The apple don't fall far from the tree, but it can roll away from it. It simply need a little push.
Concrete Rose
by Angie Thomas
Prequel to The Hate U Give.
Genre: YA Contemporary
About: The name Maverick means 'independent thinker' but in The Garden there are rules, and with two gangs fighting each other for territory, there are also sides - you can't be neutral and you can't go it alone. Maverick knows this, and yet when he finds out he has a son, he has to figure out a way to provide for his family - one that doesn't lead to prison or the grave.
The Good
There are so many things I love about this novel. For one, the voice is great - we're in Maverick's POV and he's funny and sweet. Listening to him describe his friends and family make you care for them as much as he does. Especially the way he bonds with his son, that just melted my heart. This is a YA novel, but Maverick's son is around my son's age and I feel like every new parent would immediately connect with his parental journey. Saying all this makes it sound like a warm and cosy read and it's not that. The writing pulls you into his world, and that world is brutal. Maverick doesn't lead an easy life, yet the way he handles everything that gets thrown his way brings a lightness that is surprising given the world around him. I laughed and cried with this novel. It should have felt heavy but there's such a hopefulness and warmth to the voice that it rubs off on you.
The Bad
I don't really have any bad points to say; this is a novel I would highly recommend anyone read and I will definitely be forcing my son to read when he's a teenager (if only to impress the importance of protection - Maverick could really be a poster boy for that lesson!). The only negatives I felt were that a very key event happens around chapter 10 and while there is fallout from it, it's almost twenty chapters later before that story thread picks up again. And I loved Lisa but she read pretty similar to Starr (goes to a bougie school, basketball pro, bit of an outsider). Even the love triangle aspect - and there isn't really a love triangle in this or The Hate U Give but there are hints of one in both that read kind of similar i.e. Maverick/Connor and Khalil/Chris. Feels a bit too much like Starr's path was a repeat of Lisa's.
The Somewhat Iffy
Well the characters in the novel make a joke of it plenty (which I loved) but Maverick is extremely fertile in an almost unbelievable way. It did make me do a double take at one point that took me out of the story, but I do also kind of love how the family reacts to the ridiculousness of the situation. It isn't always made into a joke either, there are real emotions and obvious consequences to this slightly extraordinary hand of fate, which I liked.
Also, small thing, but I cringed every time Maverick kissed his son when he was asleep. My son is such a light sleeper that once he's out, I would never dream of kissing him as it would guarantee to wake him up again! Every time he did this, I actually worried he would wake his son up.
Overall
What I loved about The Hate U Give was it's heart and I was worried that this novel being a prequel (a very hit and miss addition to any beloved novel/series) wouldn't be as good, but it might actually be better. The family ties and the depth to the characters is beautiful to read. This author has something magic about her writing.
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