Concrete Rose
Ratings61
Average rating4.5
Great book!
A little slower and a bit less engaging than her first book, but this one is still a great read. Emotional and powerful.
Most twists and turns were expected, but it has heart. Would mostly be enjoyed by upper middle to high school age children.
4.5
I felt like I was reading someones biography, it felt so real.
What I loved most about the book was the love Maverick had for his children, even though he was very young he took care of Seven so well that some parts had me tearing up coz it was so heartwarming.
I loved all the family relationships and friendships too!
Overall an amazing book! Read this if you haven't already:)
Concrete Rose follows 17 year old Maverick while he copes with teenage fatherhood and gang life. It's a world I really don't know, I have only read about or seen it on TV. Thomas writes her characters so well you can see them, and feel them, you can't help but empathise. The moment where Mav struggles with Li'l Man's crying brought tears to my eyes. And Dre, man, I had a lump in my throat just wouldn't go for pages!
I flew through this book and would quite happily have spent more time in Maverick and Lisa's company, just watching them be. I'm off to re-read The Hate U Give now to see them all grown up!
Angie Thomas does it again! I wish her books were around when I was growing up.
Thomas, already a bar setter, gets better with every book. I loved every second of this book, read perfectly by Dion Graham. Maverick is one of the realest male-identifying YA characters I've ever read. I KNOW this kid. She's imbued Mav with such depth, heart, and soul that you feel and understand every decision he makes. A knockout.
My expectations for a prequel to a book I thought was just okay? Extremely low.
But man, this was such an improvement.
Part of it may have been that I listened on audio this time and the narrator was really good. But part of it is that THUG seemed very overhyped to me. It felt like every character was cardboard and meant to perform the specific function that Thomas wanted to talk about, and the dialogue was just clunky. It felt like because the subject matter is so good, people overlooked those things more than I did. Or who knows, maybe I was just in a grouchy mood when I read it.
Either way, I expected Concrete Rose to be more of the same. Good premise, has something to say, not a great book. But Thomas's dialogue and characterization has improved so much in this book. Maverick is a great character and everything that happens in this book feels powerful and necessary. I really enjoyed it, and I hope more people read it.
Ok this is my FAVORITE BOOK AHHHHHH I CANT I CANT I CANT... DID ANYBODY ELSE CRY WHEN Spoiler DRE DIED I CRIED LIKE A BITCH OK AINT GONNA LIE TO YA ABOUT THAT..... EVERYTIME THEY TALK ABOUT HIM. HERE GOES ME AHHHHHHH TEARS ROLLING DOWN MY FACE LIKE HUH???? THIS BOOK SUPPOSED TO NOT MAKE ME CRY. YALL I CRY OVER ANYTHING I SWEAR. STILL WANNA KNOW WHO KILLED HIM THO TELL ME TELL ME I WANT TO KNOWWWWW MMMM MYSTERY IT IS. BUT HONEY U GOT A GIRL PREGNANT U RLLY THINK YOUR OTHER GIRL GONNA STICK WITH U. U HURTED HER SHIIIITTTT I BE MAD TOO I WOULDVE BLOCKED HIS ASS.. I NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN BUT AYE THIS SHIT GOT ME ALL FEELY FEELY. LIKE HOW TF U GONNA BE MAD WHEN SHE SPEAKED TO ANOTHER DUDE AFTER U DID HER LIKE THAT.
LOVED THIS BOOKS WITH A PASSION. FINISHED IT IN 2 HRS NOW TIME TO FINISH MY OTHER BOOKS UNTIL NEXT TIME HOOMANS
KAZ OUT
I have loved all of Angie Thomas' books and genuinely feel this is her best yet. Absolutely wonderful!
Do I even need to say it? Yes, I cried at multiple points of this book.
I don't usually enjoy prequels but I loved seeing Maverick and Lisa before they became Starr's parents. Maverick's struggles and eventual growth as a person was done so well. Especially considering the man and father he becomes in The Hate U Give.
Concrete Rose didn't hit me as hard as THUG did. But Angie Thomas' writing is still just as poignant and powerful.
not gonna lie, i was always hesitant when i heard that this book would be about maverick. i didn't know if i'd enjoy a book that dealt with gang affiliation, etc. but i was wrong. i loved this book.
If you love Maverick in The Hate U Give, I believe you'll love reading about him as he gains the strength and wisdom we came to know. Very poignant to see some of our favorite characters as babies or babies to be.
Throughout her books, Angie Thomas is just so skilled at handling really heavy topics with a light hand. Not light in a diminishing sense but in the sense that you have a sense that these characters have joy and humor in their lives along the violence, which I think is so important, maybe especially for a teen audience. Anyway this book is just so beautiful and compelling! I was a little surprised when Angie mentioned that readers were asking about Big Mav's backstory because I have to admit, I hadn't really been looking for this backstory. But now that I've read it.......yes, this is actually a crucial story.