Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas Book Analysis

Resume:  

The novel “Concrete Rose” written by Angie Thomas is a prequel to “The hate U give”, which was released on Jan 01, 2021. It is a story about Maverick, a 17-year-old teen who is living in a ghetto. Maverick has a lot of personal problems in his life, from his family's financial problems, his friend being killed, him failing school, and that he has a child at such young age and another on its way. He tries to find solutions to his problem, where he would sell drugs to support his kids. Though he is hesitant about it because his father landed in jail for the same reasons. He also doesn’t know if he should give up on his education since he is really against going to night school.  

Analysis and interpretation:  

Maverick is caught between a rock and a hard place, and he does not know which one to choose from. That is the plot of chapters 22 and 23 in Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas. The novel explores the hardships of a young father who must make some difficult choices to fix his problems while being trapped in poverty. 

Maverick has a lot of problems, from being a father of two, his friend being killed, failing school, and not knowing how to support his family. To make matters worse his cards are stacked against him.  

Maverick is failing his high school, which means he would need to go to summer school. But because he lives in an underfunded area, his high school simply does not have the money to fund all the classes he needs. That only gives him the choice to either retake the school year or go to night school. Neither possibility is good for him. His mother got a diploma, but it has not helped her out: she is working two jobs just to make ends meet. So, Maverick thinks it is a waste of time. That just shows that even when you have all the criteria that everyone says will make your life easier, it still is not enough “What’s the point of a high school diploma or a GED? Nah, for real. People claim they’ll make my life easier, but all a high school diploma did for my Ma was help her get two jobs that don’t pay enough” (ll. 105-109). This leads to Maverick wanting to sell drugs, the only way he sees where he can get money for his family. It comes with a huge risk though. If he gets caught, he will end up just like his father, in jail, unable to be with his family and help them. This will not solve the problem because he and his family will still be in poverty, and he will be in jail. “We out here living our lives while he stuck in prison, hoping we’ll visit.” (ll. 428-427). 

He must choose, selling drugs and making good money and risking jail time or taking the long road to get an education only to work two jobs just to support his family. In a way, he must choose to either be like his father or mother.  

He is lucky though that he has a safe place to fall back at his home, where he, his mother, and his son live. It is not a perfect place; you could say it’s a broken home that has been fixed. When did it break? It probably happened when Maverick's father went to jail. His mother needed not only to take care of her child alone but also to earn all the money to survive. They did get used to living in this new situation, but things are still not perfect e.g., they don’t tell the whole truth to each other. Like his mother taking years to tell him that she has been dating someone, while Maverick not telling his mother about his school problems “Three words - `I can’t graduate` - that’s all I gotta say. But they stuck in the back of my throat.” (ll. 332-334). They both don’t want to worry each other, but it gets in the way of them being 100% honest with each other. But they still love each other. Even though it is hard for Maverick to take care of Seven, he is still happy when he is spending time with his son “´C’mon, man, ´ I groan. […], but give me a break, a’ight?  Dada had a rough day.’ ´Da-da-da-da-da! ´ he repeated. He first said it on Christmas. Best gift I ever got, for real.” (ll. 253-256). So, as long as a place is where you feel safe and loved, it’s a home. 

Then he also has the dilemma if he should avenge his best friend, that was killed. The problem is that the guy he is suspecting to be the killer is a father to a little boy. Just like him and Seven. “I need proof that he did it. Otherwise, I’d be killing Brenda’s boyfriend and Khalil’s daddy for nothing.” (ll. 311-312) But if he decides to execute revenge, he will risk jail time with a chance of never getting out.  

In conclusion, Maverick must make a lot of choices. He either can choose the criminal path like his father, by selling drugs and even killing a man to avenge his friend. By that risking everything he has and his relationship with his family and his two kids. Or choosing what his mother did and finishing school, getting a job (or two), and living not as glamorous, but stable as it can be, life with his family.