Book Review - Concrete Rose



1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thomas, Angie. (2021). CONCRETE ROSE. Balzer + Bray, an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN: 978-0062846716

2. PLOT SUMMARY

This story details the life of a seventeen year old African American boy named Maverick
living in the city. He belongs to a local gang and deals drugs in order to help his mom
pay the bills until he finds out that he’s going to be a father. He tries to provide for his son
by legal means but his cousin is murdered, his former gang is looking for revenge, and
he finds out he’s going to be a father again. He slips back into the life he knows and
struggles coming to terms with his cousin’s death, being a new dad, and trying to finish
school.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book discusses the significant topics of drug dealing, gangs, teen pregnancy,
poverty, and murder. The author doesn’t shy away from any of the difficult topics she
addresses. Instead, she hits them head on with an openness that is striking at first, but
needed in order to relate to real life events and people. The author does a thorough job
weaving in the moral and ethical dilemmas of the main character’s decisions and allows
the audience to truly see the reasoning behind his resolve and fickleness about gang life
and selling drugs. The main character curses and makes unwise choices, but in the end,
he’s doing it because it’s what he thinks is best, giving the reader a different perspective
and turning a legally and possibly morally black and white situation into shades of grey.
While many teenagers won’t deal with everything that these characters went through,
some will and it’s important to have books that are relatable. Many readers will find at
least one thing to identify with and even if they can’t, it’s still important for them to be
exposed to what life outside of what they’re used to is like, which is exactly what this
author does with her candid look into this young man’s life.

I listened to the unabridged digital audiobook for this read. A male, Dion Graham, was
the narrator. He captured the main character’s voice flawlessly, adding an accent and
emphasis on certain words when he’s being serious versus flippant, making it easy to
decipher the meaning and attitude that the author wanted portrayed. The sound quality
was clear with no background noises or added music or sound effects. He voices the
side characters, which could have been difficult with some of them being women, but
Graham changes his voice enough for the listener to interpret the different characters
easily. The introduction was very short with the book starting rather quickly from the jump
and the conclusion was longer with some added music, which was a distinct way to
signify the story was over. The narrator kept the story engaging and made it feel as if
multiple people were speaking instead of just one, allowing for each character to have
their own personality. He added pauses and rushed sentences based on the emotions of
the characters, which enhanced the listening experience and added to the rise and fall of
the plot.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

MICHAEL L. PRINTZ AWARD HONOR BOOK 2022
ALA TEEN’S TOP TEN WINNER 2022
KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW: “This literary DeLorean transports readers into the past,
where they hope, dream, and struggle…”
BOOKLIST STARRED REVIEW:”Maverick’s story is one that offers hope,
encouragement, and optimism, and it shows those going through difficult times of their
own that they can take control of their own destiny.”

5. CONNECTIONS

*Students could break up into groups discussing the dilemmas faced in this book and
what they would do if they were in the same situation to help teach about perspective.
*More books related to CONCRETE ROSE:
THE HATE YOU GIVE, ISBN: 978-0062498540

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