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Most Helpful Favorable Review
14 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
High Expectations?
I started out reading this book, as everyone did, with HIGH expectations. We all read "The Coldest Winter Ever", and we waited, and waited and waited for the sequel. The sequel that Sister Souljah said she'd been working on for two years, that would be told from Porti...Read More
I started out reading this book, as everyone did, with HIGH expectations. We all read "The Coldest Winter Ever", and we waited, and waited and waited for the sequel. The sequel that Sister Souljah said she'd been working on for two years, that would be told from Portia Santiago's point of view. These were her words. Maybe this book isn't the sequel that we all thought it would be. It was marketed as such, but, as many have stated, it is a pre-quel. It takes us back. It takes us inside of "Midnight". Why he was the way he was. Why he felt the way he did. Why he did not give "Winter" the time of day. Her "crush" went unsolicited because of his upbringing, his beliefs, his way of seeing women in general.
I started out reading this book wondering when I would see mention of Ricky Santiago at least, and I did, if you paid attention you would see how they crossed paths. But this story isn't about Winter or her family, it is about Midnight and his family.
Sure he's a "Gangster". A different kind of "Gangster". His main objective in life is taking care of his family. That's what I call Gangsta. Not a Thug, But a True Gangsta.
Some are angry about the way that African American women are viewed in this book. Is it not true about some? Are these words not true about a lot of our African American people in general? Stop and think before you become angry. All she did was say what most people already think, or already know. I'm not mad at her. We need to be aware of what we are becoming, what we have become.
The book is lovely. It's not what we expected, but it's an excellent book in general. Worth $26.95? I don't know. But well worth reading!!Show Less
I started out reading this book wondering when I would see mention of Ricky Santiago at least, and I did, if you paid attention you would see how they crossed paths. But this story isn't about Winter or her family, it is about Midnight and his family.
Sure he's a "Gangster". A different kind of "Gangster". His main objective in life is taking care of his family. That's what I call Gangsta. Not a Thug, But a True Gangsta.
Some are angry about the way that African American women are viewed in this book. Is it not true about some? Are these words not true about a lot of our African American people in general? Stop and think before you become angry. All she did was say what most people already think, or already know. I'm not mad at her. We need to be aware of what we are becoming, what we have become.
The book is lovely. It's not what we expected, but it's an excellent book in general. Worth $26.95? I don't know. But well worth reading!!Show Less
posted by MochaChocolate on November 21, 2008
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27 out of 28 people found this review helpful.
A disappointment
What I was expecting from "Midnight" as the prequel to "The Coldest Winter Ever" is not what I got. The young devout Muslim Midnight in this novel is nothing like the older Midnight, right hand to drug lord Mr. Santiaga, from the original book. And, Sistah Souljah does ...Read More
What I was expecting from "Midnight" as the prequel to "The Coldest Winter Ever" is not what I got. The young devout Muslim Midnight in this novel is nothing like the older Midnight, right hand to drug lord Mr. Santiaga, from the original book. And, Sistah Souljah does nothing to reconcile the two of them. If I had no forewarning that they were supposed to be the same character, I'd think they were two completely different people.
The love story is sweet, though Sistah Souljah's depiction of African American women leaves a lot to be desired (at least for me). And, her characters are fleshed out very well. But, by the end of the book there's nothing to help you understand how Midnight became the Midnight from "The Coldest Winter Ever." It's almost as if she forgot about the other story and decided to take the character in a completely different direction (I could never imagine this Midnight becoming a drug lord's right hand man). She also doesn't explain why Midnight and his mother are in the situation they are in to begin with (which starts off the whole book). There are many allusions to Midnight's father, but no explanation as to what happened to him (which starts to become perplexing).
I'm also disappointed that she chose to have pictures of models in the book, instead of letting the reader imagine Midnight in their mind. The picture of the guy who she has depicting Midnight doesn't even come close to the Midnight I have imagined in my mind.
