Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This was another great one from Angie Thomas. I read THUG a while ago, so honestly I"m not sure if I would have realized that this was a prequel about Starr's father if I hadn't read the author's note at the beginning. Maverick is a great character you can really root for, even when he's making not so great decisions.

Wow! I'm always excited now when there is a new Angie Thomas coming out, and this book was a stunner! One of the things I loved best about The Hate U Give was Starr's family; they were weird and wonderful and so I was really excited to get this peek into the early days of the family! Maverick was a great character in the first book, and he is a great character here and I enjoyed this book so much. I love that Maverick is such a great character that we can feel such empathy for him as he makes both good and bad choices. From the point of view of writing characters, I'm of the opinion that Angie Thomas is the best writer in YA.
Thanks SO MUCH to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Here’s the prequel to Angie Thomas’ best seller “Hate U Give.” And it’s a great one considering all of the neighborhood and family backstory that she put into her debut novel. We first meet the young man who will eventually be Starr Carter’s dad. Maverick Carter is seventeen and his mom is about ready to pick him so that he can get a paternity test to figure out if his best friend’s girlfriend’s baby is actually his. It is a tangled web and about to become even more complex when the mother of the child leaves the baby with Maverick to take care of. Surprisingly, he rises to the challenge and also really starts bonding with the little man, who he chooses to rename Seven.

Much of the tale revolves around Maverick trying to manage his money issues without resorting to drug dealing and also trying to get back with his girlfriend, Lisa. But there is a big moment where he has to come to terms with the death of a beloved friend, who was gunned down in his car. And then there’s yet another big moment when Lisa reveals a secret that will come as no surprise to readers of “Hate U Give.”

Maverick’s struggles to have to do some very serious “adulting” in his late teens are really relatable. Maverick shows a lot of loyalty and love for his friends and family. I really enjoyed reading this one and I don’t think that it is just because I liked the earlier novel.

You can't go wrong with an Angie Thomas book. I really enjoyed Maverick's story. It was heartbreaking at times and resilient. The way Angie writes, you can just set yourself in this whole neighborhood and see it clearly. I love when an author can conjure that kind of imagery. This will be a great start to 2021 for reads.

It was interesting to read about Maverick's teen years, considering fans and readers of The Hate U Give (Thomas, 2017) would know the sequence of events from conversations he had with his daughter, Starr. So while I went into this knowing Angie Thomas is a masterful storyteller, I was also wary of knowing some of the outcomes of decisions he'd make in Concrete Rose would taint the overall effect of the story. I should have trusted Angie more! The emotional punches packed in the tough experiences Maverick endures, the empathy readers develop for the impossible positions he's put in, and the thread of hope that hangs on, despite it all, makes Concrete Rose a powerful read.

As white female, I'll never know what it's like to walk through life as a young Black man, but I'm grateful for Angie Thomas for giving us these words that offer a glimpse, to better understand the joys and pains, loses and loves Maverick experiences. Concrete Rose is a must-have for classrooms, libraries, and bookshelves at home for teens, as well as adult readers.

I LOVED Concrete Rose. Maverick's story is so important, and I cannot wait to put it in the hands of my students. I loved Mav's voice throughout the novel - going through fatherhood with him and literally growing up with him. I also loved his mom (grandmothers continue to be my fav character of every book). A fabulous prequel to The Hate U Give.

I flew through this book! Concrete Rose is a prequel of sorts to The Hate U Give, following 17 year old Maverick Carter, father of Starr Carter in THUG. Even though we all know how his life turns out, it’s fascinating to see the struggles he went through and overcame to be the great man and father he is. With his gang leader father in jail, Maverick joins the gang for protection. He sells drugs to help his mother pay the bills. He then finds out he’s now a father after a one time hookup. The mother leaves the baby with him and disappears. Juggling gang life, school, the newfound responsibilities of fatherhood, and simply being a teenager is overwhelming. Luckily Maverick is able to surround himself with positive role models like his beloved cousin, mother, and his employer Mr. Wyatt.

