Previous Next

Chapters Twenty-Five–Thirty & Epilogue

Summary: Chapter Twenty-Five

Mav visits a crack house, trying to find Bus Stop Tony. He wants to know what Tony saw the night Dre was killed. When they finally meet up, Tony describes the car the killer drove, and the description matches Red’s car. While Mav had promised Tony drugs in exchange for the information, he gives him money instead and tells him to buy some new clothes.

Summary: Chapter Twenty-Six

The chapter opens with Mav facing some ugly truths about his father. He realizes that his father is the reason why a lot of people, including Bus Stop Tony, are addicts, their lives ruined by drugs. At the same time, he needs fatherly advice more than ever, so he drives to the prison to see Adonis. While sitting together, Mav and Adonis apologize to each other for the hurtful things each said during the last visit. They also address the fact that Faye is dating Moe. Eventually, Mav tells Adonis about Red, and instead of telling Mav what he should do, Adonis explains that Mav is a man and needs to make his own decisions.

Summary: Chapter Twenty-Seven

The chapter opens two days after Mav’s visit with Adonis. He’s decided to kill Red and has the whole thing planned out. With Faye watching Seven, Mav walks toward Rose Park. He waits patiently for Red to be alone in the street. Then he walks up to Red from behind, holds the gun to his head, and makes him get down on his knees. Mav realizes that all he has left to do is pull the trigger.

Summary: Chapter Twenty-Eight

The chapter consists of a single sentence that reveals that Mav does not pull the trigger. 

Summary: Chapter Twenty-Nine

Mav runs straight to see Lisa. As they sit on her bed, Mav sobs in her arms and tells her about Red killing Dre, him going to kill Red, and how he ultimately chose not to do it. As they talk, Lisa reminds Mav that she not only believes in him but also needs him. Mav returns home to retrieve the drug supply in the bathroom, as he plans on returning it to King. But while he is pulling the stash out from under the cabinet, some drops into the toilet. Mav panics, knowing he’ll still owe King the money for what’s gone down the drain. Early the next morning, King and Mav talk in King’s car. Mav gives King his gun back and lies, saying that Red didn’t kill Dre. Then, handing King what’s left of the stash, he explains that he’s done dealing. King, insulted that Mav is quitting and infuriated by his financial loss, points the gun in Mav’s face, making the point that he now has a score to settle with Mav.

Summary: Chapter Thirty

Mav reflects on all that Mr. Wyatt has taught him about gardening, especially the fact that roses are designed to survive no matter where they are planted. Early one morning, he sees Mr. Wyatt’s roses in bloom, and he lets himself into Mr. Wyatt’s backyard to admire the garden. Mr. Wyatt soon joins him, and the two talk about school. Mav admits that he hasn’t yet told Faye about flunking out but says that he’s going to get his GED. In response to this news, Mr. Wyatt offers Mav a full-time job. Later that day, Mav finally breaks the news to Faye but keeps his promise and signs up for the GED course as well as a landscaping class. Back at home, Adonis calls, and when Mav reveals that he didn’t kill Red, Adonis seems relieved. Later that day, while they are working at the grocery store, Mr. Wyatt leaves Mav in charge. Mav knows he’s being tested, and he handles business perfectly the entire time he’s alone. When Mr. Wyatt returns, he admits that Mav’s performance surprised him. Mav realizes it’s time for him to start surprising himself.

Summary: Epilogue: BUD

Lisa, Mav, and Seven sit at Mav’s kitchen table eating barbecue ribs. Lisa, feeling proud, teases Mav that she won the bet: They are having a girl. As they talk about their daughter’s possible personality traits, Mav studies for his GED. Lisa asks him if he’s told anyone that he wants out of the set yet, and he admits that he hasn’t. He’s scared and worried about the consequences. As soon as Faye gets home from work, they tell her they are having a girl. Mav explains to both Lisa and Faye that he has a plan to take care of Lisa and both kids. He admits that he doesn’t have it all figured out, but he’ll start with school and working for Mr. Wyatt. He wants to prove to Lisa that she can depend on him. Later, while they are sitting on the back porch, Mav combs Lisa’s hair, and they start to think about what they will name their daughter. As they look up at the stars shining in the black sky, Mav tells Lisa he’s thought of a name.

Analysis: Chapters Twenty-Five–Thirty & Epilogue

Although Mav goes to the crack house intending to seek revenge, the experience allows him to step outside of his perspective and embrace a much broader point of view. He realizes that hoping for change is futile when he considers that the dealers and the addicts in the neighborhood have been going through the same routine for years and years. When Mav views his situation in the same light that he sees the situation at the crack house, he realizes that nothing will change for him if he doesn’t change things himself.

When Mav visits Adonis at Evergreen Prison again, his willingness to interact with Adonis on a more emotionally vulnerable level provides a gateway to their reconciliation. Their apologies to one another are a sign that their relationship has grown and that each of them has accepted responsibility for their role in it. When Mav seeks difficult advice from Adonis regarding avenging Dre’s death, it shows that he trusts his father just as he has come to trust Mr. Wyatt. Adonis’ display of emotion and vulnerability allows Mav to see that being a good man does not always mean doing what others expect and reinforces the idea that it is okay for a man to show his feelings.

Lisa’s less rigid perspective about manhood helps Mav to learn that he must free himself of all the negative elements to end this dormant stage and begin to grow. Mav’s decision to run to Lisa after the crucial moment when he refrains from pulling the trigger makes it clear that she is a positive force in Mav’s life. Her guidance helps him to realize that he can change his world and make a better life for himself and his children. Mav feels like a coward for not avenging Dre’s death, but Mav’s accident with the drugs illustrates how difficult it can be to leave the gang and break the cycle of violence. Even the threat of angering King does not stop Mav from drawing upon his hard-won maturity to be a man and do what’s best for his family.

The roses in Mr. Wyatt’s garden are a metaphor for Mav’s slow but steady growth throughout the book. Like the rose that grew from concrete, Mav began his life in a harsh climate, but he can still make good choices and improve his circumstances by continuing to discard things that aren’t helping him to grow. His growth allows him to embrace a new definition of manhood and break the cycle of gang violence that leads to so many children in his community growing up without their fathers. Honesty is a crucial aspect of Mav’s new definition of manhood, and when he is honest with Lisa and Faye about the uncertainty he feels, it allows him to flourish like the roses that he tends. Instead of making a rash decision in the face of uncertainty, Mav takes the time to make a plan for his future so that his children will grow and flourish along with him.

Previous section Chapters Twenty–Twenty-Four Next section Full Book Summary

Take a Study Break