Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
Bibliography:
Thomas, A. (2021). Concrete Rose. Balzer + Bray.
Plot Summary:
This novel encompasses the young life and experiences of Mav who was born into a hard life. Although life is hard, he develops deep friendships and ties to his "gang." You follow Mav through life and love, but also through the most difficult of heartbreaks. You follow this character as he gets older and comes to terms with the most difficult events in this life. You watch the cycle of healing for Mav and the people around him.
Critical Analysis:
This book is for the older adolescent reader. It includes themes that are realistic to some readers, not not all readers. These include topics like growing up, friendships, gangs, teen pregnancy, drugs, violence, life, death and healing. The character development in this book is excellent. You become invested in the characters and want them to prevail and succeed. The main character, Mav, experiences so much violence and heartbreak, this book makes you think, feel and reflect.
Awards/Accolades:
2017 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award: For fiction
2018 Coretta Scott King Honor Book
2021 Goodreads Choice Award: For Young Adult Fiction, nomination
2022 Michael L. Printz Award: Honor
There is a Concrete Rose Scholarship that awards money to women of color to help provide "the essential resources and encouragement for young women of color to flourish."
Connections:
This book could be a great book talk. You could discuss the demographics of the characters, how they got into the situations they are in and how hard it is to get out of them.
This would be a great book to compare to The Outsiders.
Book Review by Barbara Jean Thompson.
No comments:
Post a Comment