Review: Concrete Rose - Angie Thomas

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Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give, #0)


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 was drawn to it as it told the story of Maverick Carter who is Star's dad. I have to say I enjoyed this book I think more than I normally would because of that connection to THUG. In Maverick's journey, we see the birth of Seven which is Star's older brother and despite the terrible things happening and the peer pressure in Maverick's life, I did love how he tried to do right by his son and provide a straight life for him when he was dumped on him from his mother Iesha. Then we read as Maverick's best friend and cousin is murdered by gang rivals and then Maverick's ex-girlfriend Lisa who we later saw him marry in THUG and her brother Carlos who works at the police station in THUG and stands by Star, she falls pregnant to Star and now Maverick - a father of two is torn between doing the right thing and struggling to provide or following the crooked path of drug dealing but being able to provide financially for his family. This book can be read before or after THUG and is one that I recommend all should read.


Amazon: https://amzn.to/3sws54X






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