Books Are Back in the White House — And One of Them Is by Angie Thomas
Continue reading the main story
PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY Angie Thomas has had a few peak experiences in her
career, and one occurred right before a phone interview to discuss what it’s like to have
two books at the top of the best-seller list at once. (Her new novel, “Concrete Rose,” is No.
1 on the young adult hardcover list and her debut, “The Hate U Give,” is No. 4.)
“This is the least glamorous story of all time,” Thomas warned. “I was sitting here doing
research on pooper-scoopers because I’m getting a dog in the next couple of months.
Suddenly, my editor texts to tell me that Dr. Jill Biden shouted me out at the American
Library Association midwinter conference! She said she just bought ‘The Hate U Give.’”
Thomas consulted social media, where she’d been tagged by teachers and librarians and
was able to see a video clip of the moment. She said, “What shocked me was, this novel
about a 16-year-old girl dealing with police brutality found its way into the hands of the
first lady of the United States. Had you told little Angie that 20-something years ago, she
wouldn’t have believed she wrote something that made it that far — that this little Black
girl in Mississippi whose family sometimes didn’t know if they would have food would
have a book in the White House.”
Thomas’s new novel, “Concrete Rose,” is a prequel focusing on Maverick Carter, father of
Starr, the main character in “The Hate U Give.” In this incarnation, Maverick is 17,
working two jobs while his own father is in prison, when he discovers that his girlfriend is
2/2
pregnant. Thomas said her decision to tell his back story was inspired by interest from
readers: “So many kids would tell me Maverick is the best dad they’ve seen; they wish
their dad was like him. We know he was once in a gang and did drugs — and for some
people, that doesn’t line up with the father and the man we see. I started to think about
the character on a deeper level. Having conversations with Russell Hornsby, who played
Maverick in the movie, really sparked the flame.”
Advertisement
Continue reading the main story
Getting inside the head of a teenage boy wasn’t as challenging as Thomas expected it to
be, but she struggled with whether to show her protagonist in tears. She said, “I thought I
should write scenes where he’s fighting it because he’s told that men don’t cry. But I had
conversations with Black men who encouraged me: Show him being vulnerable. Give him
those moments on the page so when a young Black boy picks this book up, he’s given that
permission.”
