Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas Book Review

“Roses need space to grow . . . I like to be reminded that beauty can come from nothing. To me, that’s the whole point of flowers.”

(pg. 102)

About

Author: Angie Thomas

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

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Other Angie Thomas Book Reviews

The Hate You Give

On the Come Up

Synopsis

If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad’s in prison.

Life’s not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav’s got everything under control.

Until, that is, Maverick finds out he’s a father.

Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it’s not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he’s expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he’s different.

When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can’t just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He’ll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man.

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

To all roses growing through concrete,

Angie Thomas did it again ♥️.

I read The Hate You Give when it first came out, so about five years ago, so the details of the story aren’t super clear to me. But I know when I read Concrete Rose, all the characters and memories came rushing back in bits and pieces. I really loved reading about Maverick’s story because he was such a dynamic character from the The Hate You Give, and to see how he grew up and the choices he had to make, helped me understand him more as a father. I also had so much more mad respect for Maverick after his story because of the choices he had to make. I’m kind of getting ahead of myself but I just want to say how no matter what Maverick felt or went through in Concrete Rose, one thing was undeniably clear: Maverick was a good person and an even greater father.

I could always tell that he wanted to do the right, honorable, and respectful thing and no one could say he wasn’t a good person. He always did right by the people in his life even if they didn’t do right by him or they were hard on him. He was still respectful. He also rolled with the punches and curveballs that life threw at him and he went with it with his whole heart. I appreciated and admired that because I think anyone in his position, especially at seventeen years old, would have cried, thrown a fit or gave up or stopped caring. But Maverick never gave up and he never stopped caring, not even on the hard days. I loved loved loved that. And I loved how I could feel like his whole focus became the people he had to care about now—-his family—-and that he wanted to do everything he could to provide for them. I loved that he wanted to make an honest living and be better for himself and his family, but his circumstances made him feel like he had to resort back to the only way he knew how to provide and survive, which sucked. It sucks that selling is the way people have to make a living because it’s the only steady income when life comes at you so hard with bills and responsibilities. I don’t know how to word this and I completely apologize if I word this incorrectly, but it just makes me really bothered and angry that selling is something people feel like they have to resort to to make a living when society should be providing jobs for people to make an honest living rather than keeping people in the dark, trying to survive; society should be helping people find work and giving them the means and opportunities to education and jobs that will help them survive and provide for their families without them feeling the need to sell because that’s the only option left. I think that people do what they got to do to survive and make a living and I don’t judge it because of the intention, but it makes my heart sad that society is still oppressing people and gatekeeping opportunities. And also the fact that it’s Black people who are always made out to be these villains in the media who sell drugs when they are just trying to make a living in a society that doesn’t give them opportunities in life and keeps them down. The media sucks, if we’re being honest because they don’t know the full story. They just make the story they want and make other people fear other people and that leads to hate because people hate what they fear because they don’t understand it.

It sucks.

I went on a tangent and I apologize, but I just constantly think about how books like The Hate You Give and Concrete Roses make me think about racism and oppression still very much occurs in the world today. It’s books like these that create conversations and opportunities for us to discuss these issues that people go through or to at least glimpse their experience to understand and how we can use this information to be better advocates against oppressive society. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a history or women’s studies class, so I need to refresh myself on the cargo in this post, but

Angie Thomas gives us powerful conversation starters that we never knew we needed but we so desperately needed to talk about.

I thank her and appreciate her. And like I said before, she seems like the absolute coolest person ever and so fun. Also, her dog, Kobe, SUPER CUTE 🥺♥️ (go look on Instagram!)

Anyway, back to Maverick.

Yea, man, I just had so much admiration for his story.

He was born into this gang life because his dad, Adonis, was the King of the King Lords. I guess because I’m talking about the dad, I just want to say I don’t think the dad was a bad guy. I think he was just born into a complicated situation and lifestyle because of the life and lack of opportunities he had as a Black man. Because nothing I read about the dad made it ever seem he was a bad guy, but someone who made difficult and what others might say wrong choices, but he made choices he had to make to survive and to provide—-choices that Maverick was very well going to learn soon. But I think if people knew what he had to do to survive and provide, they wouldn’t think he was a bad guy either. I don’t know which blog post I wrote this in, but back then and today Black people and people of color aren’t give opportunities to climb the social ladder and most times they get stuck in this cycle of trying to make ends meet but never having the advantages or the opportunities other people do because society oppresses them and continues to keep them down—-the THUG life—-that Angie Thomas discussed in The Hate You Give. I took some college courses in my freshman and sophomore year in Women’s Studies, History, and Multicultural Education and I remember doing research and learning about different theories and perspectives that Black people experience everyday from racism, discrimination, and so much more that perpetuates their oppression and this awful and negative perception. I remember researching about the broken windows theory and how places with many broken windows look like it has a lot of violence and invites criminal activity. I also remember reading about the war on drugs, but if I’m being honest I don’t remember because gosh knows college puts so much information in your brain that sometimes it feels like there’s a lot of information over the years and I have no idea where it goes. But I know I learned about it and how it was unfair for many communities because they incarcerated many Black people when many of the people who were buying the drugs were Caucasians.

