Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give prequel)

Author(s): Angie Thomas

Young Adult Fiction

From the international phenomenon Angie Thomas comes a hard-hitting return to Garden Heights with the story of Maverick Carter, Starr’s father, set seventeen years before the events of the award-winning The Hate U Give.


The son of a drug king, seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter is negotiating life in Garden Heights as he balances school, slinging dope, and working two jobs while his dad is in prison. He’s got it all under control – until, that is, Mav finds out he’s a father. Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything.


Loyalty, revenge and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. So when Mav is offered the chance to go straight, it's an opportunity – in a world where he’s expected to amount to nothing – to prove he’s different and figure out for himself what it really means to be a man.

Ruth's Review:


Maverick, 17, is cruising through life - tolerating school, happy with his girl and making a bit of cash cutting lawns but a lot more selling drugs. But then everything crashes when he discovers he has a three-month-old baby boy.


With Seven dumped on him, Mav steps up to his new role and gives up dealing. But juggling parenting on little sleep, with schoolwork and a part-time job is tough, especially in a world where Black boys are seen as worthless.


This is the stunning story of Star Carter‘s dad, set in Garden Heights 17 years before the events of the award-winning The Hate U Give. The son of a jailed drug lord, Maverick has to choose between responsibility, loyalty and revenge, especially after a beloved family member is murdered.


Maverick is a loving dad, a dutiful son and just wants a better life than running with his father's gang, the King Lords. There are wonderful performances too from characters pivotal to Mav's maturing — his hard-working, caring Mom; wise cousin Dre and neighbour/boss Mr Wyatt, who tells him: "One of the biggest lies ever told is that Black men don't feel emotions. Guess it's easier to not see us as human when you think we‘re heartless."


Poignant, raw, yet often funny, Thomas paints a powerful picture of a young man conflicted by his upbringing and expectations, yet finding the courage to make his own choices.

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Product Information

Praise for The Hate U Give:

No. 1 New York Times Bestseller

Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Award

Winner of Children's Book of the Year at The British Book Awards

Winner of the Amnesty CILIP Honour for the Carnegie Medal

A major motion picture from Fox starring Amandla Stenberg

"The Hate U Give says more about the contemporary Black experience in America than any book I have read for years." Guardian

"A startling, important book." The Times

"Passionate and uncompromising." Observer

"Thomas has given a voice to her generation." Stylist

"One of the most important books." Nikesh Shukla

"Stunning, brilliant, gut-wrenching." John Green

"Utterly compelling." Sunday Times

Angie Thomas is the author of the hugely critically acclaimed and bestselling The Hate U Give. She was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. A former teen rapper, she is the recipient of a Walter Dean Myers Grant, awarded by the We Need Diverse Books campaign.

General Fields

  • : 9781406384444
  • : Walker Books Australia Pty, Limited
  • : Walker Books Australia
  • : October 2020
  • : 19.80 cmmm X 13.20 cmmm X 2.50 cmmm
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Angie Thomas
  • : Paperback
  • : 2101
  • : en
  • : 813.6
  • : 304