Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

Concrete Rose

Angie Thomas

HarperCollins · Paperback · May 3, 2022

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.

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Who it’s for
A grounded, character-led read with history and tension close to the surface.
Genres
African American YA, YA Stories About Boys & Men, Prejudice & Racism for Teens
Published
HarperCollins, May 3, 2022

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Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: African American YA.

  1. On the Come UpAngie Thomas64% match
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  3. Dear MartinNic Stone64% matchAlso shares Prejudice & Racism for Teens
  4. Far From the TreeRobin Benway, Sophie Lamotte d'Argy59% match
  5. The Hate U GiveAngie Thomas, Amandla Stenberg78% matchAlso shares Prejudice & Racism for Teens
  6. The Serpent KingJeff Zentner56% match
  7. Ain't Burned All the BrightJason Reynolds, Jason Griffin59% match
  8. LegendbornTracy Deonn55% match

For younger readers: Ghost Boys

For older readers: Razorblade Tears, Everywhere You Don't Belong

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About this book

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.

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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.

Grounded Voices

A grounded, character-led read with history and tension close to the surface.

Come here for

  • list-friendly signals
  • African American YA, racism, and family threads

Expect

  • a sustained narrative pull
  • themes around Juneteenth, women, kids, and history

Where it sits

African American YA59%
YA Stories About Boys & Men41%
Prejudice & Racism for Teens27%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • YA Stories About Boys & Men
  • YA Stories About Parents
  • 20th-Century US YA
  • YA Crime & Law
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • YA LGBTQ+
  • African American YA
  • Religious YA
  • YA Romance - LGBTQ+
Authors
Angie Thomas
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
May 3, 2022
Format
Paperback
Reading lane
YA Stories About Boys & Men