And I remember doing a whole paper and project about the prison industrial complex (PIC) and how the PIC is just another American business where they lock up people of color—–most prisons have majority people of color—-and how it “disappears” people of color. Prisons lock up Black people because the media and society villainizes them. In general, people who are considered minority are put in prison then they put people in these prisons where people expect them to change or something and how it doesn’t really fix the problem or the racism in this country, but it just puts people somewhere like society can make them disappear. I don’t remember much about the paper I wrote because it’s been years, and I apologize for anything I said incorrectly and I need to brush up on my research and paper after this. But I remember being so fascinated by the PIC and the war on drugs because I never learned about them in school and how school kind of shadows the real things we should learn to understand our society and how we can make positive and progressive changes. I think I’m talking about all this to say that I don’t think Maverick’s dad deserved to be in prison because of his actions because he was just getting by in the only environment he knew. Who could blame him? I mean, did he do immoral things? Yea. But I don’t think it’s fair to say he was a bad person because he had a difficult situation.

He actually seemed like a good dad to Maverick in the conversations that we got to see. I really appreciated seeing Maverick and Adonis relationship because I could tell the dad loved Maverick and that he felt sucky that he couldn’t be there for his son. The dad not being there to raise him or support him as a young man had to also be challenging for Maverick because Maverick was at the age where he needed a man or father-figure to show him the ropes of life; there’s only so much that a mother could tell a young-adult son that the young-adult son would need a father-figure for. That’s not to discredit mother’s, but you know, it’s like how young women need their mother-figure more during that age.

I liked how we saw Maverick break down and get angry at his Pops because he missed his dad, but didn’t feel like his dad should be raining on his parade when he wasn’t there for him to begin with. I could understand Maverick’s anger because he felt lost and confused and he needed his dad, but his dad couldn’t be there.

“‘Yea, aight, I made some bad decisions,’ I admit. ‘I’m gon’ be there for my kids. Unlike you.'”

(pg. 205)

When Maverick said that, I was like, “OOOOOOH!” He dropped some fire.

But I got it, you know.

The book really drove home this idea of being a man and what it takes to be a man.

man quote

Being a man is providing for your family and making the tough decisions. Or that was the ideas of being a man back then, and it still is to a degree today. So the dad not being there to provide and help the family made it feel like the dad wasn’t a man because he wasn’t providing for his family. That was another reason Maverick was angry at his dad—-he wasn’t the man. Maverick had to be the man and make sure his mom was alright.

His mom was such a star. And no, I did not write that sentence with the pun intended 😂. But his mom was legit a star because she raised her son and had multiple jobs, she cooked, she cleaned, and she loved and accepted her son through everything. Not many mothers or parents would do that if they were in her situation with what transpires in Maverick’s life later on. She rolled with everything that happened and I have so much respect for her because she could have busted Maverick’s but or thrown him out, but she supported him because he was still her baby. I loved the mom. I also loved the connection between the mom and Adonis because Adonis knew the mom was bisexual, but the mom chose to marry him. But because Adonis was in prison, the mom fell in love with Moe after all these years, explaining why Adonis always got jealous when Maverick or the mom mentioned Moe because Maverick knew that the mom had feelings for Moe.

I loved the moment though when the mom opened up about her sexuality to her son. It was such a surreal moment because it brought them closer and it made Maverick see his mother for her whole self, her whole, beautiful self. But what made this part of the book special was how many times when I think of someone coming out to someone else, I think of a child coming out to a parent and not the other way around. So to read about a parent coming out to a child, was something I never thought about before but I loved to see. Parents are people too and they lived in a generation where being who you are wasn’t acceptable or welcomed, and maybe for many years they had to hide that. It’s disheartening to think about all the people who maybe had to hide who they were or who they loved because they knew the world was receptive to them, but now they can be open about it and they don’t know how or they’re still scared to, which is such an understandable emotion. I would feel terrified if I had something I was keeping inside my entire life and I suddenly had the room to share it. I think t’s still terrifying because there’s that fear that will always be there that people won’t love you or accept you even if the environment to do so is a bit safer. I also can only impinge how some parents might discover new parts of themselves later on and want to share or open up about it to their children but don’t know how they will be accepted either. Fear can be a two-way street.

I loved that Maverick just wanted his mom to be happy. He knew Moe made his mom happy and that’s all that mattered ♥️.

Love is love.

People should just want others to be happy.

Maverick’s parents were the epitome of strong, resilient, and hard-working individuals.

It was no wonder he had a good head on his shoulders even if he made stupid, teenage mistakes and messed up. Because you know what? Teenagers mess up. They screw up. They get it wrong. But they learn from it and they grow. They persevere. They are resilient. Teenagers have it crazy because that’s when the hormones go wild, you have to think about your future, and then every experience feels like the first time or so new. It’s a lot to tackle.

Add being a father on top?

FREAKING INSANE.

I praise any single parent or single caretaker because taking care of a human being is freaking difficult because no one tells you how to raise omsone—-you have to figure it out as you go.

