2023 AudioFile Earphone Awards
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Start giftingConcrete Rose
A Printz Honor Winner
Bookseller recommendation
“Once I began this book, I couldn't put it down! Angie Thomas' writing excels that of her previous two books, bringing to life a complex young man in Maverick, the father of Starr from Thomas' debut novel, The Hate U Give. Mav is at times foolish and others poignantly wise, containing the reality of a new voice in YA fiction—that of a teen dad. This is one of those stories where you reach the end and feel thankful to the author for having told it. Angie Thomas, it was worth the wait!”
Kim,
Lark & Owl
Summary
International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood. A Printz Honor Book!
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.
