Greetings!
As you are enjoying the end-of-year holidays, here are some of my top recently published picks for Street Lit that will go great with a log fire, a blanket, and some coffee or hot cocoa on a snowy day.
MYSTERY
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| Image credit: Amazon.com |
5.0 out of 5 stars
All I can say is ... WOW!, December 17, 2011
"Teri Woods hits it out the ballpark with the presentation of New York's Finest: Masquerade, authored by Sam Black. This novel offers a fast-paced, suspense-filled romp that will keep you distracted
from your life as you sit on the edge of your seat, not able to put the
book down (at least that's what happened to me!). You'll be fascinated
by the intertwining connections of the characters and the intricate
attention paid to details for a very fulfilling plot. Woods/Black turns the
table on gender roles - the women have the upper hand in this intricate,
complicated tale that is carefully laid out before you as you read who
does what to whom, while watching a chess game of life played out in
entertaining fashion. When they say that street lit/urban fiction is
"like a movie in your head" - Teri Woods has mastered this craft. Read
this - you'll have a good time! Can't wait for part 2! -- Vanessa Irvin
Morris (c/o streetliterature.com)"
To order NY'S Finest: Masquerade: http://www.amazon.com/NYs-Finest-Masquerade-Sam-Black/dp/0977323463/
POETRY/YATo order NY'S Finest: Masquerade: http://www.amazon.com/NYs-Finest-Masquerade-Sam-Black/dp/0977323463/
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| Image credit: funkybook.yolasite.com |
My 2cents: This is a debut release from Indie author and poet, Christian Loriel. I greatly enjoyed this book: it is lyrical, real, raw, gritty, and creatively done. I read the poems and was transported to the hood of FunkY; I felt like I had a seat on one of the stoops, for sure. The author's arrangement of the book is awesome too: via free-form verse poetry, you meet the residents of FunkY right where they live - up close and personal, at home and on the streets. If you can add this creative verse novel to your library collection, adults and teens will grab it, for sure.
Author's Synopsis:
FunkY is a look at the South Memphis I
know, love, and yet question. In South Memphis, a part of town exhausted
by drugs, crime, and deferred dreams, there is "Funky"
Avenue, a street full of people who have things to tell you. You will
go door-to-door and hear each of their secrets, joys, sorrows, regrets,
and even their opinions of what's going on in the house next door. It
all begins with a missing black teen.
To order FunkY: http://funkybook.yolasite.com/
To order FunkY: http://funkybook.yolasite.com/
SCIENCE FICTION
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| Image credit: bravinpublishing.com |
My 2cents: This is a good debut effort by author, Trevis Moore. I really liked how he kept the authenticity of inner-city language and lifestyle, taking his time to develop the characters before introducing the science fiction element of the story. A while ago I said that there is everything in the hood: life, death, mystery, drama, magic, fantasy, and yes, science fiction. Moore proves the point well. All in all, Hood Titans is a very good and welcomed read for street lit!
Publisher's Synopsis:
"Hood Titans" from author Trevis Moore. Every Hood needs heroes.
Someone to protect the people from the forces who profit from crime,
poverty and degradation in Urban neighborhoods. Find out what happens
when a black geneticist decides enough is enough. As he sets out to
change the neighborhood he has fought he way up and out of only to
return a doctor. If his efforts to give back he launches his ultimate
plan of protection for the brothers and sisters in the city. The Black
Brotherhood Brigade is born. But how do you create these protectors?
What happens if the secret gets out? What if you've been created to
think the hard life your living is all there was? What happens when the
genes you're carrying are truly special and designed for a greater
purpose?
To order Hood Titans: http://www.bravinpublishing.com/catalog/item/7294083/8994183.htm
TRILOGY
If you're in the mood for a staycation with characters that will be with you for the duration, I suggest author Silk White's trilogy: Tears of a Hustler, 1, 2, and 3.
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Author and publisher Silk White has gathered a significant following of readers who enjoy his trilogy, Tears of a Hustler. Part 3 was just released September, 2011. All 3 novels are available in print and eBook format.
With a 5-star Amazon.com rating, customers are raving about this series with responses like, "awesome!" "best book ever" "in-freakin-credible!" and "hooked!" A streetliterature.com reader, Jasmine, commented on my earlier blog post about this series: "Wonderful book. I read it in 1 day. It kept my attention all the way
through. I recommend that everybody read this book. You will not be
disappointed."
Publisher Synopsis - Good 2 Go Publishing:
Tears of a Hustler 3
picks up right where part two left off. Things get serious when Marvin,
the leader of a powerful up coming gang, decides he wants to take over
Pauleena's empire.
With her back against the wall, Pauleena defends her territory by any means necessary; even if it means killing everything moving. With her main soldier gone Pauleena has to step up to the plate and get her hands dirty. The streets will rain money or blood - it’sdefinitely a choice, but giving up her throne is not an option, for the formidable Pauleena. Who will be the last hustler standing?
With her back against the wall, Pauleena defends her territory by any means necessary; even if it means killing everything moving. With her main soldier gone Pauleena has to step up to the plate and get her hands dirty. The streets will rain money or blood - it’sdefinitely a choice, but giving up her throne is not an option, for the formidable Pauleena. Who will be the last hustler standing?
To order Tears of a Hustler 1, 2, 3: http://www.good2gofilms.com/home
YA/TEEN
If you have teens on school break needing a good read, I recommend the following:
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My 2cents: Author Ericka Williams pulls a twist on the traditional 'hood story' - she sets her story, The Robbin Hoods, in the suburbs, to show how survivalist living is alive and well in the hoods of supposed quiet and safe suburbia.
Author Kia Dupree offers a wonderful sophomore novel, riding off the success of her debut novel, Damaged (see KC Boyd's review). In Silenced, Dupree gives readers a deep, insider's view between mother and teen daughter as their family struggles to conquer the lure of the streets of Washington, D.C.
Author Synposis - The Robbin Hoods:
What started out as a petty crime with teenagers who would cut school
and break and enter into houses, on foot, turned into a multi-million
dollar empire when the crew took their craft to a higher level. They
graduated from boys to men, who made millions of dollars when they began
venturing into exclusive upper class neighborhoods. The story is about
the unattainable "American Dream", when the only dream hopeless and
uneducated men have is to steal someone else's "Dream Come True ".The
Robbin Hoods is about what happens when you take from others, instead of
building your own.
Book Description - Silenced:
She gets lost in the fantasy of books and poetry. But in Tinka Hampton's
all-too-real world, her mother Nicola has lost her job and is
struggling to stop her family's fall into poverty. With her sons turning
to drug dealing-and worse-Nicola wants better things for her daughter.
Yet the more pressure she puts on Tinka to do everything right, the more
she drives her away . . . straight into the arms of Nine, a man as
irresistible as he is lethal. Now Nicola must make unimaginable choices
that will put Tinka at a dangerous crossroads. Will standing up for her
seemingly impossible dreams be her way out-or will they trap her on
D.C.'s merciless streets forever?
To order Silenced: http://www.amazon.com/Silenced-Kia-DuPree/dp/0446547743/
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