“Being a parent usually means there’s nobody who can come fix things. That’s now your job . . . That’s scary as heck.”

(pg. 40)

Also, your whole life isn’t about you anymore, it’s about the person you have to take care of.

“Now I look at him and he mine, no question.

Worst part? I’m his.

I’m scared. I messed up. I only been seventeen for a month, and now I gotta take care of another person.”

(pg. 24)

I really appreciated the authentic shock Maverick had as a new father. He discovered that Iesha’s baby was his after that one night he slept with her in a fit of anger when he was on a break with Lisa. Honestly, when he kept talking about how the baby looked like him, I knew that it was his baby because if the baby looked like him and he had a broken condom during his smexy time with Iesha, then HECK YEA that’s his baby.

But gosh, I could only imagine how he felt because his whole life changed after discovering King/Seven was his baby. Maverick was only seventeen, a baby himself, and how he had other life tot take care of. That’s utterly terrifying. I would feel terrified.

“You’re gonna do whatever you have to do, Maverick . . . that’s what being a parent means.”

(pg. 27)

I’m not a parents as of this moment, but I could understand how once you have a child or a pet-child, your whole life centers around providing and raising that child—-that child is under your care. Being a child and taking care of a child is wild and it leaves little room to grow up because you have to grow up quicker than you thought you ever would because now you have to make the tough decisions for that child. I know some friends in high school—-most were women—-who were pregnant. I always thought they were absolute stars and just the most compassionate and strongest people I knew because they had to balance graduating while also taking care of their child. I’m not sure about other high schools, but my high school had a nursery in the back of the school. I’m not really sure what services or people were at the nursery, but I know that the mother would leave their baby in the nursery during school sometimes or that the mother would take the baby out for walks during breaks/recess. I think it was pretty darn cool that our school had a nursery to support parents because balancing parenting and school is one of the toughest jobs—–any help is wonderful. I hope other schools provide a similar option for students because gosh that has to be hard.

The way Maverick adjusted to being a dad in a snap was absolutely incredible because he could have ran away or said “To heck with this.” But he didn’t. The minute King/Seven was left in his care, he took care of him. Not everyone would do that, yet alone a teenage boy. I really liked that Angie Thomas focused on a teenage boy as a single parent because we don’t really see that in movies or books, but I can imagine there are single dads out there who don’t know how to take care of a baby, yet alone have the maternal aspects to care for a baby (I’m talking about breast milk and other female things).

The mom gave Maverick some pretty tough love with telling him to take care of his son and to do all that he needed to do to care for him. I liked her tough love though because he made a decision with Iesha that day and now he needed to step up for his baby. I kind of laughed when King/Seven threw up on him and Maverick had to change his whole outfit because he didn’t want to go to school in throw-up. This part was funny because the mom laughed at Maverick because he didn’t know the trick yet of putting a towel on his shoulders on something to catch the spit-up. I also laughed when Maverick had to first learn how to change a diaper. Gosh, I think he will for sure remember that experience.

Being a dad was a whole learning curve for him. There was one moment of being a new dad that stood out to me: the night Maverick walked out. He didn’t walk out in the way that he completely left King/Seven like Iesha did with Maverick. I mean, I understood Iesha needed a break and she was battling postpartum depression, so sis deserved a break. But it was a school night and King/Seven wouldn’t stop balling his eyes out and Maverick was freaking exhausted. He barely got any sleep the past few days and weeks because of King/Seven’s consonant crying. I know there was a sentence in the book where King/Seven slept through the night later on and Maverick was ecstatic about having more than four hours of uninterrupted sleep. Gosh, that made me want to hug him because I know I can be cranky if I don’t get a good nights sleep. I can’t imagine not having a good night’s rest, having to go to school, then work, and then come home and take care of a baby and then not sleep. That’s freaking TIRING and people go through that everyday. I give so much praise.

Maverick had enough of the crying because it felt like King/Seven would never stop. Fed up, Maverick left King/Seven in his crib to cry and walked outside where it was quiet and he could think clearly.

“I’m tired. I wanna sleep. And now I’m sobbing like a baby as if I ain’t got a baby sobbing for me.”

(pg. 74)

I honestly don’t blame Maverick because he was exhausted and he didn’t know how to raise a child—-no one truly does—-and he just wanted to sleep peacefully. Outside was his quiet reprieve and escape. He needed that because everything he felt the last few weeks had been nothing but overwhelming. I liked when the Ma came outside and she told him that she’s got King/Seven and that he could go to sleep. After being so hard on her son, she realized he reached a breaking point and wanted to help him. Being a parent isn’t easy, and I don’t think it’s something anyone should ever have to do alone.

I think after that night, the Ma eased up on her tough love because she could really see how hard Maverick was trying to be a good dad. I think he was doing the absolute best he could to be a good dad, and I freaking loved and appreciated that. The fact Maverick even bought parenting books later on in the book just so he could learn how to take care of his son, made my heart grin and stutter. Like, that’s a true person who wants to take care of his child right!!!! I mean, Maverick didn’t need to go through all this effort to be a good dad, but yet he was. That’s freaking amazing and I commend him for that 👏🏼.

