Customer Reviews

Around the Way Girls 2 (No. 2)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Around The Way Girls 2 easily surpasses it's predecessor. I'm not a fan of short stories but when I saw which authors contributed to this book, my prefrences quickly took a back seat. Kashamba Williams, Thomas Long and Lajill Hunt all have novels that I've enjoyed so I knew that this combination could not dissapoint. Each short story contained characters that will not easily be forgotten.

Juicy Brown ~ Juicy easily wins the Ghetto Queen Crown. Which she wears with no shame. Juicy will stop at nothing to keep her family together and achieve Hood Rich status.

Prescious Payne ~ Can a young girl escape a tragic childhood without being permanently scarred? Prescious has a chip on her shoulder and revenge in her heart as she attempts to do so.

Lyric Crenshaw ~ Lyric has game which she freely shares with her co-worker Alicia. Unfortunately Alicia learns the lesson a little to well. When Lyric falls for Alicia's brother Jeremiah can she convince Alicia to change her game in the 9th inning?

Each story was well written leaving me wishing that they each could have been full legnth novels. Now I remember why I didn't like short stories in the 1rst place.

What can I say?? Kashamba, Lajill, and Thomas outdid themselves in this edition of Around The Way Girls PartTwo. I had to email Kashamba as soon as I finished reading the life of Juicy Brown b/c I was just amazed at the character.

To sum it up, Juicy was ignant as hell lol. She is a ghetto fabulous mother of 5 (by the age of 18) who does whatever she has to do whether it legal or illegal to hold down her kids.

She is the lieutenant while her kids are her soliders. Her mindset is so unbelievable that you will be talking to the book saying "you've got to be kidding me" after every sentence. The sad thing is, Juicy's character isnt imaginary..we know people like this in real life.

Only a creative mind can create a character so ignorant and have you enjoy it. Big up to Kashamba for a wonderful piece.

The stories of Precious Paine and Lyric Crenshaw are also off the chain.

Precious witnessed her mother being brutally raped killed in front of her innocent eyes at the age of 9. Her mission is to get payback from the three culprits who killed her mother (one being her cracked out father).

Lyric Crenshaw is a young girl who has been scorn due to bad relationships. She uses what she has to get what she wants from men. Her motto is, "I'll get them before they get me".

Her co worker and associate Alicia (who is in love) tries to tell Lyric that she shouldnt do the things she does and accept real love when she sees it. Unfortunately, Alicia's mind goes crazy from listening to Lyric. She turns on Lyric with a vengenance and tries to do whatever she can to sabotage her when she "thinks" Lyric slept with her man. Things get out of hand when Lyric meets up with Alicia's brother and falls in love with him. Alicia then goes full force into trying to destroy Lyric by any means necessary.

If you love suspense and drama, this is the book for you!

Around the Way Girls 2 is much better than the first one. Kashamba's storyline was above and beyond the average person's imagination. She went way out there with Juicy and her children and her mentality as far as raising her kids. With Juicy as a mom, who needs enemies?

Thomas Long's storyline on Precious Paine was indeed very good. Precious had a horrible childhood and you can empathize with her emotional state, but you can also smile in how she evolves from a caterpillar to a butterfly upon discovering true love.

LaJill Hunt's melodic storyline with Lyric Crenshaw was fresh! Lyric has the ultimate plan of being the winner in any game she chooses. So much so, that her past basically attempts to spit in her face all of her analogies when she finally finds her prince. She has schooled her co-worker so, that when fate knocks, it has all turned around and the jokes on her. This story should be pursued until it has been completed as a novel. LaJill, you the one! Wishing you continued success!

I really enjoyed this book. Each Author took you to a different place in the hood.

Kashamba Williams story "The Life of Juicy Brown" was off the hook. My hat goes off to Kashamba for this one. I never thought that Kashamba could drop such a gritty story about a female. I LOVED IT. Juicy Brown is your typical Around the Way Girl strugglin day to day to make a dollar. But, Juicy has a team of kids that are down for whatever.

Thomas Longs story is about Precious Paine. Precious has been through a whole lot in her young life. Everything from losing her mom to trying to find acceptance from her family. Until Precious finds real love her past will always haunt her.

LaJill Hunts story is about two friends Lyric and Alicia. Alicia is a good girl gone bad and Lyric is a bad girl gone good.

Step into these ladies lives and you'll really get an idea of what it is to be an Around The Way Girl

"AROUND THE WAY GIRLS 2" was definitely stories based on the real deal in the hood. Each author choose different perspectives of the Black female dealing with her position on life while living around the way.

KaShamba Williams laid it out raw! She delivered again. Her story about the character "Juicy Brown" was powerfully written. Emotions will run high as you read. It'll bring laughter, tears and anger while reading the story.