Overall, the book was just O.K. While I liked the characters, the book really left a lot to be desired. Maybe there will be a sequel to this book to give the whole thing a purpose. By the way she wrote the ending, I wouldn't be surprised.Show Less
The love story is sweet, though Sistah Souljah's depiction of African American women leaves a lot to be desired (at least for me). And, her characters are fleshed out very well. But, by the end of the book there's nothing to help you understand how Midnight became the Midnight from "The Coldest Winter Ever." It's almost as if she forgot about the other story and decided to take the character in a completely different direction (I could never imagine this Midnight becoming a drug lord's right hand man). She also doesn't explain why Midnight and his mother are in the situation they are in to begin with (which starts off the whole book). There are many allusions to Midnight's father, but no explanation as to what happened to him (which starts to become perplexing).
I'm also disappointed that she chose to have pictures of models in the book, instead of letting the reader imagine Midnight in their mind. The picture of the guy who she has depicting Midnight doesn't even come close to the Midnight I have imagined in my mind.
Overall, the book was just O.K. While I liked the characters, the book really left a lot to be desired. Maybe there will be a sequel to this book to give the whole thing a purpose. By the way she wrote the ending, I wouldn't be surprised.Show Less
posted by Genie718 on October 29, 2008
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Genie718
Posted October 29, 2008
A disappointment
What I was expecting from "Midnight" as the prequel to "The Coldest Winter Ever" is not what I got. The young devout Muslim Midnight in this novel is nothing like the older Midnight, right hand to drug lord Mr. Santiaga, from the original book. And, Sistah Souljah does nothing to reconcile the two of them. If I had no forewarning that they were supposed to be the same character, I'd think they were two completely different people.
The love story is sweet, though Sistah Souljah's depiction of African American women leaves a lot to be desired (at least for me). And, her characters are fleshed out very well. But, by the end of the book there's nothing to help you understand how Midnight became the Midnight from "The Coldest Winter Ever." It's almost as if she forgot about the other story and decided to take the character in a completely different direction (I could never imagine this Midnight becoming a drug lord's right hand man). She also doesn't explain why Midnight and his mother are in the situation they are in to begin with (which starts off the whole book). There are many allusions to Midnight's father, but no explanation as to what happened to him (which starts to become perplexing).
I'm also disappointed that she chose to have pictures of models in the book, instead of letting the reader imagine Midnight in their mind. The picture of the guy who she has depicting Midnight doesn't even come close to the Midnight I have imagined in my mind.
Overall, the book was just O.K. While I liked the characters, the book really left a lot to be desired. Maybe there will be a sequel to this book to give the whole thing a purpose. By the way she wrote the ending, I wouldn't be surprised.27 out of 28 people found this review helpful.
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SheWrites
Posted December 22, 2008
A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down
It's interesting...in reading many of the negative reviews of Sister Souljah's newest work, I hear most respondent's saying they were offended by the disrespectful way "black" Americans were portrayed. The question I have for these reviewers, who may think The Coldest Winter Ever was a stellar piece of Fiction and should be Sister Souljah's defining literary work and be read by other group's as really offering true insight into the "Black Experience," is what was so respectful about how Winter or any of her homegirls or the men they interacted with portrayed themselves? How was competing to see who could give head the best or putting oneself on auction allowing yourself to be inspected and defiled in front of other women, just to possibly bed a famous person or being held hostage in a room by guard dog's because some man values you more as a possession than a human being respectful? How was Mrs. Santiaga's slow drug induced death, egged on my her own daughter giving her drugs, respectful? How was the way Bullet left Winter to take all that time for him and not even put money on her books,a show of respect? Some also spoke of Midnight's father and his having other wives? Wasn't it a similar situation with Ricky Santiaga? The difference is that the Sudanese wives knew about each other and worked together, where as Mrs. Santiaga knew nothing and when she found out, it served as her final push over the edge. TCWE glorified promiscuity, drug dealing, murder, materialism, and all things superficial, these are all the things Midnight pointed out about "black" Americans in this latest novel. The only difference is,in her first work Souljah wrote the themes compellingly and sugar-coated. Some of the readers probably even saw or wanted to see themselves in that book, I know I did. In this new effort the sugar is gone, it's all medicine. Midnight's experience was not in an affluent middle class black suburb or even in a working class black inner-city community. Perhaps had it been his depiction of "black" Americans would have been different but they were in the projects where the reality really is get or get got, trust no one and do for self. Unfortunately, all the worth little ghetto girls think they have is between their legs and the only out little ghetto boys think they'll get is through balln or slangn. I found Midnight: A Gangster's Love Story prolific because it spoke to the diamonds in the rough and the roses growing in concrete. It showed that you can be more than your situation or circumstances. I don't really think she was disrespecting us, she took poetic license to exaggerate the circumstances so we, the readers, the women, the men-could self-reflect and then self-correct.