I think Maverick wanted to be a good dad because he had Dre as a model. Dre was Maverick’s cousin and who had a wife, a baby girl named Andreanna, and he was getting married soon. Dre knew exactly what it meant to be a young father, and I felt like having Dre to talk to made Maverick feel less alone. Being dad’s also brought them closer together because they could bond on the highs and lows of fatherhood.

There was one conversation they had about what it meant to be a father.

“‘You know it’s okay to be scared, right?’

‘Scared of what? A li’l baby?’

‘Of all the stuff that come with having a li’l baby,’ Dre says. ‘First time I held Andreanna, I cried. She was so beautiful, and she was stuck with me for a father.’

I look at my son, and damn, I feel that.

‘I decided I was gone’ be the kind of father she deserved . . . I had to man up. That’s what you gotta do, Mav. Man up.'”

(pg. 34)

Being a parent is scary.

Being a teenage parent is beyond scary.

But I liked how they both talked about how they wanted to be a deserving father of their child because being a parent is all about sacrifice, choice, and love. It’s about choosing to make the right decision even if it’s the hard decision, and sometimes not knowing what decision to make but asking ourselves if that’s the kind of parent we want to be or the kind of example we want to set for our children. Knowing Maverick’s dad and how he wasn’t there for Maverick growing up, I felt like being a deserving parent struck something in Maverick because he didn’t want his child to grow up with a father who wasn’t there or who did wrong. That’s admirable, to want to change and be better for your child so they can also do better and know better.

The only part of this conversation that rubbed me a bit wrong was about manning up. I don’t think being a man is about being tough and strong and knowing everything. Being a man is about being tough and strong in adversity and doing your best. I think society places a lot of pressure on men to be this strong figure or to have all the answers because of this age-old nuclear family idea and the father is the provider thing, but men don’t have to be everything for the family because they are just people too. They mess up, they screw up, and they don’t know. I think being a dad, isn’t manning up, but maturing and growing up so they can be the best person for their child—-be the person their child needs.

I also enjoyed the fun moments between Dre and Maverick. I liked when they had that car ride and talked abbot Tupac and the number Seven. I forgot that Starr’s brother in The Hate You Give was named Seven 😅. It was such so special and nostalgic to be there when Seven’s name came to fruition and to hear the meaning behind it. Seven has always been my favorite number (along with four). I always liked the number seven because I was always seventh in line in lunch line order in elementary school. But knowing that seven is a holy number and number tied to the most relevant rapper out there, Tupac, seven takes on a whole new meaning for me. It also took on a whole new meaning for Maverick because it was his son’s name now. A number as a name sounds kind of funny if you don’t know the meaning behind it. But I quite liked the name because it had meaning—-I also liked how Maverick put so much intention and thought to his son’s name because names have value.

One night, Dre and Maverick went out to pizza and they listened to music. Maverick was going to stay home that night and be with Seven, but then thought that he wasn’t going to be gone long. He also figured Seven was asleep anyway, so he could just take the baby monitor and go with Dre. They went back to the house when they heard Seven crying on the baby monitor. Maverick went back in the house to care for Seven, but then he heard gunshots. When he got outside, Dre was bleeding alive.

That freaking shook me. Angie THomAS!!!!!! What happened 😭😫!!!!!!

Dre was one of my favorite characters!!! He was there one second and gone the next and I just couldn’t believe it! I felt Maverick’s sorrow and pain like he lost a brother. Dre was the only person who was there for him and wanted better for him as a young man and a new father. Now that Dre was gone, Maverick didn’t know who to confide in or how to feel. His emotions felt heavy and he felt very distant from everything because his life undoubtedly changed.

Here’s the thing. I understood Maverick was grieving but he really made a STUPID decision 😫!!!!

I mean, you think the boy would have learned after being surprised with having a baby and then feeling extremely exhausted each day, but NOOOOOOO! I WANTED TO SCREAM AT HIM, LIKE WHAT ARE YOU DOING BRO!!!?!?!!?!?

So, he loved his girlfriend or whatever their complicated relationship was now that Lisa found out that Maverick had a son. I mean, I understood why Lisa was incredibly furious with Maverick because the minute they broke up, he went and slept with another girl. That’s not the best feeling or news to hear. At least he didn’t cheat on her, you know. But I could only imagine how hurt and confused Lisa felt because she also loved Maverick but now loving him meant accepting him as a father with someone else’s baby. That complicates her love and ideas of her future with him. Lisa went to a different school in a nicer neighborhood and had dreams of going to college and becoming a nurse. She did want a family one day, but after she achieved her goals. Having a baby to take care of if she was still in a relationship with Maverick, dampened that. She wasn’t in the wrong for choosing herself by walking away. It was just hard for her to walk away from someone she did love and had all this history with.

Over the course of the book, Maverick continuously showed Lisa how much he loved her in small and big acts he did, but she was still confused about their relationship status. She wasn’t sure what Maverick’s goals were because she didn’t want to be with someone who was still selling or in gangs. She also didn’t want her future kids to be a part of that lifestyle—-she wanted better for them. But Maverick didn’t know what he wanted and he was doing whatever he was to just get by and survive this period in his life. Hence, the complicated relationship he had with Lisa.

