Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Concrete Rose

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

11 reviews

ninascozydayreads's review against another edition

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.

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bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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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

theespressoedition's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad 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

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brookey8888's review against another edition

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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.

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vercopaanir's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

It made me furious about the state of our nation and emotional and hopeful for Maverick and his family. I loved it.

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julierambaeck's review against another edition

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challenging inspiring medium-paced

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

3.0

This was a good and important book, for many reasons. The first book in this series "The Hate U Give" I really enjoyed, this one not as much. I think this book talked (for me) too much about being a "real man", which I thought was kinda boring and annoying. The topics of this book however was really good and Thomas had some great discussions throughout the book.

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cranedphoenix's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

Honestly this book was real good
An emotional ride the entire way through

From Dre's death, to Mav almost killing Red to all the babies to King being an ass

This books covers so many different topics and it actually works and doesn't feel like it's trying to do the most
I also love how complex all of the character relationships are

especially when it's obvious to everyone but Mav that his Ma and Moe are together
But I also loved Iesha, as bad as it is that she kinda left Seven with Mav, like Mav you just gotta feel for her

The only character I truly grew to dislike was ofc King, even tho he's also a bit complicated he really just ends up being reasonably and perfectly unlikeable

love the rose quote about cutting off what won't let them grow which is pretty much Mav needing to cut off King

I could probably go on and on but I'm surprised I ended up liking it so much considering I wasn't too sure if I would when i started

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nytephoenyx's review

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emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

Lately, it seems there are a lot of books out there, particularly young adult books, that feature main characters who are minorities struggling with young pregnancies and/or dangerous neighborhoods. While Black trauma is a tired storyline (more Black joy! More Black people just being regular people!), Concrete Rose has a good reason for its setting – it’s the prequel to The Hate U Give. There are some books that leave an imprint on the world… The Hate U Give is one of those. So how does the prequel – the story of Starr’s father Maverick – hold up?

It’s good. Really good. But it’s not great in the same way as The Hate U Give, so it’s important not to hold it to those expectations. It probably won’t change your life or make a deep, clarifying impression like The Hate U Give. But it’s also not trying to – this isn’t a book about social justice. It’s a book about the struggle to support and survive. And it’s written well – well enough that sometimes I forgot I already know how this story ends.

Angie Thomas is an excellent writer. When talking about her books, I think it’s very easy to talk about the important subject matter to the exclusion of all else. And the subject matter is important, don’t get me wrong, but I think we need to appreciate how skilled she is. Her novels are extremely accessible. Whether you are a 54-year-old white man living in the southern United States, or a Black teen in France, the characters are relatable and the message is universal. Her books asked for human decency, honesty, integrity, and hard work. They give us characters who find joy in small things, grieve together, and lift each other up. They beat the odds, even if it’s only in small ways. What’s not to love?

Concrete Rose follows Maverick Carter as he learns to navigate life as a highschooler who hasn’t been as careful as he should have been and ends up taking care of his three-month-old son when the mother abandons him. Maverick is a good father – he cares about his children deeply. He does his best, despite all of the odds being against him. His father is in prison, his mother is barely home because she has to work two jobs, and Maverick tries to make ends meet by selling drugs. With his cousin’s help, he tries to go clean, but the universe has other plans for both Maverick and Dre.

If you’re sensitive to reading about child care, pregnancy, and all the little bits and pieces that come along with that responsibility, this book is going to be difficult. Quite a lot of the book is about parenting and includes just about every bodily fluid you can think of in one scene or another. It’s not what I’m used to in YA, but because of this focus, Concrete Rose offers a unique perspective. Maverick stands apart from the stereotypes in that he is a responsible, loving father doing his best and most of the focus of the book is on teenage fatherhood, not his relationship troubles or the background gang warfare. It’s a perspective that wasn’t out there before, and important to both set an example and share diverse life experiences. For my own reasons, parts were difficult to listen to, but I appreciated the perspective.

If you like Angie Thomas‘ books, this is an absolute must read. It’s a worthy prequel to her debut, but it’s also a good book on its own. Knowing that Concrete Rose is about Starr‘s father is just a bonus. If you haven’t already picked it up, I recommend reading this one.

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sunsetcity's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

Content Warnings

memorable's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.75

I really liked learning more about Maverick, the struggles he faced and how he overcame them to become the man he is in THUG. Reading this book also makes me wanting to reread THUG. I loved Mav's development to become a father to Seven and also to Star (just as we know from THUG). And I think his depiction is also a pretty important one.
Can't wait for the next Angie Thomas' book for sure!

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