25 out of 25 people found this review helpful.
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JLT
Posted November 21, 2008
THIS BOOK WAS ONE OF SOULJAH'S PERSONAL PLATFORMS AND I WAS HIGHLY OFFENDED!!!!!!!!!
If Sister Souljah needed a platform to voice her beliefs, opinions and views regarding how she wanted to praise the African Islam community and Africans vs. true African AmericanS and those in the USA who practice Islam, THIS WAS CLEARLY NOT THAT VENUE!!Sequel or Pre-quel this was a horrible book. TCWE being laid aside this book was an ABSOLUTE MESS!!! First off what's up with not knowing "Midnight's" true name??? If he's so proud of carrying his father, grand fathers and grea-grandfather's names why is he not SHOUTING THEM TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH??? We don't even know his name (it was Bilal Ode in TCWE, but this is obviously NOT the same midnight)!!! Next with all the adjectives she used to describe the splendor of the Sudan and Sudanese lifestyle WHY would anyone in their right minds want to come to the USA??? We don't even know WHY this family (the first wife, her son and unborn child) were sent to the USA? what happened in Sudan??? and why were the other two wives not sent??? The father was MIA (does this truly reflect the lifestyle she wrote about so eloqently??) of course not! this African Islam Man, shipped his wife, son and unborn child off and they NEVER heard from him again..they ran out of money had to hit the hard knocks of life and where was he?? still enjoying the splendor of the Sudan?? Then Akemi, this charater was just plan outrageous. The main charater (Midnight) and his love interest (Akemi) can't even SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE!!!! Was souljah high off of spices and scents when she thought this mess up??? This book was a FAILURE!!! If I had the slightest idea this book was written with such division and comparisons I would NEVER have PURCHASED it or wasted my time reading it!!
Its a common fact that most Africans think they are superior to African Americans in the US--Souljah attempted in this book to confirm those beliefs. As a highly educated female, wife, mother and devouted Christian, I was offended. Hear me and hear me clear, NONE OF US ARE BETTER THAN THE OTHERS!!! Whether you are a TRUE African or African American born and raised in the US your morals and values are a product of your upbringing and beliefs. Just because my son will not carry the names of his father, grand-father and great-grandfather, [he will have his father's name] does NOT mean that he doesn't know who he is or value his lineage, HE DOES!!!!! And just because I don't wear a long robe and face covering does not make me a loose woman. If I were a American Muslim I would be disgusted by Souljah's attempt to convey that I am not true or devout in my religious beliefs.
Finally, all I can say is this, the next time Souljah wants to write some crap like this, call a spade a spade, be straight up and let me know this is one of your PERSONAL PLATFORMS not a fiction story and definitely NOT a follow up to TCWE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS BOOK WAS JUNK!!!!!!!!!19 out of 21 people found this review helpful.
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special-K
Posted November 6, 2008
Not HAPPY! Is this a JOKE!