When Dre passed away, I liked that Lisa was there for him because she knew him enough to know that this would tear him apart—-as it would anyone. But my gosh, when they got to the bedroom and had unprotected sex and they knew they were having unprotected sex . I’m SORRY, WHAT??!?!?!?

IDIOTS. I tell you.

I mean, he already had one child, he was just assign for another one 🙈.

You think he would have realized that. But I get it, I get it, he was grieving and trying to take his mind off things. But gosh darn was that a dumb decision.

It freaking didn’t surprise me when after they had their fun time, Lisa avoided him for weeks like nothin happened between them. And it didn’t surprise me in the slightest when she knocked on his door and was telling Maverick how good a father he was. Yea, she was checking out how good a father he was because he was about to add father of two to his growing list.

When she told him that she missed her period and his heart dropped, I felt absolutely awful for him. He was finally figuring out how to be a dad—-a good dad to Seven—and now he might be a father to another baby. Dang. That would canon ball anyone teenagers thoughts. But, I mean, what did he expect when he had un-freaking-protected sex with her. Not that I’m judging, but they should have made smarter choices that night because they knew what unprotected sex could lead to.

But again, I appreciated Maverick’s maturity and stability in being there for Lisa even if he felt shocked beyond belief. When he walked into Mr. Wyatt’s store to buy a pregnancy test and he asked if it was for him, the disappointment that oozed off of Mr. Wyatt felt like a sucker punch.

Mr. Wyatt was Maverick’s father figure during this whole experience and it must have felt like he did something wrong with Maverick for him to end up in this situation—–buying a pregnancy test for aforementioned second baby.

I liked Mr. Wyatt because he was tough on Maverick, almost like the father that Maverick didn’t have with him psychically. I think Mr. Wyatt looked out for Maverick because he knew how hard his Ma worked and where his dad was, and he thought there was something more to Maverick than this son-of-a-gang-leader reputation. People like Mr. Wyatt are special because they see more in others and give that person a chance to be more.

I liked that Mr. Wyatt took Maverick under his wing and pushed him to work hard even if the work was tedious and menial. Maverick took the job because he didn’t want to sell drugs anymore. He wanted better for his son than to be caught up in the gang violence and risk his sons’s safety. So he worked for Mr. Wyatt even if most days he questioned what the heck he was doing.

Mr. Wyatt was the person who taught Maverick all about concrete roses.

“‘Roses need space to grow . . . That’ll give them time to grow some roots before they go dormant. There’s a small chance they’ll die. Roses, they’re fascinating li’l things. Can handle more than folks think. I’ve had roses in full bloom during an ice storm. They could easily survive without any help. We want them to thrive. We’ll have to prune them, things like that. . . . pruning means getting rid of what they don’t need. Thin canes, dead canes, damaged canes. If it honest help them grow– . . . Snip it off.”

(pg. 102-3)

I love when you get to the part in the book and understand why it’s called what it’s called: Concrete roses.

Concrete roses is a metaphor for all those who grow in a tough environment and situation, but still preservere through adversity to grow and thrive. It’s the roses who grow up in difficult challenges by themselves, but still find a way to get through it. But sometimes they need help from people—pruning and nurturing from people—-to grow beautifully. Sometimes that growth involves the rose pruning things from his/her life him/herself—-cutting out people who do not help them grow, who hinder their growth, or who do not benefit their growth anymore. This sentiment reminds me of how we lose people in life or we cut them out because they no longer fit our growth or direction in life, and sometimes that type of lose is natural to be who we need to be or where we need to be.

Maverick is the rose because of the life he was born into—-the son of a gang lord—-and how he now faced being a father—-what it means to navigate all of that as a teenage boy. He was growing through the roughest, dreariest place by himself, but he had Mr. Wyatt, Lisa, and his Ma’s support to get him through it. Maverick also had his own strength to recognize things in his life that needed pruning to be who he needed to be. Roses are beautiful flowers because of their strength through adversity and their resilience.

A concrete rose.

“‘I liked to be reminded that beauty can come from much of nothing. To me that’s the whole point of flowers.'”

(pg. 102)

I also like to think that flowers remind us of the batuful things in life—-that something can come from nothing. This sentiment applied to Maverick too in how he could be something more even if he came from nothing more than a complex situation and life—-that he too could have beauty in his life if he cultivates the type of life he wants and grows in that direction.

The rose metaphor aligned so well with Maverick’s growth throughout the story. I liked how Maverick planted these roses in the beginning when he was just starting to be a father and put the work in and how it isn’t until the end that we see those roses in full bloom despite the cold weather. It felt fitting that the roses bloomed at the end of the story and the arc of Maverick’s growth in the book. He went from someone who made mistake after mistake and choice after choice to someone who was trying to change for the better, making difficult choices about who and what to keep in his life and the type of person he wanted to be. That’s the hard choices people have to make growing up. I also liked how Maverick saw his hard work blossom because it paralleled with how when he put the work into himself and his life to make better choices or to try, he could grow and so could the flowers—-that beauty and hope could be found.

