4 stars. Short, simple, and powerful: Concrete Kids is an incredible collection of poetry that packs a powerful despite its short length.

Concrete Kids is raw and real and feels deeply personal. Quote:”I suppose that’s what mothers do, forgive on behalf of God, they are both capable of giving life.“

Read it in one sitting and the author's style is absolutely resolute and resounding! Amyra Leon's manner of delivering each societical and economic issues has been such read-worthy packed with joys of wisdom and profound pleasure! Looking forward as to when they would open a COR💪

Such a powerful book. I don't think that I was expecting to be so readily impacted by this book, but it happened. Penguin is definitely doing the damn thing with these pocket change books. I received this book as an ARC for review. All thoughts are my ownConcrete Kids is another book in Penguin Teens new pocket change series. I read one other this year titled Beyond the Gender Binary. I absolutely loved that one so when I was given the opportunity to check out another one in this series I jumped...

[REVIEW]*Trigger/content warnings in this book for blood, child abuse, death, gun violence, murder, and racism*This was such a poignant and haunting and powerful little book! Leon gets very vulnerable during this when talking about family, the foster care system, and loss of loved ones, and I appreciated that. I hope Leon writes more books and poetry collections, because I could not get enough of the writing. I recommend this to everyone!

I really liked this book of poems, the words and imagery and space on the page. But can we just talk about the physical book for a moment? Way to go, Pocket Change Collective! This is a beautiful, small, perfect book that could easily travel everywhere with someone.

Moving, beautiful, and timely. I love everything about this -- from the cover artwork, to the small size, to the accessible poetry. This is a great addition to all YA poetry collections.

Great addition for high school poetry shelves. I think teens will find the language accessible and interesting. Lovely glimpse into a life of hardship and hope

Written in verse and a very quick read. This book tackled issues that Black Americans face everyday, our culture, and even our fears. I recommend this book for everyone.

From Follett: Pocket Change Collective was born out of a need for space. Space to think. Space to connect. Space to be yourself. And this is your invitation to join us.In Concrete Kids, playwright, musician, and educator Amyra Le n uses free verse to challenge us to dream beyond our circumstances -- and sometimes even despite them.Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists.Concrete Kids is an exploration of love and loss, melody,...

E-ARC received through NetGalley.Pocket Change Collective is doing great things with these easily accessible books! This book written in free verse and mixed with prose, details the haunting reality of growing up in Harlem with the candid experiences of Amyra Leon: being placed into foster care, the reality of her mother's alcoholism, witnessing the death of a young man, gentrification, the gravity of the treatment of Black people in America, and the AIDs epidemic. Leon's voice is clear, rhythmi...

I don't think I even have words, but hopefully these few will do: beautiful, haunting, uplifting. This poetry anthology does something many similar examples do not: leaves readers with a profound sense of hope.

Her voice is absolutely beautiful 😍 this was an amazing way to try and get back into reading again. It was amazing to hear how authentic she was reading her words in her own voice and being able to hear how it should be read. Amazing.

this was really good. a cross between a poetry book and a memoir. for the forgotten ones...

I really like the pocket change collective series. This book is different from all the others I've read and it's beautiful. The themes are heavy and pieces break your heart, but the prose is beautiful. The writing is amazing. I highly recommend.

this book makes for great YA poetry. It’s a short, accessible, and quick read that touches on Blackness, foster care, generational trauma, joy and resilience.

Searing free verse and prose offer glimpses of the author’s growing up: being pulled from her single mother to enter the foster care system, being passed from home to home, being placed with the woman who would become “Mommy” just before her 8th birthday, growing up on the streets of Harlem (“There is no way to discuss Harlem’s wonder without its struggle and no way to mention its struggle without its celebration. Depending on the day, you could find Harlem somewhere between Eden and a war zone”...

TW: Physical abuse, racism, use of the "N" wordAmyra shares an array of moments of her life, these moments important in understanding more about the lived experiences of Black women as they grow. This collection of poetry is so very important and is quite powerful.For myself, I don't love poetry that repeats phrases numerous times and I even noticed some poems were repeated at different parts of the collection. It makes the reading process for me slower and I become less interested due to the st...

Concrete Kids by Amyra León is a poetry book written for young adult readers that centers around the experiences of the author. She writes about her experiences with her mother, growing up in the foster care system, her adopted mother, growing up mixed, and her experiences as a black woman. This collection of poems includes complex themes like loss, anger, depression, loneliness, love, and bloodshed. While some might think that these themes are inappropriate for students, some elementary student...

Thank you Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the eARC. Concrete Kids is a powerful collection of poetry and short prose describing pieces of the author’s life growing up in Harlem. The stories do not shy away from the harsh realities of her life, but are written in such a haunting, lyrical, and beautiful way that highlight the intricate nuances of the situations. The poems touched upon such a wide range and depth of feelings and emotions when exploring the scenes from Leon’s childhood. Concrete Kids...