them unflinchingly and with such nuance cannot be matched. My favorite element was watching Mav's love for his kids bloom: so pure, I died. Plus, the nineties pop culture references were too nostalgic. This book will melt your heart, and break it. But it'll heal it, too. And give you hope for the future.

Like all of Angie Thomas's books, Concrete Rose is an utter masterpiece that deserves lots of love and hype. Concrete Rose takes place in the late 90s, about 17 years before The Hate U Give, and follows Maverick before he was "Big Mav." Maverick was one of my favorite characters in THUG, and I was so happy to see him get his own book. It was cool to go back in time to Garden Heights, and to see familiar characters while also meeting new ones.

The tricky thing about prequels, is that sometimes they feel predictable because you know exactly where it's headed. Concrete Rose didn't feel that way at all. Even though we know quite a bit of Maverick's backstory from THUG, this still felt like a totally new story. Angie fills in some of the gaps and we get to see how Maverick grows up to be Big Mav.

I absolutely loved this book and devoured it in 24 hours. I'll be recommending it a lot at my library. Fans of THUG will love it, but I think it can also be enjoyed by readers new to Garden Heights. I'll be recommending it to fans of Jason Reynolds, Nic Stone, and Kwame Alexander.

I'm not sure if I would have picked this up without having read The Hate U Give, but it is definitely a worthwhile book on its own. It's a great exploration of teen parenthood, masculinity, racism, and choices.

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
5/5⭐️

Thank you to @harpercollinsca for my e-ARC for being an Indigo bookseller!

My initial review on Goodreads, after I finished this book, was “I finished this book a few hours ago and I swear I’ve just been staring at a wall thinking about it since then (and will probably be thinking about it for days/weeks on end).”

Well if that doesn’t convince you to read Concrete Rose what will?! Need I say more?

But I’ll say more.

Concrete Rose follows Maverick “Mav” through his last year of high school as he finds out he’s a father, that he wants to start moving away from drug dealing and as he deals with an incredible tragedy.

I loved Mav’s character from the very start; he’s hilarious, caring and sensitive to those around him. He’s a wonderful character to root for and cry with. I was completely engrossed with Mav’s story during the two days I read (binged) Concrete Rose. The characters that supported and uplifted Mav throughout the story were also so vivid and wonderful to read.

If you’re already a fan of Angie Thomas, the Hate U Give or just want to read an amazing (and incredibly important) YA title then look no further.

And truly look no further, this book is so well-written you won’t want to miss it.

CW: gang violence, gun violence, drug dealing, racism.

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