This book was horrible. If I had never read "The coldest Winter Ever" I would not have been able to link the two! We waited all this time for this! The book put off a vibe that women in America had no worth...especially women of color. I once thought of Midnight as a King in his own right, now I don't think of him at all. This book has managed to kill him. I didn't care for the love story between Midnight and the Asian girl. It made me nauseous and it last too long...the entire book. I tried to rush to get through the book. I kept putting down and not wanting to pick it up. I finally get to the and no Winter in sight. Winter is not even in the book, this was wild! What a waste! At the end of the book Midnight went to Japan to get his Asian wife... Note: to Sista Soulja let him stay in Japan and be happy. (Sayonara) I didn't like the whole body of the story.
16 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
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MochaChocolate
Posted November 21, 2008
High Expectations?
I started out reading this book, as everyone did, with HIGH expectations. We all read "The Coldest Winter Ever", and we waited, and waited and waited for the sequel. The sequel that Sister Souljah said she'd been working on for two years, that would be told from Portia Santiago's point of view. These were her words. Maybe this book isn't the sequel that we all thought it would be. It was marketed as such, but, as many have stated, it is a pre-quel. It takes us back. It takes us inside of "Midnight". Why he was the way he was. Why he felt the way he did. Why he did not give "Winter" the time of day. Her "crush" went unsolicited because of his upbringing, his beliefs, his way of seeing women in general.
I started out reading this book wondering when I would see mention of Ricky Santiago at least, and I did, if you paid attention you would see how they crossed paths. But this story isn't about Winter or her family, it is about Midnight and his family.
Sure he's a "Gangster". A different kind of "Gangster". His main objective in life is taking care of his family. That's what I call Gangsta. Not a Thug, But a True Gangsta.
Some are angry about the way that African American women are viewed in this book. Is it not true about some? Are these words not true about a lot of our African American people in general? Stop and think before you become angry. All she did was say what most people already think, or already know. I'm not mad at her. We need to be aware of what we are becoming, what we have become.
The book is lovely. It's not what we expected, but it's an excellent book in general. Worth $26.95? I don't know. But well worth reading!!14 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
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StraightTalk
Posted November 12, 2008
Definitely not what you think it is!
I just finished reading the book and was totally disappointed. I had read reviews and understood it was more of a prequel, but didn't think that it had NOTHING to do with the Coldest Winter Ever.
My impression when first reading was that they were going to give background into Midnight's life (which is important) and then tie that in with how he got started working for Winter's father and then go through the stories in the Coldest Winter Ever, but from Midnight's perspective instead of Winter's. The only common thing this book had with the Coldest Winter Ever was Midnight. NEVER in the book does it mention Winter and only is Santiaga brought up once and it's really only about his car.
It's a nice read in the beginning, but as you get closer to the end, you realize there is no plot or climax to the story. For an almost 500-page book, there was no substance.
The ending is horrible. Appears that there might be another book to come that would in turn discuss his life working for Santiaga. But, after this book, I don't know if many fans would still be around.11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 5, 2008
What was she thinking
this book was so pointless, why did we need to know midnight's background. And how in gods name is a 7 year old do all the things that she claims he does. HE'S SEVEN YEARS OLD HELLO !!!!. This book was a no no for me.
10 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
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hp13
Posted November 5, 2008
Complete waste of paper
I can't believe that she made her readers wait 10 long years for this. I am totally disapointed in the writing style she chose to use for this book. Totally not what I was expecting. I expected to read about Winter and some of the characters from her story, instead I was bombarged with gibber jabber that bored me to death.
The pictures don't even match the story being told here. The totally unrealistic power that 7 year old Midnight has in beating up a family of brothers is outrageous. Even Hollywood wouldn't dare to be that silly. What kind of mother doesn't ask her 'young' child where he got his scars from, I don't know. Was Sister half asleep when she wrote this book?
Is this what she came out of hiding to do.....disapoint her readers this way. Sister, I am truly fond of your lectures and your work as an activist, but I have to tell you, this book totally frustrates me. A definite refund is in order here.
Why would you wait 10 years to tell us about the begining of Midnights' life? Shouldn't that had been done long ago? Can I trust that the next novel will even be worth borrowing from the library?
