Concrete Rose

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.

But in a world designed for him to fail, what does being a man even look like?

• An Impossible Choice: He can stay in the game to provide for his family or risk it all to go straight—but in Garden Heights, there are no easy answers.
• Gang Life and Loyalty: As the son of a gang legend, leaving the King Lords isn’t an option—especially after a brutal murder pulls him deeper in.
• Authentic 90s Setting: Return to the Garden Heights of the 90s, a world of pagers, streetball, and the raw, unflinching voice that made Angie Thomas a phenomenon.
• The Prequel to The Hate U Give: Discover the heartbreaking and powerful story of Starr Carter’s father, seventeen years before the events of the book that changed the world.