It’s crazy because I re-read The Hate You Give after Concrete Roses, and to see how Maverick carried that love of gardening, growing roses in specific, made me think about how much Mr. Wyatt impacted Maverick’s life for the better. Mr. Wyatt showed Maverick who he could be if he gave himself a chance to be and we all need those people in our life who look out for us when we don’t know what path to follow or who we are anymore. It’s so special and sweet to see Maverick carrying on with all he learned from someone he influenced his life in a monumental way.

But before the ending (I got ahead of myself there), Maverick did stumble in his choices. He went back to selling drugs for a while because he was tired of working hard and having nothing to show for it. Gosh, can I understand that. With a baby on the way and another baby who was growing and needed more things, Maverick needed money. Many people find themselves in this tight situation where they work so hard but it feels like it’s never enough because raising or starting a family is costly—-expense after expense. There was a moment that made Maverick make a tough decision. He was at the doctors clinic or something with Lisa and he was going to pay for her appointment but he didn’t have any money after all the money he spent on Seven and bills. Lisa’s brother, Carols, paid for Lisa’s appointment because he went with Lisa anyway and he hated Maverick’s butt.

I have to say that I didn’t really like Carlos. I understood he was protective of Lisa as any older brother would be, but he was straight-up rude and harassed Maverick. I mean, going to Maverick’s grandma’s house on Thanksgiving just to beat him up on the front lawn was a seriously low blow. I get it because Maverick got his younger sister pregnant and he was furious and protective, but gosh darn. Did he have to do it on Thanksgiving? Not that I’m saying he should have beat up Maverick, but I get it. I also thought Carlos was rude to Maverick because he had no idea how hard he had it as a new father and how much he was trying to do the right thing. Also, Carlos couldn’t be mad at Maverick for wanting to take care of Lisa after her mom kicked her out of the house and the brother did nothing to back Lisa up. I mean, the girl was already pregnant and now she had no where to live??? How the heck was that going to help her situation or make anything better. At least Maverick was there for her.

Carlos taunting him with not being able to provide for Lisa and Seven, made Maverick revert back to selling for a bit because it was easier to get money. I get it because money was tight and he just wanted to be financially stable to support his kids and his mom who had to work multiple jobs to already make ends meet. Maverick’s situation was beyond tough because he was just doing what he needed to provide and survive, I just felt really heartbroken that he even was put in that position where he felt that was the only way he could provide and survive.

Then there were other hurdles he faced emotionally and relationally.

He tried to mend his relationship with Lisa because he still loved her but she was being distant to him. I understood why Lisa didn’t want to start another relationship with Maverick because she wanted better for her future family—-she didn’t want her kids to grow up in violence or the whole gang thing that Maverick was naturally born into. I mean, any mother probably would not want violence for their child. But there was also the fact that Maverick didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life or he didn’t have goals for himself. Personally, I think it’s natural to not know what you want to do for the rest of your life when you are seventeen or eighteen or just in high school in general; it’s difficult to know. Lisa knew she wanted to go to college and study to become a nurse, which I loved for her. But not everyone knows. But I guess it was even more difficult for Maverick to know what he wanted to do because all he ever known was to take these odd and end jobs to survive that he just never really thought of himself doing more or making it. That breaks my heart because I think about how kids have such high dreams and aspirations and how as they grow up, it’s like they get slapped back down from reality or the hardships of life that they forget the dream.

I think about the conversation that Maverick had with Mr. Wyatt about goals and dreams. It was nostalgic to hear Maverick say he wanted to open a store or be an entrepreneur considering what happens in The Hate You Give 😉. I wonder if he really wanted to open a store one day or if he felt like that was the easiest goal to choose because he was working in a store. I think if Maverick could have a dream job, it would have to do with something in men’s fashion or shoe creation because he has cool sense of style. Another dream job of his that I could picture is him owning a gardening store or something because he now likes gardening. But one of the things that stuck out to me in that conversation with Mr. Wyatt was about the apples and trees.

“Because the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?” Mr. Wyatt asks. “However, it can roll aways from the tree. It simply need a little push.”

(pg. 263)

I think we have all heard the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” We all know the saying means that a child Is not that different from his/her parents because the apple does not fall far from the tree it came from.

For Maverick, it meant that he was always thought to be like his father or to at least follow down his father’s footsteps—-the apple not falling far from the tree. Maverick also thought he had to be part of a gang because that was the expectation and that was what his father did. But, again, Mr. Wyatt felt like a big father-figure in Maverick’s life and how he gave the apple a little push because he saw more for Maverick—-he saw someone who could do better. We all need those people Lin our life who sees us too close to the tree and who says we need to step away from what we know or what we learned to be who we need to be. If we stay too close to the tree, we are shaded by the past and the darkness that allows us to do the same things over and over again. But if we roll away into the light, we can find that there’s more out there than the things we knew. We can grow into other people and better people that maybe we were always meant to be.

You do not need to be or do the same things as your parents. You are not who you come from. You can choose who you can be and what you do. It’s a decision. It’s a choice.

