Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

I have not read The Hate U Give by this author, but I heard it's really good. After reading Concrete Rose, I would guess that I would like it as well. This seems to be a honest and authentic representation of what it's like for young black men living in poverty. Maverick, whose name means "independent thinker" is a 17 year old living with his mother. He is in High School, selling drugs on the streets to get by. His father is in prison (40 to life) for storing cocaine at their home. His dad is known as Big Don, a former gang leader for the King Lords. For Maverick's protection, Maverick is encouraged to join the King Lords. Since he is the son of Big Don, that provides some automatic protection as well. The rival gang is the Garden Disciples.

Maverick has a great support system, which is definitely what he needs. His mother believes that he is not selling drugs, although at the time he was dealing in the "light" drugs, like marijuana. She works two jobs to support them and works really hard at keeping him on the straight and narrow. His cousin, Dre (for Andre) is trying to keep him safe despite being part of a gang. Dre has a positive influence on Mav since Mav sees him committed to his fiancé and little girl, Andreanna. Dre spends more time with his family than participating in gang life. Mav also has a girlfriend, Lisa, who is going places. Her family has money and she is an excellent student attending a private Catholic school. (Obviously they are not fans of Maverick!) Maverick's mother, cousin and girlfriend are the people in his life that tell him he can be whatever he wants to be and that he doesn't have to live the life his father did.

But life always gets in the way. Maverick finds out he is the father of his best friend's (King) ex-girlfriend's baby. They had a one night stand, so to speak, after Lisa temporarily broke up with Mav. The mother of this baby (three months old when Mav finds out) pretty much drops the boy off at Mav's house and leaves him for Mav and his mother to deal with. Maverick stops dealing the marijuana and gets a part-time job at the local grocers. Life is hard. Maverick doesn't make enough money to support his son. He is tired from the baby not sleeping. He is sleeping in school, so failing school. Then things get worse. Much worse! Maverick feels like he is drowning and that his options are limited. His support system falters and he has some important decisions to make.

I loved this book. I thought Maverick was an awesome kid just trying to do the right thing and support his family. He was dealt a tough hand to start with (thanks to his father) and made some really stupid decisions on his own. He never backed down though.

Wendy's Rating: *****

A Very Private School by Charles Spencer

Ultimately, this is a book about childhood trauma. Charles Spencer, whose mother left home for another man, was sent to an exclusive boarding school called Maidwell Hall when he was eight years old. This was a standard thing for the British wealthy to do at the time (and to some extent still today I would guess.) No one could imagine not doing what their peers were doing - and what their brothers, fathers, grandfathers did before them. The British are certainly known for their "stiff upper lip" but it's truly a tragedy that this generation (and those before) sent their very young children off to be raised by a headmaster and teachers in a "sterile" dorm-style environment. Children need a nurturing environment where they feel safe and secure. They were sent to boarding schools so they could learn to be men who were leaders. Of course this meant they learned that to show emotion was a sign of weakness; that physical abuse made them tougher; that sexual abuse was a form of education; that those in charge have all the power. 

It's amazing that more children didn't report the physical and sexual abuse to their parents. Charles, who interviewed many men who attended Maidwell the same years he had and before, discovered that even though some of the boys reported the abuse, the headmaster Porch used humor to redirect parents to another way of thinking about it. He had a way with words, twisting the truth into a message that the parents wanted to believe. Meanwhile he was a sadistic man who found numerous reasons to "punish" the boys - mostly this involved hitting their bottoms (some times bare bottoms) with his hand (including fondling) or an instrument causing significant pain. Boys went home with blood in the underpants - and yet their mothers didn't question this???? Some of these men still have the physical scars today. All of them carry emotional scars.

Charles spent five years (aged 8-13) at Maidwell. This experience has affected his entire life and impacted his relationships negatively. He finally sought therapy and this brought him back to his trauma experience at Maidwell, which seemed to be the origin of his relationship issues. No one is immune from childhood abuse, no matter how much money they have. Obviously we know that Charles' sister, Princess Diana, had her own issues. Hopefully the British Elite are doing things a different way now.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss

I really loved the premise of this story. Ellie & Drake, engaged and planning their upcoming wedding (mostly Drake), they come across an old theater late one night when out on a walk. They enter the theater and buy tickets. The tickets were given to them in a pack of 10 for 10 different visits. That first night they discover the uniqueness of this theater since it shows them their own memories from their childhood. If they come back every Saturday night at midnight, they will be able to enter the theater to see more of their memories - up to nine more visits. Initially, Drake really wants nothing to do with it. Ellie, who had something tragic happen to her in her past that she can't really remember, wants to find out what happened.

As Ellie and Drake continue to go to the theater on Saturdays at midnight, significant events from their lives are unveiled. There are some Saturdays that they skip (because it's too hard, for one or both of them.) They each realize that they don't know as much about each other as they thought. They are both keeping secrets - or at least not sharing important facts about their lives. Ellie never dealt with her tragic event and has a trauma history she can't seem to work through. Well, she never really tried, honestly. She had a lot of one night stands, leaving quickly in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. This is difficult for Drake to watch. Meanwhile, Drake had a long-term committed relationship with a woman (Melinda) that he wanted to marry. In fact, he had actually proposed to her. Drake never shared this with Ellie and Ellie becomes obsessed with Melinda and her prior relationship with Drake.

As the Saturday nights progress and Drake and Ellie are forced to acknowledge their pasts, they also try to figure out their future together. They find out a lot about themselves along the way. Ellie blames herself for something that was out of her control. Drake discovers that he is repeating his past actions with Melinda in present day with Ellie. This, of course, is extremely upsetting to Ellie. She doesn't want to be a "second Melinda" and she questions whether it's Melinda that Drake really wants to be with. It doesn't help that Melinda still sees Drake's mother socially.

I think it would be really hard to watch your past actions on the big screen with your future spouse! It takes a maturity that many people wouldn't have to work through all the discoveries and move beyond them. This book definitely underscores the importance of working through hard things in your life so that it doesn't impact the rest of your life negatively. Very interesting book!

Wendy's Rating: ****