Disapointed.8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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kaycol
Posted November 13, 2008
CAUTION Not the Sequel to "The Coldest Winter Ever"
Very disappointing. I was hoping this would be a followup story to "The Coldest Winter Ever." It couldn't be farther from a sequel. No mention of any of your favorite characters from the "The Coldest Winter Ever." Reading it reminds me of an unwanted reading assignment for a course about African and Japanese culture. Not a classic.
7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 12, 2008
What happened?
Sister Souljah wrote in the updated mass market paperback edition of The Coldest Winter Ever that the sequel was about Porche Santiaga and that it was coming. Her own words. So what happened? Did she change her mind? If so, why didn't she say something, ANYTHING to the devoted fans of her first novel who made it a bestseller to begin with, the folks she knew patiently waited nine years for this book. I can understand if she wanted to go in a different direction. Fine. I can respect that. It's a free country and she can write what she wants. But there was no clue given whatsoever to the FANS that this book wasn't a sequel. There's gonna be some backlash over this, because a lot of people felt let down. Midnight was an interesting read, don't get me wrong. But it's not what I thought it was going to be and I'm very disappointed.
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 8, 2008
Frustrating
I love Sister Souljah! I think o Disrespect is a must read for both men and women. The Coldest Winter Ever was written poetically but had a powerful message that had never been seen in urban lit. I have seen her speak several times and even took my students and I value and appreciate her voice. However, I was completely disappointed with this novel! I never expected Midnight and Winter to get together however I was looking forward to hearing about Midnight¿s wife and his sister and how he choose to raise Santiga¿s daughters.
However, this novel was not at all what I expected. On a positive note I appreciate reflection of some of the negative qualities of some African American women ie: objectifying ourselves, not knowing our worth etc¿ I also appreciate her acknowledging the important role of Black men in our homes, families, communities. Also the power of love and commitment to self, family, friends, and partners was threaded throughout the book. Also, I appreciate the values and morals and discipline displayed by Midnight and his family/
On the negative side as a Black woman after having read this novel I felt totally beat down by Sister Souljah! We just could not do anything right. There was not one positive American Black woman in the book. Also the portrayal of Bangs was shocking. After having being raped since the age of 5 by an Uncle I could not believe that Souljah would suggests that Banngs must have liked ¿having sex¿ with the uncle because she had gotten pregnant by him and he was still rapping her as a teen. This concept was very heartbreaking to me.
I just did not get why Midnight had to choose this Asian woman. To me it fed a lot into the stereotype that Asian women are more submissive (ie: when she bowed to him at their ¿wedding¿). Sundana would have been a wonderful choose for Midnight but even she could not compare to Akemi.
I was just totally shocked by the obsession with Asian culture and Akemi in general. I kept thinking why?!?!? Honestly, at one point I though¿did Souljah really write this book? I really hope she writes a statement about why she wrote this book, the characters etc.. The books¿ ending suggests a part III. I must admit I am not sure if I can stomach another one like this! Oh and I HATED the pictures in the book. However, I still love Souljah and I will preorder her next book as I did this one.
Peace.7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 5, 2008
What the Hell!!!
After all this time I just knew that this book was going to be something that we all know that it wasn't!! I thought that this book was going to be about winter and when she got out of prison and hooked up with midnight I don't get the title to this book after I read a few chapters A Gangster love story WHAT!!! What is so gangster about this book tell me plz!!!I haven't even read the whole book and Im ready to take it back to the store to get my money back! If she comes out with another book I will have to think long and hard before I go buy it I might even read it in the store just to see if its worth my time and money!
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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You simply DO NOT make millions of fans wait for this, you just don't.
