New year, new books: 15 YA releases to watch out for this January

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas took the world by storm with her debut, The Hate U Give, and now she’s bringing readers a prequel to Starr’s story — one that will follow her father, Maverick Carter. Concrete Rose takes fans back to when Mav was only 17 years old, dealing for the King Lords in the hopes of keeping his family afloat.

It’s not the ideal situation, but Mav is surviving and not badly at that. Then he discovers he’s going to be a father and everything changes. After all, juggling a child and school is no simple thing to begin with. Add in his dealing for the King Lords, and Mav quickly realizes he needs to take an opportunity to go straight.

Of course, even with an opportunity presenting itself, walking away from the King Lords isn’t easy — something fans of The Hate U Give will have heard already:

"“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.”"

Concrete Rose is poised to add depth to Thomas’ already-established story and characters while addressing very real problems through Mav’s narrative. Arriving on January 12, this book should be on everyone’s required reading list.