3.5ish stars

Update : Revisiting my review as I've had more time to reflect on this book.

I have conflicting feelings on this book and other books in the black urban genre. They are all usually authored by conservative Black Woman. The black heroine (if she's even fully black) will be written so stereotypically it will feel straight out of a Tyler Perry production: she's loud, immature, materialistic, always shows out in the best designer clothes and thinks herself better than other women because of her labels; has the "good hair"; she's 15 but already has double Ds and uses her youth and looks to charm men way too old for her. 

That is basically Raven Atkins' character in a nutshell give or take, and it guts me because she is not a bad person per se, but by the end of this book you would think Satan incurred his wrath on the poor girl as part of some sick undue Karma . 

I initially said that this book made my heart jump in my chest because it was a page-turner. No, the correct word is "trauma-porn". Any unimaginably dark fate that could happen to Raven, happens.

Spoiler Her dad dies brutally in front of her eyes which triggers a whole chain of events in which her mother commits suicide, her family goes broke and she has to move her and her sisters in with her abusive psychopathic boyfriend who orchestrated everything to begin with, she gets addicted to crack while pregnant while being beaten by said boyfriend who causes her several miscarriages. She gets r*** and beaten almost every day of her life from then on. She then has a chance reconnection with the "one that got away" , but then her abuser finds out and KIDNAPS her, makes her give birth in a basement cellar with rabid dogs, and forces her to escape for her own survival before she eventually gets gunned down anyways.

It is BRUTAL. I don't think Evil can even explain it.

I think what disturbs me most is that Raven's story is supposed to be a cautionary tale for black youth in the projects with her same outlook but at the halfway point she is truly a victim in all sense of the word and she's continuously getting kicked while she was down. No amount of biblical verses could make me rationalize the outcome. What it came off as after reading was, women who are "Fast" and swept up in the fast, riches lifestyle can find themselves in a terrible Life situations if they cross the Wrong Man. 

It left me feeling very unsettled which I guess is a kudos to the author's writing. But I truly hope that future books in this genre have evolved to not be so judgmental and misogynistic.



==============================
OLD REVIEW:

My heart jumped in my chest reading this book. What I can say that is somewhat accurate is that the book very sad yet a true reality for people who grow up in that lifestyle. Mizan deserves a psychopath award or something, I just…WHEEW.

A TikTok book recommendation that actually came through. Only slight I have is that the lesson that the author wants you to take away from the book is drilled into the pages a dozen times, even throwing in some biblical statements. But I also realize that this book is catered to an urban audience, I.e boys and girls like Raven and Mizan that fall victim to the glamorization of dope dealing, drugs, and sporting designer clothes and cars. 

I’m wondering now if I want to move onto the Ethic series, or not as

Spoiler I literally binged through these 300 pages investing in Ravens comeuppance!! Ugh!! Why do the good suffer and

I’m not a urban fiction girl but I enjoyed this book.