I really enjoyed this book. While it wasn’t as heart wrenching as THUG, it was still quite powerful in displaying the discrepancies between White and Black lives ie Black teenagers having to sell drugs (to rich white kids) so they can pay the light bill, or a mother having to worry about her Black son driving after dark. I liked adult Maverick, but I loved teen Maverick even more. Same with Lisa. I also really loved the Easter eggs throughout the book, like the mention of Lawless from On the Come Up, and Justyce from Nic Stone’s Dear Martin.

I will be recommending this book to teens (and adults) at my library for sure!

Angie Thomas has another winner on her hands, and I will be shocked if this doesn't end up a bestseller. Concrete Rose is a prequel of sorts to The Hate U Give. It follows Maverick, Starr's father, as a 17-year-old dealing with more problems than he ever expected. One day he's playing ball with his friends, and the next he's the sole caretaker of a 3-month-old baby when a DNA test confirms that Iesha's child is Mav's. Now Mav has to deal with the fact that he is a father, juggle school, and decide whether he wants to keep living the life of a gang member.

I always thought Maverick was an interesting character in The Hate U Give. He was very supportive of his children, and wanted better for him than he had growing up. He steered his kids away from gang life, sometimes at great risk to himself. So I loved that this book gave me more insight into how exactly Maverick turned into that caring, supportive adult.

Concrete Rose is also a look into the inner life of a person who, in pop culture and other forms of media, is rarely given a voice: a young Black teenager living in poverty who joined a gang because he thought that was his only option. We get stereotypical portrayals of people like Maverick in the media, but Concrete Rose gives readers insight into the daily life and struggles that he deals with. We learn about his rich inner life, the tough decisions he has to make, the things that make him happy, and the people who are important to him. In other words, he is human. And he gets to be human in this book without being condemned for just existing, as so many Black boys are.

I won't say more in this review because I am not the target audience for this book, and I don't feel like I can accurately speak to the experiences Maverick goes through in this book. But I did really enjoy it, and I think Angie Thomas has written another excellent book. I hope that it will find its intended audience, because I know there are kids out there who will see themselves in this book and hopefully find some comfort in that.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like many I was so excited to hear that Thomas was writing another book. I was a little uncomfortable when I realized it would be a prequel about Maverick, Star’s father, from “The Hate U Give”. Prequels aren’t usually something I will even entertain. But I loved the first two books so much, I had to give this one a shot. And it did more than deliver. Full of sorrow and triumph this book was so much more than a simple coming of age story. It should speak to every reader that reads or has read this book to never judge a book by its cover.

One of the wisest things I ever heard my husband say to our children when they were in high school was “make good choices because before you realize it you will be 4 to 5 decisions into adulthood”. However, most teenagers don’t think that way. They don’t realize their actions can affect them long after high school and Maverick Carter is no different. At 17 years of age Maverick finds out he is the father to a child with a girl he was with only once. Without asking or discussing it, Iesha, the baby's mother, leaves their son with Maverick making him have to step up and learn how to be a father. Not only is Maverick forced to learn how to change diapers, make bottles, burp a baby, he also learns that being a father means sacrifice. Which also means sacrificing his primary way of making money. After being counseled by Dre, the crown to the King Lords, but also his cousin who is more like the big brother he never had he realizes he must try to go straight. Live a life above board or risk not being there for his son at all.

Maverick continues to try to keep his head above water and then tragedy strikes. He becomes consumed by anger and revenge and nowhere to release it. But before he can begin to deal with the emotions brought on by the recent tragedy, Lisa, the love of his life, informs him she is pregnant. A second baby before he turns eighteen years old. That information is followed up by more bad news from school. Overwhelmed and stressed he begins looking for a way to take care of his children and handle the anger that is eating him up. He begins to turn back to the life that he had left behind until he finally begins to see that he is capable of so much more.

