After teenage Maverick discovers he’s a father, the overwhelmed teenage mother of his baby leaves the infant with him and disappears. Maverick’s hardworking mom steps up to help but makes it clear that Maverick’s son is his responsibility. Since his cousin Dre, who does his best to protect Maverick from the harshest aspects of gang life in their neighborhood, has made Maverick promise to stop selling hard drugs, Maverick takes an after-school job at a neighborhood store to earn money for formula and diapers. Between taking care of his son and working for demanding Mr. Wyatt, Maverick is exhausted. He, too, is overwhelmed, in love with his son, and scared about the future. Despite Dre’s help, there’s no easy way out of gang life in his neighborhood. When a shooting death hits close to home, grief-stricken Maverick finds solace with his former girlfriend, Lisa, whom he still loves, their reconnection giving him hope for their future together. Maverick’s irresistible first-person voice is compelling, authentic, honest, sharply perceptive, by turns funny and heartbreaking. Exceptional dialogue reveals the complexity of the characters and their lives—even those making brief appearances, like Maverick’s dad, who’s trying to be a good parent from prison. For Maverick, understanding that his choices have consequences that impact not only him but those he loves clarifies the kinds of decisions he wants to make moving forward in this prequel to The Hate U Give that centers on Starr’s dad as a teenager. (Age 13 and older)

International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood. A Printz Honor Book!

If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad’s in prison.

Life’s not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav’s got everything under control.

Until, that is, Maverick finds out he’s a father.

Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it’s not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he’s expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he’s different.

When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can't just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He’ll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man.