Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Concrete Rose, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Masculinity and Fatherhood
Identity and Individuality
Loyalty, Gang Affiliation, and Family
Poverty
Summary
Analysis
Lisa eats her barbecue at Maverick’s kitchen table, smacking her lips loudly. She says, “I told you so.” She’s been insufferable since Dr. Byrd told them that they’re having a girl, and she’s since told everyone in town that she won their bet. Maverick insists he’s fine with having a girl. They admire the sonogram picture.
It's unclear if Maverick was actually emotionally invested in having a boy, or if he clung to insisting it was a boy so he could continue this argument with Lisa. Regardless, it seems to have brought them closer together, as they’re enjoying a meal and looking at the sonogram picture together.
Themes
Then, Lisa asks how Maverick’s GED classes are going. He says that he likes them, especially his landscaping class. It’s hard being away from his friends, though. Lisa asks if Maverick has told his friends what he told her yet, but Maverick says he has to work up the nerve to admit he wants out of the gang. He still owes King money, and getting out is going to cost him. But he promises he’s going to make it all work.
Even if Maverick has decided he’d like to leave the gang (and has presumably told Lisa), that doesn’t make it an easy decision. Maverick is still going to have to leave his friends behind—it seems unlikely that King will allow Maverick to maintain his friendships with Junie and Rico after leaving the gang.
Themes
Soon, Ma gets home and asks what the baby’s sex is, and Maverick says that Lisa won the bet. Ma is thrilled and asks if they’ve come up with a name yet. Maverick suggests they name the baby Mavericka and insists it’s no different than Dre naming Adreanna after himself, but Ma and Lisa refuse. Ma grabs a bottle of wine—she’s not heading to her second job, since Moe is going to move in soon and help with bills. Maverick tells Ma that he’ll get his own place soon, and then things won’t be so hard for her, but Ma kisses his cheek and says he doesn’t have to go anywhere—but they can worry about it later.
When it becomes clear that Maverick and Lisa can’t name the baby after Dre or after Maverick, it means they’ll come closer to following Pops’s earlier advice on naming: to name their daughter in such a way as to show her who she can be. The aside that Moe is moving in and is going to alleviate some of the family’s financial difficulties offers hope that going forward, Maverick won’t have to resort to dealing drugs to support his family.
Themes
Maverick grabs Seven out of his highchair and asks Lisa where she wants to live. As Lisa feeds Seven barbecue sauce off her finger, Maverick says that he’s willing to bet that Lisa will marry him one day, even if he lost their last bet. He’s willing to do the work, and now, he has a plan to be an entrepreneur and show her he’s dependable. Lisa says they’ll see about that, and she sighs that Tammy needs to do her hair. Maverick asks to do it; he’ll need to practice anyway, if they’re going to have a girl. He wants to be involved with everything. Lisa agrees.
Maverick’s plan now contrasts greatly with earlier in the novel, when he insisted that all anyone in Garden Heights can hope for is to get by. Now, he’s taking steps so that he can be a business owner like Mr. Wyatt, showing how much of an influence the man has had on him. And when he insists that he needs to learn how to do hair so he can be there for his daughter, he shows Lisa that he’s not going to make her be a parent on her own. Being a father, to him, means being there for Lisa and his daughter.
Themes
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Maverick puts Seven to bed and then joins Lisa on the porch. It’s the first warm night they’ve had in a while, and the sky is clear. Maverick pulls the comb through Lisa’s hair, but when she protests, he combs more gently. They discuss that they need to come up with a name. Maverick asks who they want their little girl to be. He gave Seven his name because to him, Seven is perfect. Maverick asks what their girl is going to be to them. Lisa says she’s going to be a good thing amid all the bad, and Maverick agrees. Lisa leans back into Maverick, and Maverick looks up at the twinkling stars. He says he has a name.
Readers familiar with Angie Thomas’s previous novel The Hate U Give will remember that the protagonist—Maverick and Lisa’s daughter—is named Starr. Here, the novel shows what Starr means to her parents. In essence, she’s a beacon of light, much like a star in the night sky: she’s what helped Maverick decide to get out of the gang and stop dealing drugs. With this, the novel reiterates the importance of loyalty to one’s family, as well as the fact that family can motivate people to better their lives.
Themes
