Reviews with content warning for Racism - Concrete Rose

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

80 reviews

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas is a prequel to her book The Hate U Give, focusing on Starr’s father, Maverick as the main character. I was a little sad to not have a female main character (because I love Starr and Bri), but I think in this case, it actually worked to the story’s benefit. I really loved Mav, and watching him go through his struggles first hand was a more rewarding journey than I was expecting it to be. With most prequels, I am annoyed by the fact that we know where the characters end up, but there is a lot that Starr doesn’t know about her dad in The Hate U Give. This actually makes this prequel feel fresh and new, even though we already know the fates of the characters. I think this book also address a lot of really important social issues, that are important to understand in order to promote discussion and progress in certain areas. I think that like the other two in this series, Concrete Rose is an important read that is worth everyone’s time, regardless of age.

Content Warnings

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

“Son, one of the biggest lies ever told is that black men don't feel emotions. Guess it's easier not to see us as human when you think we're heartless. Fact of the matter is, we feel things. Hurt, pain, sadness, all of it. We got a right to show them feelings as much as anybody else.”

➽ I finally read Concrete Rose and it was fantastic!! This is a prequel to The Hate U Give and follows Starr's father Maverick Carter as he navigates becoming a teen father. I wasn't too sure if I would enjoy this as it has been a while since I read The Hate U Give, but I was pleasantly surprised! This is a very emotional, character-driven story and you could feel Maverick's inner struggles. I liked that he was a flawed but realistic character who was trying to do his best. Maverick has just become a father, but he's only seventeen and struggling to take care of his son Seven when she still feels like a kid himself. The book gave us an honest insight into parenthood as Mav suddenly has to provide for his son and sacrifice his own time (and sleep) in order to take care of him. He's no longer free to do whatever he wants and while his mom helps out, she makes sure he takes responsibility. Maverick's juggling school, a part-time job and his involvement in Garden Heights.

➽ The book did a great job discussing Maverick's struggles with his masculinity and his relationship with Garden Heights's gang. He feels like he has to be tough and 'man up' instead of feeling his emotions. Mav has some people like his friend King (who's also active in the gang) who are a bad influence and reinforce the toxic masculinity he has internalized. Luckily, there are also many amazing people who let Maverick be vulnerable and want to help him stay on the right track. His mom's great and I loved that she was always there for Mav, but also called him out on his behavior. She makes clear that he needs to take care of his son and can't just shove him off to her, as it's not her baby. Lisa, Maverick's girlfriend, also calls him out when she needs to, as sometimes he can be jealous and stubborn without having any right to be. Dre, Maverick's friend who is basically his brother, also tries to convince him to earn 'clear' money outside of the gang now that he has a family to think of.

I was SO sad that Dre got killed, as he was such a good friend to Mav and had his own little family that he loved so much. You could see how hard the loss hit Maverick and how much he struggled with his anger and grief!

➽ Maverick is trying hard to handle everything going on in his life but also struggles with the expectations others have of him. It was sweet to see how much he adored his son despite feeling out of his depth at first and being tired out by being a parent. He's helping out at a convenience store and the owner is offering him a perspective of the future. However, Maverick is struggling to pay for all the expenses of raising his kid and knows that selling drugs in his neighborhood like King would bring in so much more money. Maverick makes his fair share of mistakes, but you can always tell where he's coming from and how difficult it is for him to have a perspective for the future. His own father has been in jail since he was 8 and he feels like he has to live up to his reputation as a prominent gang member. Mav is torn on how to manage his life and deal with all the anger and frustration that come with it. This was such a well-written story with raw, honest characters and I was fully invested in Maverick's story!

Content Warnings

ninascozydayreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

When I heard about Thomas having written a prequel to The Hate U Give (one of my favorite novels) starring Starr’s father, I bought it as soon as it came out. But, because I’m me, it took me years to actually read it. Concrete Rose is the story of Starr’s father, before he was her father, when he was just Maverick. When he was just a 17 year old kid who suddenly had a son (Starr’s older brother Seven) to provide for. Given how much I liked The Hate U Give, I was sure to love this one, and I was right. Concrete Rose is a slower read that is more character driven than plot, and therefore making this a bit harder to get into. Maverick is not without his flaws, and sure, he does bad things, but the book does a great job of showing the necessity of it all. As it details the hard choices that Maverick has to make, it also feels so real - it doesn't try to gloss over anything. It also challenges manhood, and specifically Black manhood - the ideas of what a "man" is supposed to be. As always with an Angie Thomas book, the subject matter is heavy but written in an approachable way, making this a quick but still somewhat challenging read. And let's be real Angie Thomas just knows how to write. And does it well. (bewerkt)

What I found most interesting about this novel is that it is written entirely in AAVE. Something I sometimes struggled with, as I’m not used to reading in AAVE, but that I appreciated nonetheless as it also helped in defining the character. The one point of critique I had at the AAVE was that the novel tended to explain the language used. Maverick said a lot of “what that means” to explain a term, sometimes unnecessarily so as the definition could be gathered from context, but I also feel that if you’re going to write in AAVE, embrace it fully. Add a glossary if necessary, but don’t let explanations interrupt the text. Overall, I really did enjoy this book and the characters. This however shouldn’t be the first Angie Thomas book you pick up, because it does have references to The Hate U Give that you will miss otherwise. Start at the beginning, with The Hate U Give. And then, definitely come back and read this one.

Content Warnings

zombiezami's review

Go to review page

challenging reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

Content Warnings

btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

When I read The Hate U Give a few years ago, I fell completely in love with Starr and her family, and the whole community. So it was so good to revisit them. Maverick felt like a character with a huge backstory and I loved being able to delve into that.

In THUG, Mav has his shit together and he's a calming, safe presence for his kids. So it's kind of comforting and sweet to see him as a scared kid who's in way over his head, and how he develops from one extreme to the other.

It's funny, even knowing the outcome of this book I still had my heart in my mouth at times. This is another heartbreaking story from a community beset by tragedy, but with so much love at its heart. Going so deeply into Mav's history and learning more about him made me want to go back to THUG and see how much I missed the first time.

Content Warnings

eyescanbecruel's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

brookey8888's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow was this a good book. I’m so happy she decided to write this because maverick was probably one of if not my favorite character in the hate you give. I just really enjoyed getting his back story and to see how certain things came to be. This talks about such important topics. I really liked the characters in this especially the family. This book had me going through all the emotions. I’m so glad I finally read this one and enjoyed it. Plus the cover is gorgeous.

Content Warnings

gurnoor's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

More...