Concrete Rose

Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.

Part 1, Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. Maverick is a member of what gang?

2. What has Maverick been secretly doing with King?

3. Where is Maverick headed after he finishes playing basketball?

4. Why does Maverick cancel his Friday plans with Lisa?

5. Iesha suffers from what?

Multiple Choice

1. Maverick does NOT identify with what name?

A) Mav

B) Li’l Don

C) L’il Zeke

D) Mav Man

2. How does Maverick make money at the beginning of the novel?

A) lawn care and working at a fast-food restaurant

B) selling weed, hard drugs on the side, and lawn care

C) selling hard drugs on the side and selling weed

D) lawn care and working at Walmart

3. Why does Adonis tell Maverick he needs to give King Jr. a new name?

A) He thinks King Jr. sounds silly.

B) He says he hates the name and doesn’t want it in his family.

C) He says he doesn’t want to take someone named King to a basketball game.

D) He says King Jr. needs to have something of his own.

4. Why does King say Maverick is acting like a “li’l punk”?

A) Maverick tells him he can’t sell drugs with him anymore.

B) King beats Maverick in Mortal Kombat.

C) Maverick cries when King arrives at his door.

D) King wins a game of basketball against Maverick.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Maverick say he doesn’t want help from his cousin Gary?

2. How does Dre push Maverick to “man up”?

3. In what ways does Maverick say he knows Mr. Wyatt cares?

4. What does Tammy do that makes Maverick realize he has to tell Lisa about King Jr.?

Part 1, Chapters 6-11

Reading Check

1. Where does Maverick go after they leave Mr. Wyatt’s grocery store?

2. How does Lisa respond to the news about King Jr.?

3. Why is Maverick excited to go back to school and work?

4. Why does Maverick have to change his outfit before he leaves for school?

5. Who confronts Maverick in the hallway at school, and with whom are they affiliated?

6. What happens outside when Maverick checks on Seven after eating pizza with Dre?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Lisa’s response that “he’s not worth it” feel like a gunshot to Maverick?

A) He says it’s the worst thing she’s ever said about him.

B) He is embarrassed she said it in front of her brother.

C) He thinks she is a hypocrite for saying he isn’t worth it.

D) He’s mad because he thinks he is worthy of Lisa.

2. How do Maverick’s friends spot that his Air Jordans are fake?

A) They aren’t made with the right kind of stitching.

B) His pair has the wrong number of lace loops.

C) His Jumpman features too much anatomical detail.

D) The shoe design is off center.

3. How did King get expelled from school?

A) He got caught skipping school too many times.

B) He cheated on a math test.

C) He fought another student in the middle of class.

D) He assaulted his football coach after the coach made racist remarks toward him.

4. What do King and Maverick do when Red won’t return Maverick’s money?

A) respect his all-sales-final policy and drive away

B) talk him into exchanging Maverick’s shoes for something else

C) tip over his tables and ruin his merchandise

D) threaten to prevent him from selling in their neighborhood

5. What does Mr. Wyatt tell Maverick he must do when he loves someone?

A) let them go, especially if he’s the reason they’re gone

B) fight for them

C) respect their choices but keep his hopes up for a change

D) forget them because they didn’t have a place in his life anyway

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Maverick decide to rename the baby Seven?

2. Why does Maverick cry the night before school starts?

3. What is Maverick going to buy when he purchases Jordans from Red?

4. What story keeps Maverick awake in his World Literature class and why?

5. Why does Mr. Wyatt say he’s not worried about his roses dying, and what does he say he’ll do to help them thrive?

6. What do Lisa and Maverick do when she spots him at the funeral?

Part 2, Chapters 12-16

Reading Check

1. Who does Maverick see on his first work shift back after the funeral, and what do they tell him?

2. What does Shawn say Dre would want Maverick to do?

3. What does Mr. Wyatt say is one of the biggest lies ever told?

4. What makes Maverick feel like a kid again?

5. Who tells Maverick they don’t feel like they’ve been enough for him?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Shawn say is hard to do after killing someone?

A) making sure no one finds out

B) living

C) burying them

D) getting a tear tattoo

2. Maverick and Shawn drive around doing what?

A) scoping out new places to party

B) driving by the mall parking lot to see who’s there

C) checking out what Red has for sale

D) looking for Red and getting high

3. What does Mr. Wyatt say Black men have a right to show as much as anyone else?

A) their feelings and emotions

B) their dance skills

C) their ability to plant roses and garden

D) their choice in cars

4. The football game ends when who dies in a shooting?

A) Junie

B) Ant

C) King

D) P-Nut

5. What news does Lisa have to share with Maverick when she visits?

A) She got into college early and is leaving town.

B) She wants to get back together with Maverick.

C) Her brother died, and she’s grieving his loss.

D) She thinks she’s pregnant with Maverick’s child.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. According to Shawn, how is Maverick supposed to live for both himself and Dre?

2. How does King try to convince Maverick to sell drugs again?

3. According to King, how is Maverick supposed to be a man who does “whatever” for his family?

4. What does Maverick realize as he sees news reports about the shooting death?

5. In what ways does Maverick realize Seven has grown since Maverick last saw Lisa?

6. How does Maverick say he felt when he shared the news of Iesha’s pregnancy with his mom?

Part 2, Chapters 17-19

Reading Check

1. Where do Maverick and his mother go before Thanksgiving?

2. What does Lisa tell Maverick about her decision?

3. How does Maverick respond when Pops admonishes him about Lisa’s pregnancy?

4. Where do Maverick and his mother go after they leave the prison?

5. Who shows up at Maverick’s family gathering for Thanksgiving?

6. What does Maverick decide he must do to support his son, Lisa, and his unborn baby?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Maverick feel like his life is over?

