Customer Reviews

The Hood Rats (Triple Crown Publications Presents)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

APOOO Rating: 5 stars
Amazon Rating: 5 stars

Bre, CeeCee, Neesha and Nicky are known as the HOOD RATS. Four friends that each tell their individual stories of love, heartache, and pain. Each girl living the hood life, living the best life they can with what they have.

Bre is the quiet, shy one out of the group. The one that seemingly has it together the most. She is the voice of reason. The one who will intervene between the other friends to keep the peace. She lives vicariously through her girls' lives, since she is more laid back.

CeeCee is a hood rat in every definition of the word. She is a mother of three children whom always seem to be in the care of their grandmother. CeeCee loves to smoke weed, drink and party and although she has a man, she has someone on the side as well. Will she realize that she is playing a dangerous game before it is too late?

Neesha will do whatever and whoever to get what she wants. She does not care what anyone says about her. She has the mentality of a dude when it comes to sex; she will have one coming in the front door and the other leaving out the back. Say what you will but the girl is getting paid. She is the fighter in their clique. You mess with one of her girls, you best believe you are will receive a beat down.

Nicky is the one who has suffered the greatest loss. With all the losses she has experienced she lets life beat her down to the point where she begins trying to cope with the heartache that she has experienced through the use of drugs. It has her doing and acting in ways she normally would not.

When tragedy strikes, the bond of friendship will be tested. In HOOD RATS you will find a story of friendship, love, betrayal, tragedy, lies and deceit. Do not judge this book by its cover because it is not the typical hood book that you would normally get coming out of TCP. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this had positive attributes in it. I look forward to reading more by this author. The story had me constantly turning the pages.

Reviewed by Leona R.
APOOO BookClub

Gary, Indiana is the home of four 'friends'...if that's what they call their relationship. Bre is the peacemaker of the group. CeeCee is the stunner being that she's wifey to one of the key players in their hood. Nesha holds the reins as the firecracker, ready to get it on and popping. And Nicky, the Benedict Arnold of the four since she has no loyalty to anyone. Nicky secretly covets CeeCee's man while sexing him every chance she gets. Nesha is slanging more bricks than most men in their hood. CeeCee is looking for a come-up with a bigger playa in the game...even if means humiliating DayDay, the father of her children and her lover of years. Bre is the quiet, smart one that has aspirations of something other than being a baby mama, someone's jumpoff, or anything else of that nature. She still believes that friends should have each other's back and that there is true love waiting for her.

E.R. McNair has penned another hood novel with the infamous four hood chicks. Even though The Hood Rats was a decent read, the storyline really suffered from no originality. There were a few grammatical errors, the characters were all mediocre, and their plights were pretty mundane. On the flipside, there was a bit of drama, a lot of betrayal, and a touch of loyalty. But all in all, The Hood Rats did not pull me in with the usual anticipated anxiety in getting to the ending. With a bit more passion and maybe a different approach from the usual hood tales, I believe that Ms. McNair has potential. I commend Ms. McNair for her accomplishment in the literary field and wish her the best!!!

Reviewed by Tazzyt2bossye
for Urban Reviews

I read this book recently and it just didnt do a whole lot for me. It reminded me of a low budget Black and Ugly..I cant put my finger on it, but it left me very unsatisfied and wanting more..When I got through reading, I was like, "Is that it?" Not something I would read again.

Raw: An Erotic Street Tale

This was both a quick read, and a very meaningful one. Yu find yurself really caring about the characters, and hoping that they make it above and beyond their cirmcumstance of death.

The Hood Rats is book that is not only suitable for people who like stories about the street, but also about true sistahood and friendship.

Raw: An Erotic Street Tale
Prey For Love

The Hood Rats by ER McNair introduces Bre, CeeCee, Nesha and Nicky to TCP fans. Each has their own narration in the story, which makes for a great layered and multi-dimensional plot.

With incredibly realistic dialogue mixed with real-life drama (baby mama drama, custody battles, addiction issues, family ties, falling in and out of love - the WORKS!) this book is dayum hard to put down!

I appreciate that this storyline has a greater purpose - it's not just a hard-core drug game street tale we've all heard before (and over and over...). These are women who really exist out there - and the way McNair does it, it's just a breath of fresh air.

For every female reader that picks up this book, McNair has designed a character that you can relate to. Each friendship is tested to the point of total break-off; the Hood Rats eventually find out that no matter how long you've been around each other, getting older means changing times and changing minds...it's definitely a must-read TCP title.

This book was good...At first, I couldn't get into it, but I sat down and read it. It turned out to be a very good book. So much drama.

