I love the fact that setting of this book was good old NYC! This is a classic tale of loyalty and trust. It keeps you on the edge of your seat with the plot. This is definitely a page turner. I cant wait to read the sequel... ( )

Powerful and richly engaging. ( )

The Coldest Winter Ever is the debut novel by hip-hop rap artist Sister Souljah and tells the story of Winter Santiaga, the teenage daughter of Brooklyn’s top drug dealer. Winter has grown up living like a princess, she lost her virginity at 12 and now her main focus in life is all about sex and boys, clothes, getting her own way and being seen as “being on top”. School is treated as an after thought, her life revolves around her friends and her own pleasures but everything comes to an abrupt change when her father is arrested, her family separated and her things seized.

Now Winter is on her own having to rely on her own wits and beauty to carry her through but make no mistake, Winter is not a nice person, she is only out for herself and only cares about the comfort and betterment of Winter. She will lie, cheat and steal to get what she wants.

Originally published in 1999, The Coldest Winter Ever has gained a cult like following. Here I am, an elderly white Canadian lady totally enthralled by the life young, black and street smart Winter lives. Of course, I wanted to take her over my knee a number of times but the author has created an authentic, antagonistic main character who provokes yet draws the reader along in this urban contemporary piece of literature. Be warned however the book contains graphic sex scenes and explicit language. The Coldest Winter Ever was a wild ride but one I fear is shockingly real. ( )

This book blew me away. I need time for the review but if you are reading this, it’s because you have an interest in the book. Read it. If you think it doesn’t have anything for you, you aren’t black, you aren’t from the ghetto...keep reading it. Read it to the end. If nothing else it may give you understanding of another but, if you are smart enough to open yourself up to it, it can give you a lot more. ( )

(Up'd the rating because when I look back on how much I loved the book back then....I would still give it a 5 Star rating for how I felt then. Would I ever re-read it? I don't know. Would I love it now? I guess I may never know! LOL) ( )