Thomas Long's story was also intricate as he wrote about his character "Precious", daughter of a crackhead. The baggage she carried was almost unbearable.

LaJill Hunt.......welllll, she took no prisoners as with her story pinning the conflict between two good friends - "Lyric & Alicia".

This book was much better than the first of AROUND THE WAY GIRLS.

The authors here are all veterans at the talent of writing.

A job well done.



Star Rating:*****5.0

THIS WAS A MUST READ. THIS BOOK WAS BETTER THAN THE FIRST. THE FIRST ONE GOOD BUT THIS WAS EVEN BETTER!!!

This was definitaly betta than the first one. Juicy doesn't care what her kids do, what she does around them, or what they do with their life. As long as she gets money, and they don't hate on her game. Precious had it all, until her mother and father got hooked on drugs. Now she's boostn til she can't stop. Lyric has had her heart broken twice. She trusts no man and plays them all the same. Her father and mother are the only two people she feels know true love. She becomes friends with Alicia and that's where her life changes.

KaShamba Williams, Thomas Long and LaJill Hunt compliment each other in this second segment of Around the Way Girls. First up to bat is KaShamba Williams who brings humor, realism and true originality to the table in "The Life of Juicy Brown". Juicy's story was quite enjoyable and I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times. I concurr...KaShamba is crazy!!

Diamond in the Rough by Thomas Long takes us into the life and struggles of Precious Paine. Although things around the way 'aint easy, she's handling hers. But how much can she really handle when a loving man comes in and throws everything off balance?

Last but definitely not least is LaJill Hunt with her contribution "Who Got Game?". As usual, she executes a well rounded story that's enjoyable as well as memorable.

All in all I found Around the Way Girls 2 to be an extreme improvement from it's predecessor. Better writing and tighter storylines. These authors were given a task, took the torch and ran!

Englishruler
ARC Book Club Inc.
Star Rating: 5 Stars

AROUND THE WAY GIRLS 2 is the second grand slam production in the Urban Books street compilation of The Around The Way Girls series. The company's motto is "Where Drama Meets the Streets" and this book is a fine example of explosive, dramatic stories with a sharply defined street edge. All of the contributing authors have laid their individual marks on the field of urban fiction.

Kashamba Williams is a hardcore writer who pulls no punches when writing a story. Her books Blinded, Grimey and Driven are examples of how she delivers a story with roughness and grit that is notable in urban fiction. "The Life of Juicy Brown" is the story of a 30 year old mother of five. Juicy is dysfunctional to say it mildly. She had all five of her children before the age of 18 and she openly puts her eldest son on the block to sell drugs.

"Diamond n da Rough" written by Thomas Long is the story of Precious Paine, the daughter of crack-addicted parents. Precious' rough childhood has made her weary of the world. Her philosophy of life is scheming, stealing and plotting against men for their dough. Joined by her two best friends and her mother's crack-addicted friend, Juicy forms a racket of stealing high-end merchandise from designer stores. This business endeavor has Precious on top financially, but something is missing until Talib walks into her life to give a rude awakening.

"The final story, Who Got Game?" by LaJill Hunt, is the story of Lyric Crenshaw, another "around the way girl", who is hell-bent on being on top of her game. Lyric's motto is to use what you got to get what you want and she has stood by that creed since high school. However, when she meets Jeremiah, she begins to have second thoughts about her shiesty and scheming lifestyle.

When I see the title Around The Way Girl it brings to mind the rap classic by L.L. Cool J. Being a self-proclaimed around the way girl, myself, I really enjoyed this book. The stories were entertaining and colorful, but each had its own unique style and flavor. The contributing writers had their own take on how it would be, to be an around the way girl. The stories were different and true to the theme; ranging from golddigging to dysfunctional parenting. Each story brought to life the drama, the comedy, and the reality of how it is to be that around the way girl just trying to survive in the neighborhood. "The Life of Juicy Brown" is the standout. She was so incredibly different and unique that she just stands out from the rest. One minute I wanted to kill her, and the next minute, I wanted to just sit back and watch her do her thing. I found myself laughing out loud at the dialogue Ms. Williams used when describing Juicy's life. Juicy's wit and her schemes are so off the chain, I had to lean back and shake my head. Juicy, Precious and Lyric were all different and appealing and each represented LL's song to the fullest. Just like the lyrics of the song, each woman wasn't scared, each did her thing, and each were independent, while remaining oh so crazy cool. Definitely the girls were from around the way.

Reviewed by Richell Winchester
for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Around The Way Girls 2 was good. Each story had a lesson in them to learn. Its a good book and should be read. I Love Ms.Hunt's story, I personally felt it was the best. All of the stories was good, just read it and you will see.