So I read a lot of Jason Reynolds I read a lot of Kwame Alexander - and then, too, reading books just by Black men like Ta-Nehisi Coates because I recognize that as a writer, I have a responsibility, and it's even greater when I'm writing a character unlike myself, when I'm writing outside of my identity. And for me, that meant reading books by Black men about Black boys. THOMAS: I had to do a lot of work beforehand. KING: Angie Thomas told me the big difference this time was writing from the perspective of a teenage boy. And I knew that he became a father to two children at a young age.
He was actually the leader of it at one point. I knew that his father was once in the same gang that Maverick later joined. THOMAS: For one, I knew that his father was incarcerated when he was 8 years old. KING: So in her new book "Concrete Rose," Thomas goes back in time to tell Maverick's story. He was really likable, and readers noticed it.ĪNGIE THOMAS: My readers made it clear to me that I wasn't done with this character and this family because Maverick was the one they asked me about the most, which, you know, when you're writing a young adult novel, that's not really what you expect. He wasn't distant or annoying or oppressive. It had this propulsive plot and characters who felt very real, like Starr's dad, Maverick. And then while Starr's eyes are averted in fear, an officer shoots and kills Khalil, and Starr is left with the wreckage. The police pull them over and accuse them of having drugs. It was called "The Hate U Give." A teenage girl, Starr, and her friend Khalil are driving home from a party. A few years ago, the author Angie Thomas wrote a young adult novel that was perfectly of its time.
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