I love coming of age stories but like I said before this one hits a little different for me. Possibly because I grew up around people like Maverick, Iesha, King, etc. Maverick could have easily become a product of his environment. He could’ve become his father, it would’ve been easy, he is a legacy on the streets. Instead of taking the easy route Maverick chose to take the path less traveled. Knowing that it isn’t going to be easy and he'll have to sacrifice some of life’s pleasantries to be there for his children and make their lives better. What I love the most about this book is it goes against what society believes of a young black man like Maverick who has so much stacked against him. It shows that black men even with those facing adversity don’t always cut and run, or become drug dealers to make money. They step up and do what is needed of them. Maverick is the epitome of a Concrete Rose, full of beauty and potential despite the harsh world around him. As a librarian I would recommend this book for any YA collection. This is a story that should be read.

I had no doubt that I would love this, and once again Angie Thomas delivered a story that readers are going to really go nuts for.

In this one, Angie Thomas goes back a little bit in time to when Maverick, father of Starr Carter in Th Hate You Give, is a teenager himself. Readers get to see the events that defined Maverick and made him the man he is by the time we first met him in The Hate You Give. He's got a lot on his plate, and he's struggling with the challenges and losses he's facing. It's set during a character defining time period in his life. I think this is a story that is necessary to be on book store and library shelves, and I think it's necessary reading for teens and adults who work with them alike.

If somehow, you haven't read The Hate You Give yet, or if you are a librarian or educator who will be getting this book in the hands of teens, while chronologically this book happens significantly before The Hate You Give, I would recommend reading them in publication order. While this gives a lot of context to who Maverick is, I think coming to it knowing who he becomes later in life gives really interesting context to it.

Readers of Angie Thomas' debut novel, "The Hate U Give" will instantly recognize our protagonist in this latest novel. Starr Carter's father, Maverick takes center stage in this prequel, taking us back to the 1990s as Maverick attempts to navigate high school, the King Lords, and finding out that he is at father at 17. Fans of the THUG will delight in learning the "origins" of Mav and many other characters. But, make no mistake this book stands firmly on its own too. In fact, it may be my favorite of Angie Thomas's books yet. Thomas excels in creating rich, deep characters who feel completely real. One thing I admire most about the character of Maverick is his drive, but also his flexibility when it comes to learning a new way. He is emotional and that too is a breathe of fresh air in a book about a teenage boy. I laughed and wept with Maverick through this book. even knowing how things would turn out for him, I still found myself anxious about the choices he was compelled to make and worrying about how everything would turn out.

I will certainly be purchasing a copy of this latest book. It's safe to say I will add any book Angie Thomas writes to both my personal and school collections. I will also be recommending this novel to my older students!

Thank you to Netgalley and Balzer + Bray for the eARC of this beautiful new novel from Angie Thomas in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved The Hate U Give and On The Come Up, but Concrete Rose might be my new favorite book by Angie Thomas. When I first heard about the book, I knew I’d have to read it but it was so much better than I thought it would be.

Concrete Rose is a prequel to The Hate U Give that follows Maverick Carter, the father of Starr Carter. While it’s not necessary to read The Hate U Give before reading this book, it was nice knowing where certain characters eventually end up as we read about them as teenagers and young adults.

We follow Maverick as he juggles school, work, figuring out his place with the King Lords, helping his mother with the bills, all while realizing he’s now a father. Angie Thomas said part of the reason she wrote this book was because people were so drawn to Maverick as a character and father, and reading his journey to becoming who the man he is in THUG will only make people love him even more. Maverick is so beautifully developed and well-written, and I can’t imagine anyone reading this book and not falling in love with him and his big heart, along with other major characters that we meet in this prequel we didn’t know we needed.