I think about the conversation of nature versus nurture. Nature says, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” But nurture says, “Let’s give that apple a tree.” It goes back to the environment we are raised in—-the physical space and the people in our life. Because Maverick had Mr. Wyatt who gave him tough love, Maverick did push away from the tree. It probably meant Maverick didn’t find himself going back to the comfort of the tree sometimes because it’s hard to not want to, but ultimately, I loved how Maverick did find his own path and that he chose better for himself.

But I’m getting ahead of myself because I didn’t even talk about what I wanted to talk about first 😂.

Going back to his relationship with Lisa. I felt like she had massive love for Maverick but she wanted to be reassured that if she had a future with him that it would be safer and secure for her and their family. I don’t blame her. I respected that. I liked how Maverick also understood what she wanted and he constantly questioned his choices and the type of man he wanted to be for her. He wanted to be the man who did the right thing and who had goals and accomplishments so his family could have better. I also appreciated all the ways he did show up for her even if he didn’t need to—he never gave up on their love.

I loved how he supported her through her pregnancy whenever she wanted him there. I also really loved it and thought it was extremely special when he drove her to her dream college. I liked how easily Lisa fit in and how she instantly connected with their tour guide who was also pregnant. I loved how Lisa felt like she was seen at the college because there were other Black girls like her who were studying and getting jobs to have more opportunities for themselves. I liked how Maverick also saw the same thing and started to think that maybe college or higher education could be something he could achieve if others were also. I just thought it was a special moment between the two of them that showed how much he loved her and supported her dreams.

Towards the end, we learned Maverick was going to get his GED because gosh knows being a new dad meant his grades suffered. The things was if everyone knew he was a new dad at the school, I don’t know why the school wouldn’t have done more to check in with him or support him. I think his school should have done that because it’s a basic school thing to do—-or I think it would have been. Also, if the school knew he was falling behind, they should have had that graduation check with him way before they did so Maverick had hope that he would graduate. I mean, the school was to blame for not supporting Maverick in passing.

Because Maverick’s life wasn’t going too hot—-becoming an unexpected dad of two, his cousins passing away, not really getting the girl of his dreams, and now not graduating—-he did fall back into bad habits and with bad people. King was not a good person for him to hang out with and Maverick knew it. But it was difficult because Maverick had no one else to talk to. It’s hard when you want to share things but you don’t know how to turn to because you feel like you have no one left, so you just turn to the last best choice.

For Maverick, that was King.

King was not a healthy person that supported Maverick’s growth. It was the way King made Maverick feel less than and apprehensive whenever he was around him. It was also how King made Maverick feel like he always owed him something. That’s not a true friend or someone he should be around.

Then there was the whole fact that Maverick wanted to go after there person who killed Dre.

Maverick was out to get Red. Red was this guy who sold things (mostly knock off things), and he did Maverick dirty by selling him off-brand sneakers. When Maverick found out, I think Dre was with him and they called Red out on it and knocked over Red’s table as a joke or some sort of retribution for Red to not mess with them. But I’m pretty sure it was King who was actually with Maverick when they knocked over Red’s table because Red was more scared of King and I think King would have had that kind of influence on Maverick. But somehow, Red had Dre’s watch—-this gold watch that Dre always wore. That seemed suspicious to me because why the heck would Red have the exact same watch Dre used to wear unless Red had a bone to pick with Dre and murdered him. It seemed pretty clear cut that Red would be the person who did it. The book never really said if Red did in fact kill Dre, but I think by Red’s actions and guilty vibe that he did do it. I mean, why would Red feel guilty unless he did something wrong?

I’m not saying that Maverick should have gone after Red, but I understood why. Red potentially killed his cousin in cold blood, and there was this unspoken tacit that there’s always an eye-for-an-eye. The thing is, seeing Maverick so invested and obsessed with Red—-spying on his whereabouts rather than going to school and kind of stalking him—-made me uncomfortable because that’s not who Maverick was. Maverick was just seeing red—-pun unintended—because he had a face to the person who went after his cousin. It’s hard not to look past that and also feel like he owed it to Dre to get him retribution. But Maverick was a genuinely good guy with a good head on his shoulder—-he didn’t seem like the type of person who would go after someone like that.

Maverick also felt it in his hear that he wasn’t a killer, but yet there was that unspoken blood oath that called him to do what was right for Dre. I liked the conversation Maverick had with his father at the end. Maverick went to visit his dad alone because he needed guidance or reassurance that what he was going to do was right or wrong. But his dad wasn’t going to tell him what to do.

“You’re becoming your own man. This is your choice to make. You just make sure it’s one you can live with.”

(pg. 319)

I liked that the dad didn’t outright tell him to go through with going after Red or to not go after Red. It had to be Maverick’s choice because he was becoming a grown-up who had to make his own decisions even if they were challenging decisions; that was what Maverick had to do the minute he became a father. So his dad wasn’t going to hold his hand because he had to think for himself. Maverick’s name meant independent thinker, which I loved because he really did think for himself even if in the beginning it sounded like he wasn’t making good decisions or thinking things through. But being a father and faced with these complex situations, forced him to be an independent thinker—-to make tough decisions. His dad was just there to remind him o this moral compass or to tell him that he had to life with his decisions in life. That’s such a real and honest thing to say because no matter what decisions we make—-no matter the situation—-we all have to live with what happens. We have to decide if the choice we make is something we can live with.

