And It Goes Like This... [Paperback]

G. Andi Rhos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2007

Socially awkward Charlotte-Louise Andrews, fifteen and naive, is the only child of a single mother who puts booze before her daughter. Desperate for acceptance, Charlotte-Louise latches on to an unruly, street smart teen who guides her through sordid inner city adventures, and later introduces her to Joaquin Lomax. Sharp minded twenty-year-old Joaquin seduces the emotionally scarred Charlotte-Louise with attention, gifts, his good looks and nice guy exterior. Charlotte-Louise is in over her head before she realizes she's hooked up with a brutal, ingenious drug dealer. In this startling three-year account of Charlotte-Louise's life, wrapped in a candid Blatino family saga, she becomes helplessly entangled in Joaquin's fast, illicit world--a world of sex, crime, and deception ... until she turns the tables.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Much like its predecessor "The Coldest Winter Ever," "And It Goes Like This," captures the dilemma many young teenage girls face in poverty: continue only dreaming of the finer things in life or take the risk of hooking up with a drug dealer to at least enjoy them, if only for a moment. G. Andi Rhos is a brilliant storyteller who accomplishes what many authors attempt and fail. She is wise enough to write street dialogue in the way it is spoken and manages to keep readers on the edge of their seats with an exciting story.

Emanuel Carpenter, Midwest Book Review

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

G. Andi Rhos is a writer and activist residing in NYC. She speaks out against racism, domestic violence, and illiteracy. Rhos has performed urban spoken word on college radio and at various venues throughout NYC and Georgia. The twice-divorced Brooklyn native lives with her four sons. And It Goes Like This... is Rhos's debut novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Belletristic Press (October 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979659450
• ISBN-13: 978-0979659454
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,924,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Too young to understand, March 29, 2008

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: And It Goes Like This... (Paperback)

What happens when a naīve fifteen-year-old falls in love with a street-wise twenty-year-old? Charlotte-Louise Andrews, shy and without many friends, makes friends with Candace who introduces her to Joaquin Lomax, a handsome, rich drug dealer who immediately falls hard for the young girl. She is equally impressed with him and their affair begins. Charlotte-Louise, known to her friends as Sha Sha, has a drunken mother who pays scant attention to her, even when she spends the nights with Joaquin. In fact, she doesn't even miss her because she is always deep into her bottles. Charlotte-Louise is an excellent student and the one promise she makes to herself is that she will graduate from high school before she gets too distracted and drops out. As with the best of plans, Charlotte-Louise's begin to hit snags. Will she be able to continue until graduation? Will Joaquin realize what a treasure he has?

AND IT GOES LIKE THIS by G. Andi Rhos is an interesting new look at street life from the perspective of an innocent fifteen-year-old. The characters are well-developed and interesting as people in their own right. The book does present tension and some suspense as Joaquin deals drugs and all the evil involved with it. I felt a great deal of empathy for Charlotte-Louise as she paddles through a life she knows nothing about. It is a book worth reading.

Reviewed by Alice Holman

of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GROWING PAINS, January 10, 2008

By 

CHayes "Cheryl" (Bronx, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: And It Goes Like This... (Paperback)

And It Goes Like This by G. Andi Rhos is a provocative, fast-paced book that covers three years of Charlotte-Louise Andrews' young, naīve life. Charlotte-Louise is a fifteen- year old girl craving for attention, but when she is raped by a family member she draws further into herself and refuses to let anyone in. Charlotte-Louise feels like an outcast at home and at school; her mother puts alcohol ahead of her only child, and she offers no guidance or love. Charlotte-Louise turns to the streets and hooks up with street savvy Dulce.

Dulce teaches everything Charlotte-Louise needs to know in order to survive her teenage years, and she starts by changing her name to Sha-Sha and giving herself a new look and a job. With a new name, new look, new attitude and drawing attention to herself, Sha-Sha formerly known as Charlotte-Louise has a new take on life, and she wants it all.

Joaquin Lomax is not your average street thug, he was raised in a two family home, went to the best schools, and his older brother taught him the ways of street survival. Now slinging drugs, driving fancy cars and handling more money then he can spend in a lifetime Joaquin stumbles across Sha-Sha, and vows to make her his. Can Sha-Sha deal with this older man who wants to give her the world? Will she know how to play her position as a street wife, or will her naiveness cause more damage than good? Will Joaquins' merciless killings and violence turn Sha-Sha off, or has she been reinvented into a ride-or-die chick?

This was a great read; there were interesting characters with lively personalities, a detailed storyline, and it kept me wanting more. I recommend this book to all urban fiction readers.

Reviewed by: Cheryl H

APOOO BookClub

5.0 out of 5 stars really good, September 13, 2010

By 

latoya - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: And It Goes Like This... (Paperback)

i love love love this book and i dont know why more people dont know about it, it's a bit different than your averege urban or teen book that's what makes it great but im suprised the author didnt come out with her follow up book i think it was called circling the square or something. maybe this book didnt do as well and that why there's no sequel, such a shame cause i really did want to know what was gonna happen next but anyways good book