The book, by ITSELF, isn't too bad. Sister Souljah is still a great writer and knows how to portray a story, but that doesn't matter here at all. From her lips to fans ears, we all percieved her next release to be the SEQUEL to 'Coldest Winter Ever' not a prequel to the character Midnight. This was just wrong, it's been ten years since its release and it's just mean for fans not to get a proper continuation of the 'Coldest Winter Ever' and instead a look into Midnight's life BEFORE any of the drama of 'Coldest Winter Ever' took place. I enjoyed reading the first few chapters but I just didn't have the will to finish it. Even after letting all upsets go, the writing of Midnight's character constantly went from him speaking in the respective tone of his African country and then immediately and randomly changing to the ruff ghetto slang of Brooklyn..the constant back and forth of dialects was annoying and added to my frustration. If you choose to read this book, do it with an open mind because my tolerance proved not to be enough.
P.S.- There are pictures throughout the entire book of all the different characters, what sucks about this is that it completely eliminates the freedom of one's imagination...and isn't that the point of reading in the first place?6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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RuthieNYC
Posted November 20, 2008
Very Disappointed
While reading the book I realized nothing was a surprise. Midnight followed a standard love story with little turmoil or drama. I would have liked to see him buck the path and fall for Sudana. This would have been a better outcome because we could have seen a struggle with his religious beliefs and the want for different love. However the minute he fell (blindly) in love with Akemi the book became boring and predictable. I started skipping sentences then whole paragraphs.
The big difference is Coldest was a page turner. Each chapter revealed something new about Winter and her needs. Midnight was boring and very generic. Even his interaction with the community could have been a bit more developed.
We waited ten years to receive no stellar work. Very disappointed.6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 13, 2008
Disappointed
I was very disappointed reading this novel. In the Coldest Winter Ever Sistah Soulja made Midnight's character sleek and polished like he was a wonderful mystery. I didn't see that connection in this novel. The brooklyn characters were ghetto and though writers write what they know some information could have been left out i.e. Bang's having a baby by her 38 year old uncle and she 14. I wanted to see the connection between the father in Coldest Winter Ever and Midnight and how their empire got started. I kept waiting for that moment to happen but it never got there. I hated the way it ended with his wife being captured back to Japan in the middle of her art show so now she's going to come out with another wack novel to follow up. I don't like books that gets you on the edge at the end then have you waiting to see what's going to happen next. We already waited 10 years to get this version how long are we going to have to wait to see what's next? And what's going to happen next is he going to start hustling to get his money back? Is Akemi's father really going to allow her back to the US? Where was she in Coldest Winter Ever? What happened to his mother and sister? Will he ever see his father agian? I will say I did appreciate the acknowledgements of the religions and cultures exposed but still disappointed about the end.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 12, 2008
MISREPRESENTATION!!!!!!!WHO WROTE THIS BOOK? WHO WROTE COLDEST WINTER EVER? IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT WRITERS?
I ERRED IN MY ASSUMPTION THAT I WAS PURCHASING THE SEQUEL TO COLDEST WINTER EVER" I'M WELL INTO THE TENTH CHAPTER AND I NOW REALIZED THAT I MAY HAVE BEEN SCAMMED. THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL OR PREQUEL. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SEQUEL TO "COLDEST WINTER EVER"? THERE HAS TO BE SOME REASONABLE EXPLANATION FOR THIS!
DID SISTAH SOULJAH EVEN WRITE "THE COLDEST WINTER EVER"? IT APPEARS THAT THE WRITER OF "MIDNIGHT" AND THE WRITER OF "THE COLDEST WINTER EVER" ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WRITERS. THIS BOOK IS A TOTAL MISREPRESENTATION OF A SEQUEL. IF I MUST COMPARE THIS BOOK TO "COLDEST WINTER", THIS HAS TO BE THE WORSE BOOK THAT I'VE READ IN A LONG TIME....AND I READ 4-6 NOVELS PER MONTH... IT WASN'T CHEAP EITHER. ($26.99) I AM RECOMMENDING THAT MY BOOK CLUB MEMBERS RETURN THIS BOOK AND SELECT ANOTHER BOOK FOR OUR DECEMBER SELECTION...SISTER SOULJAH FANS DESERVE AN EXPLANATION.6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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FLORIDAJLS
Posted November 11, 2008
WOW! Im totally shocked!
