#15 - The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
I'm still not completely sure who Sister Souljah is, but I was in Barnes and Noble with my boys yesterday and saw the cover to this, and recognized the name from somewhere. I picked the book up, started reading, and fifteen pages later was still standing there reading.
And yes, I'm done, 28 hours later. It's that good.
Winter Santiaga is a rich, spoiled, beautiful brilliant teenager whose father is a drug dealer. They live in Brooklyn and have everything anyone could wish for: the best clothes, jewels, cars, the works. She's overprotected by her doting father, but like all teenagers, she manages to circumvent the rules and have fun anyway.
Winter, for all her faults, is such a teenager that I couldn't help but love her.
But then it all starts to fall apart.
Her mother is shot, her father arrested, her sisters taken into foster care, and Winter is on her own. From there the story is sort of like a slow-motion train wreck that you just can't tear yourself away from. Every time you think she can't get into any more trouble, that's when something else happens, in spite of several attempts to be helped into a non-criminal life by various people, including the author (who is in the story, which I found interesting).
One thing I liked about this book was how real it felt, what a variety of people were in it, how the characters were portrayed. It drew me in like few books have.
This is an excellent read; highly recommended.
And yes, I'm done, 28 hours later. It's that good.
Winter Santiaga is a rich, spoiled, beautiful brilliant teenager whose father is a drug dealer. They live in Brooklyn and have everything anyone could wish for: the best clothes, jewels, cars, the works. She's overprotected by her doting father, but like all teenagers, she manages to circumvent the rules and have fun anyway.
Winter, for all her faults, is such a teenager that I couldn't help but love her.
But then it all starts to fall apart.
Her mother is shot, her father arrested, her sisters taken into foster care, and Winter is on her own. From there the story is sort of like a slow-motion train wreck that you just can't tear yourself away from. Every time you think she can't get into any more trouble, that's when something else happens, in spite of several attempts to be helped into a non-criminal life by various people, including the author (who is in the story, which I found interesting).
One thing I liked about this book was how real it felt, what a variety of people were in it, how the characters were portrayed. It drew me in like few books have.
This is an excellent read; highly recommended.