Monday, February 22, 2021

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~ 8 hours, 17 minutes. Read by Dion Graham. Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins Publishers, January, 2021. 9780063043817. (Review of e-audiobook downloaded from the public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas. This is Ms. Thomas' third novel and is a prequel to her New York Times bestselling debut, The Hate U Give. Fans of THUG, will be thrilled to meet seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter. 

When Maverick is told he's a father as a result of a one-night stand, he cannot believe it. No sooner did the paternity test results come back identifying Mav as the father of Iesha's son, then Mav found himself the sole care taker of him. He has been dealing drugs in order to help his mother make ends meet, but stops at the behest of his cousin, Dre. This adds tension to his already fraught relationship with King. Iesha is King's on-again-off-again girlfriend and presumed he was Iesha's son's father. 

He takes his responsibility seriously and has the support of his mother. He's offered an after-school job working at Mr. Wyatt's grocery story, but the pay is peanuts compared to what he was earning slinging and babies are expensive! Keeping up with schoolwork is really hard as well, what with the baby keeping him up at night. And, he has to come clean with Lisa. They were broken up at the time of the one-night stand, but she dumps him anyway and he'd do anything to get her back.

Like Ms. Thomas' previous novels, her characters brim with personality and her Garden City setting is vivid. Families struggle and are often beset with tragedy, but they offer support and unconditional love. Mav's father has been in prison for most of his childhood, but he still calls regularly to check in and is there to listen. Mav's voice is compelling. He may not be book smart, but he is intelligent, wryly observant, fiercely loyal and wants to do right.

Concrete Rose was narrated by Dion Graham, one of my favorite narrators. He utterly embodies Maverick and his performance is well-paced and nuanced. Read it with your eyes. Read it with your ears. Maverick's story is gripping.

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