I expected this to be an actual sequel and actual part 2 to the coldest wintever.. I HEARD it was SUPPOSE to be told from the Little sisters point of view and how she pulled up in the benz or whatever at the end of coldest winter ever.. then i heard it was gunna be called MIDNIGHT.. then i was like okay he must be talking about raising the sisters and stuff... Im on chapter 2 of the book and im like what the hell is this?? okay i see how hes talking about how he got to the US.. but he is starting to put African American people down. WHat is all that Asian writing and pictures of these asian women and the fingernails etc. I thought this was gunna continue talking about the santigas winter etc.. I didnt expect this and im not too happy. $20.50 i dont think its worth it...im going to return this book tomorrow and go to the library to get it.
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Opinionated
Posted November 10, 2008
Save your money
Blah!
WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! I MADE myself finish and it was TORTURE!
I'm disappointed that EVERY Black female in this book was shown in a negative light. Every one. So little thought was put in to their characters that they were not even given propper names. Instead they were "Bangs", "Heavenly", "Homegirl", etc.
At every opportunity, there seemed to be a need to bash Black American culture as well...from the way we talk, to the way we dress, to the way we think. It was disheartening and absolutely annoying. I get it. The idea was to glorify Islamic culture, but why at the expense of being disgusted with American culture? That's what I didn't get.
I felt like Souljah had forgotten her audience...mostly urban women. Especially when I read the thoughts regarding Bangs (a young girl who was molested)...Souljah actually suggested she wanted it because she didn't report it and called her a liar who couldn't be trusted because the girl concocted a story instead of admitting she was molested. Just ridiculous.
If you are looking for a sequel or prequel to Winter...this is not it. There is no mention of the Santiagas or how he even resorted to that lifestyle.
This book will frustrate you and ABSOLUTELY BORE YOU...save your money. If you absolutely must read it for yourself...go to the library.
I intend to give my copy away to some unsuspecting soul.6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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earthadc
Posted November 8, 2008
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Sistah Souljah Disappoints
Where Sister Souljah and her handlers went wrong was in promoting this book as a prequel or a sequel to the Coldest Winter Ever. It is bound to disappoint her readers who will feel that they have fallen victim to the old bait-and-switch con game. The book might sell on its own merits in many venues. This deception in marketing will turn off her many admiring readers who have waited all these years to read Midnight's story. While I applaud the moral stance the author takes, I can't say that I appreciated the way African American girls are depicted in the book. The Muslim, kung fu fighting, righteous Midnight never encounters one African American girl who has pride in herself and seeks a purpose for her life. As a librarian I will continue to order copies of The Coldest Winter Ever because it contains many deep and powerful lessons without being preachy. My consciences doesn't bother me at all when copies of the book are not returned because I know that someone is taking in a worthy lesson and a powerful message.
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 23, 2009
NOT A SEQUEL!!!!!!!!!!
I really dont understand why people constantly complain about this alleged sequel when it clearly is not. Midnight is young in this novel, and was grown in the CWE. That being said, I thought the novel was mediocre.
While I get Sista Souljah's messages, I am extremely disappointed at the hypocrisy in the novel. The very things that she puts Black women on blast for, Akemi, the little Asian GIRL Midnight marries, possessed as well. Every description of her included her super expensive clothing and shoes (at one point Midnight said the ground she walked on wasnt worthy, Hunh?)I guess when Black women do it, its wrong, but because Akemi was an "artist" it was OK? Also, every Black girl that Midnight came in contact with wanted him sexually, and Akemi was no different. She was enamored with his dark skin and mysterious demeanor just like every other girl.What made her so different than the little project girls he turned his nose up at? Was it her rich upbringing?
A young girl with poor morals and values might get something from this book and actually learn a lesson or two, but I am an educated Black woman and I was deeply disturbed that there was no one like me (or the author...)in the story. I have to admit, she has lost a good deal of my respect. Glad I had the good sense not to buy it.5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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