Bre was a good person, always trying to hold the friendships together and the go to person. I had high hopes for Mello and Bre. It was good she finally got to see her dad and siblings and make amends

Nicky, was a serious hood rat. She really thought she had the upperhand, and ended up with absolutely nothing. She was just so scandalous it was a shame

Neesha, she was just stupid, and refusing to grow up and move on with life. Like they say if you don't change, then u get what you got.

CeeCee, I couldn't stand her at the beginning of the book. At first, I wanted to slap her for causing all that drama. It was good that she finally turned her life around and grew up and found out there was more to life.

This book was ok the females wasn't all hood rats to me. The mainly one that say hood to the end was Nesha.

Ok 4 women grow up together Bre, Nicky, Nesha and CeeCee. They all had there problems as friends and they all had there problems either being a mom or men issues.

Bre the main character of the book. Well she was a alright character she was mainly the type of girl that like to keep the drama down and keep her girls talking. Like Nicky said, Bre's the captain save a ho. Bre had her issues with trying to get to know here dad that decides to write her after he find out he is dying.
Also she try to be the middle man between the drama with her friends.

Nicky have her issues she sleeping with CeeCee's kids dad because she upset with CeeCee sleeping with Tone that Nicky was so in love with but, he didn't pay Nicky and attention. Nicky has her issues with drugs and don't really care about anything.

Nesha she is the main hoodrat in the group. One of her kids get taken by his dad because Nesha don't want to grow up and do what she is supposed to do as a mom. She the main one that rather fight then to talk. But, Nesha ends up in way a lot of trouble later on.

CeeCee decided to change her ways after her kids dad DayDay gets shoot. She goes to church and find jesus. She then take her GED test and pass and then ups and moves down south to start over with her kids. She leaves all the bull behine her back in Gary. She forgives everyone that did her wrong even her kids dad.

Overall it was a ok read. But, still wondering where the title hoodrats comes in place with these girls. I like the topics a bit but, wishing more drama was involved with Bre and her not being so good to shoes a lot.

Ok read.

HOOD RATS is the story of four friends who are all trying to "make it" in the hood of Gary, IN. Despite the fact Bre, CeeCee, Nesha, and Nicky are all very different, they have managed to, more or less, stick together throughout the years. However, those ties are quickly tested when the unimaginable happens, shocking the self-proclaimed "hood rats" and forcing them to question what has become of their lives and what will become of their future.

Do not be fooled by the cover; HOOD RATS offers more than what most people expect from urban fiction. I mainly enjoyed it because although these women endured many hardships, there is definitely a positive message at the end of it all. The characters McNair has taken the time to develop are very real. Readers will be able to relate to their pain and hope; they will realize their aspirations as the plot develops.

Reviewed by Maia R.
for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Reviewed by Delonya Conyers
[...]


Hood Rats explores the lives of four childhood friends growing up in Gary Indiana: Cecelia (Cee Cee), Nicole (Nicky), Danesha (Nesha) and LaBrea (Bre). The title in itself is self explanatory so readers will know exactly what type of females all four characters are. Bre proves to be the exception amongst the four friends, she has a job, is childless, not promiscuous and doesn't drink nor smoke. However she's guilty by association because as the old adage goes birds of a feather, flock together. And 3 out of 4 of these chicks definitely qualify as birds.

Cee Cee has 3 kids by her drug dealing boyfriend, Dayonte aka Day. They're together in a relationship that defines dysfunctional as Cee Cee gallivants around with another drug dealer named Tone. Even going so far as to drive through the city in Tone's expensive ride. Nesha has 3 kids also, all of course by different men. Her youngest son's father Charles takes care of his responsibility all the while looking down his nose at Nesha's ghetto lifestyle. Nicky only has one son by Tay whom she truly loved; unfortunately he was killed before Nicky even learned she was pregnant with Ty. Tay's death sent Nicky into a deep depression fueled with drug use and promiscuous behavior.

Author E.R. McNair has a dilemma befall all four characters. Cee Cee's love triangle has tragic consequences; Nesha faces a custody battle against Charles for their son, Nicky's drug addiction takes her down a dark path while Bre's absentee father re-emerges. Each character is afforded the opportunity to change their personas and in a fifty-fifty split, two of the girls actually get their lives together. While the other two are forced to learn very harsh lessons when the lives that they have been living come back to haunt them.

What did you like about the book?
Mr. McNair let each girl have their own voice and it helps readers identify with characters whose actions they'll most likely find deplorable.

What did you dislike about the book?
The plot was a little too typical of urban books based around girlfriends. Even the ending, with two out of the four girls getting their lives together.

What could the author do to improve the book?
Improvement could have been made on the storyline making it less predictable.

THE HOOD RATS WAS A GREAT BOOK I TRULY ENJOY IT YOU SHOULD NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER SO GO OUT AND GET THIS BOOK IT'S REALLY GOOD.