If you’ve enjoyed Angie Thomas’ books, don’t skip out on this one. If you’re a teacher, please have a copy of Concrete Rose in your classroom library. Students will love this one and I know the cover alone is going to have many of them asking to borrow my copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Angie Thomas books are so excellent, and Concrete Roseis a worthy addition to her canon.
If you've read The Hate You Give you know the story of Maverick, grocery store owner and father to Star. Concrete Rose is the prequel - we meet young Maverick, a young dad trying to sell weed to support his family and work his way out of the gang life he felt obligated to join.

I love Angie Thomas's books because the characters are so grounded. Maverick takes responsibility for his actions and mistakes and works so hard to provide. I also don't think I've ever read a book about a teenage father before, and that representation is so valuable.

Angie Thomas has developed a rich series that began with "The Hate U Give" and continues to flourish in "Concrete Rose," the latest entry in the series. In this prequel, the story centers on Maverick, a seventeen-year-old who is in over his head on many fronts: a heated gang war, senior year of high school, and a paternity test reveal that he is the father of a three-month-old. While fans of the series know what many of these life events entail, there are still some surprises regarding how each of these entanglements and milestones takes shape. It presents a fairly complex inner life to a character in the previous books that were not perhaps appreciated enough. There are many cameos from characters big and small from the previous entries that will delight faithful fans. Yet, Thomas does not presume that readers have read those novels, and provides enough context to welcome those that choose to start here. That's important because it allows the story to stand on its own and flourish. There were also enough potential plot threads unresolved to allow for another novel, which could prove exciting. ..

It was great to read the prequel to The Hate U Give. I really enjoyed reading about Maverick's struggles to do the right thing for his family.

Angie Thomas has successfully written another gem in the The Hate U Give series. Concrete Rose is the prequel to THUG, in which we get to know Maverick's struggle as a teen dad and dope slinging member of the King Lords who wants to go straight. It was an immersive experience to read this - from the very beginning the author invites you into the world through the action and dialogue, and I found myself immediately empathetic with Mav and eager to discover the path his life takes. I recommend this book!

Advanced reader's copy provided courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Will be using this in my young-adult literature class next semester! Thomas' _The Hate U Give_ is one of the required books for the class, so I'll be offering _Concrete Rose_ as an option for the "read-the-next-by-this-author" assignment they'll be doing. I suspect this one will be a very popular choice. Thanks to NetGalley for the early access.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this text in exchange for my unbiased review.

Angie Thomas may have intended this book for a YA audience, but her adult readers will absolutely appreciate the many nods and homages to the pop culture of their youth. While it helps to have read The Hate U Give, it certainly is not necessary as each text can stand alone.

This is Maverick's story, from his courtship of Lisa to his unexpected fatherhood by the girlfriend of his friend. Maverick shows that sometimes life is just messy and complicated, but it makes us who we are meant to be in the long run. Maverick's story is one of family, both blood and chosen, and how family can affect difficult decisions. We certainly may not like all of Maverick's choices as a young man, but we recognize that they are what made him into the father, Big Mav, that we cheered on in THUG.

Yes, the story is solid and engaging, and I believe my students will eat it up. The Hate U Give remains a popular title in my classroom even with the release of the movie. I also expect many interest based on the cover art of Concrete Rose alone, which is gorgeous and reflects some of our young people that often do not get to see themselves on the covers of books.

I really liked that Angie Thomas wrote The Hate U Give first then Concrete Rose. I enjoyed reading the start of Mav's story even though I already knew some of it. It was interesting to see the story all come together with Starr and Seven. I think learning the start of his story helped me appreciate his character more in The Hate U Give. I also enjoyed all of the throwback details about the 1990s that made me reflect back on my life.

Mav, Mav, Mav. You made me so mad. Luckily, this is a prequel, so I already know who you become. Everything Angie Thomas writes connects the reader deeply with the characters and this book was no exception. It felt so good to reunite with The Hate You Give, even if they caused me to yell out loud as I was reading. Characters aside, if you happen to be a not so young adult reading this book, you will feel pretty nostalgic as you are thrown back into the late 90's. This book hits the mark for YA and A readers, alike!