A) His father passed away in prison.

B) Iesha decided she wants to take the baby back.

C) He has been outed from the King Lords.

D) He realizes he will have to care for another baby.

2. Who gets patted down after they pass through the prison metal detector?

A) Maverick, his mother, and his infant son

B) Maverick and his mother

C) Maverick, his grandmother, and Lisa

D) Maverick, King, and his mother

3. Why does Pops ask Maverick the meaning of Maverick’s name?

A) to remind Maverick that he’s supposed to be an “independent thinker”

B) so he can brag to the guards about his son’s name

C) because his mother asks to hear the story about how he was named

D) because he’s always inspired by the name’s origin

4. What does Lisa say when she argues with Maverick at Tammy’s house ?

A) She says her mother is making her put the baby up for adoption.

B) She says she has changed her mind about the baby and is not keeping it.

C) She says she’s leaving to go to college and will raise the baby on her own.

D) She says she deserves better than Maverick because he’s a gangbanger with no future.

5. What does Maverick’s grandmother ask for in her prayer before the Thanksgiving meal?

A) her family to win the lottery

B) help for Maverick to stop making all these babies

C) her son to be released from prison

D) her family’s safety

6. Who arrives at the family Thanksgiving after King and Iesha, and what do they do?

A) P-Nut and Junie; they grab some plates of food to eat.

B) Carlos; he beats Maverick up, screaming that Maverick ruined his sisters’ life.

C) Mr. Wyatt and Mrs. Wyatt; they tell Maverick they don’t need him at the store anymore.

D) Ant’s family; they seek retribution for his murder and abduct King.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Maverick say he’s never met someone with the kind of determination that Lisa has?

2. In what ways does the prison where Maverick’s father is detained still maintain inhumane practices?

3. What are Maverick’s and Lisa’s backgrounds?

4. Why does Maverick say Rico and Junie speak a language he isn’t fluent in anymore?

5. What are some differences between Maverick’s experience at the clinic with Iesha and his experience at the doctor’s office with Lisa?

Part 3, Chapters 20-25

Reading Check

1. Who does Maverick find Lisa with and what does she say about her relationship with Maverick?

2. Who does Maverick see wearing his grandfather’s watch that Dre was wearing when he died?

3. Who comes in the store and ignores Maverick’s warning about Red?

4. According to what he tells King, what does Maverick have to do?

5. What does Maverick’s mother share with him about herself?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Connor buy for Lisa’s baby?

A) a set of clothes

B) baby shoes

C) a pacifier

D) a teddy bear

2. What does Mr. Clayton tell Maverick?

A) He’s qualified for financial aid.

B) He will have to repeat 12th grade or get his GED.

C) He’s won the student raffle for a new car.

D) Maverick needs to join a grief group after Dre’s death.

3. Why does Maverick go to King’s after meeting with Mr. Clayton?

A) He feels like selling drugs is the only thing that can help him.

B) He wants to play video games and blow off some steam.

C) He needs to tell Iesha she can’t visit with Seven anymore.

D) He wants to overthrow P-Nut and take control.

4. What does Lisa ask Maverick about on the way back from the Markham tour?

A) where he wants to go to college

B) what they’re going to eat for lunch

C) what he’s doing with his life

D) how he’s going to pay for Seven to go to daycare

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Where does Maverick go to sell drugs, and why does it “peeve” him?

2. What does Mr. Wyatt ask Maverick about, and what is his response?

3. What is a dream Maverick thinks about, and what does Mr. Wyatt say he needs to do to achieve it?

4. What concerns does Maverick’s mother have for him when he gets ready to make the two-hour drive to Markham with Lisa?

5. What is Maverick’s response to seeing Markham’s campus, and why does his reaction change almost immediately?

Part 3, Chapters 26-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. Where does Maverick go as he thinks about killing Red?

2. What does Pops tell Maverick about his decision to kill Red?

3. Where does Maverick go after confronting Red?

4. What does Maverick say to King about the drugs?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Maverick say would be in the book about the streets under the section on family?

A) Blood runs thicker than water.

B) When somebody kills your family, you kill them.

C) Family holds priority over everything else.

D) The streets are first, family is second.

2. What does Maverick think of as he points the gun at Red’s head?

A) his dreams of going to college with Lisa

B) his children, his mother, and Lisa

C) his future of being an entrepreneur

D) his mother, Moe, and his children

3. What version of himself does Maverick say Lisa sees?

A) The Maverick who is doing something worthwhile with his life.

B) The Maverick who ends up in prison and tells his kids he has regrets.

C) The Maverick who runs away from his problems.

D) The Maverick who goes to college and joins the medical field like Lisa.

4. Why does King say Maverick doesn’t have to repay him for the drugs he flushed?

A) The drugs were bad anyway.

B) He found a new revenue stream that compensates for the loss.

C) Maverick will end up paying him back another way.

D) P-Nut will cover the losses.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Maverick equate killing Red with becoming his father’s son?

2. How does Lisa comfort Maverick after he confronts Red?

3. How do King and Maverick differ in their approaches to providing for their growing families?

4. How does Mr. Wyatt equate pruning the canes on roses to the way we help ourselves?