Review: Concrete Rose - Book # 0 - THUG Series - Angie Thomas - January 2021 Going into this book, I had mixed feelings because of the previous two titles I have read from Angie Thomas. The first which was related to this book was The Hate U Give, I happened to have read the ARC of this book back in April 2017 and what made it more powerful was that particular day, I sat in the backseat with two of my US friends as we drove from Texas to Atlanta. I remember us stopping at the White Castle in Montgomery, Alabama, and on the TV was the shooting of Jordan Edwards who was a black 17-year-old boy shot by a white cop. It struck me as living in New Zealand, wasn't something we saw happen as we don't have guns really in New Zealand. They are seen as a last resort and it broke my heart and made reading the book more powerful and an emotional journey. Then a few years later, the author published On the Come Up which sadly was a DNF for me. When I saw Concrete Rose being published, I ...

  Review: The Hate U Give aka THUG - Angie Thomas - April 2017 This book was as powerful and insightful as I thought it would be. Starr was raised in a poor neighborhood, but she also went to a wealthy school and was stuck between the two worlds. Starr was ten years old when she first saw her best friend shot and that was when her parents decided the neighborhood was a dangerous place. Fast forward and Starr is now sixteen and goes to a local party with her friend. During the party, Starr catches up with her childhood friend Khali. He offers her a ride home, and they are pulled over by a police officer. Her friend Khali is innocent but is murdered by the police officer. This sparks a riot of sorts and with Starr the only witness, she believes it is time to stand up for what is right and tell the truth. As someone who is white but who has grown up knowing gang members, this book was amazing as I could easily see both sides and this novel though fic...