Hearing his dad’s advice, made it undeniable to me that Maverick wasn’t going to go through with hurting Red. Doing so, wouldn’t Maverick—-I knew Maverick wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he killed Red. I also knew Maverick didn’t want to be like his father—-he wanted better for his family and his life. This sentiment also goes back to what Dre said in the beginning in how he wanted to be a father that his children deserved. Maverick wanted to be a father that his children deserved and that didn’t mean being a killer. He didn’t want to potentially end up behind bars like his dad if he got caught for whatever happened with Red and he didn’t want that life for Lisa either. Maverick made a tough, but honorable choice that he could live with because he could walk on and make an actual future for himself rather than hurt someone else and go down a darker road.

I also loved when Maverick decided to cut King out of his life because he wasn’t a good influence either. I felt like King intimidated Maverick more than King was an actual friend—-almost like a keep your friends close but your enemies closer kind of thing. King just wasn’t helping Maverick grow and he was bringing all the wrong energy and vibes into his life and Maverick didn’t need that, especially with his growing family. I was proud of Maverick for flushing away the drugs and saying he didn’t want the gang lifestyle and he didn’t want King anymore. It’s not easy to walk away from a lifestyle or a life you were born into, but Maverick was because he had that push away from the apple tree that allowed him to grow.

I really enjoyed the ending where we got to see Maverick in full circle. He was going to get his GED, he was gardening on his own free will, and he was working an honest job to make money for his family. He had been through heck and over in this book but he had his head on straight and such a good support system that guided him along the way. I also just really loved his overall growth because being a teenage comes with making mistakes—-it’s part of growing up. Being a teenager is making dumb choices, tough choices, ridiculous choices, and everything in between. It’s also about learning from them and persevering. You can’t say that teenagers or people in general or not resilient because they are. I think teenagers are more resilient than we give them credit for because this is an age where they are starting to figure who they could be in this world and they also form strong relationships with people—-it’s a period of so many firsts. But through all those challenges and strong emotions, they keep going and trying no matter what knocks them down or throws them over. There is so much fortitude in that, and I have so much respect for young adults because they don’t have it easy. Sure, they mess up, but we’ve all been there. And we’ve all gotten through it becoming better people because we grow from this situations. I loved the person Maverick was becoming because he was learning and growing—-concrete roses in full bloom.

“‘I’ll admit, you surprised me,’ Mr. Wyatt says. ‘I’f I’m honest, I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long at the job. I though you would’ve had your third stick by now.’

I can’t lie. I expected to get it, too.

But maybe it’s time I start surprising myself.”

(pg. 347)

I loved that ♥️.

Maverick’s character arc was so honest and real and I loved it.

I also loved the epilogue and how Maverick bough Lisa some ribs because he promised her he would buy her ribs from Reuben’s if their baby was a girl. And she was right 😆. He should have trusted women’s intuition! But I just thought it was cute but funny how he kept his promise to her. I also loved loved loved when they laid beneath the stars, talking about what they should name their baby.

“I look up at the night sky. It’s pitch black, and yet that somehow make the stars shine brighter. Hundred of lights in all that darkness.

Wait a second.

A light in the darkness.

I smile, and I look at Lisa. ‘I think I got a name.'”

(pg. 360)

Yea, he does!

I loved how we read the meaning about Star’s name because it took me back to The Hate You Give. I also loved how they determined her name because throughout this dark time—losing a loved one, struggling financially, dealing with shocking revelations, getting thrown out of the house, making tough decisions—they had all these light and beautiful moments. They had light in the darkness. Their baby was a light in the darkness that brought them together to a better, brighter future for themselves and their family. Also, they didn’t know just how much their baby girl was going to burn bright and blaze like the star she was ♥️.

Honestly, I need to go back and read The Hate You Give (which I did) to remember all that happened and to also see if backstory in Concrete Roses matches up. But I really enjoyed learning more about Maverick because he is such a resilient character I couldn’t help but root for, and yes, I made a gardening pun.

Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? What did you think of the book? 

What is your favorite flower? Mine would have to be sunflowers because I love the yellow color or peonies because they are just so beautiful. I mean, all flowers are beautiful in their own way, but those two get me.

Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

Rating

4.95 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: I loved seeing Maverick’s growth because he made some mistakes and tough choices, but that’s part of growing up—-you mess up and you learn. What I loved most about Maverick was that he had a good heart and he always wanted to do right by himself and his loved ones.

Plot: I loved seeing how Concrete Roses truly sets the stage for The Hate You Give and how we also learned more about how admirable a father Maverick was.

Writing: Angie Thomas can never disappoint and that’s a fact ♥️

Romance: Not the most romantic book, but I enjoyed how Maverick and Lisa navigated their relationship considering the hurdles they went through together.