Customer Reviews

Hot Johnny (and the Women Who Loved Him)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First I would like to give much honor and praise to the author, Sandra Jackson-Opoku for writing this poignant tale of life, love and loss. A wonderful story full of culture, ancestry and family secrets. Told by the women who loved and lusted after Hot Johnny.

This is a carefully woven story told from END to BEGINNING of a child struggling between fulfilling a prophecy and later a handsome young man juggling life's temptation's. Thrown away by parents who didn't want him, you'll meet "John the Baptiste", "Johnny the Gent", and "Hot Johnny" - one man different to many.

I have never read anything quite like this book. This is not your average quick read novel, but recommended for the serious reader. Those of you who know the Word, get ready for a bible quoting, foot stompin, church goin' good time. Welcome a new character into your literary world. A tale you will not soon forget!

Hot Johnny is one of those books that is going to make you think, make you pay attention, and most importantly, make you fall in love with it. When I put this book down, I would find myself thinking about it and being anxious to pick it back up so that I could find out more about this man, John The Baptist Wright, whom most knew as Hot Johnny. Each chapter is devoted to one of the women in his life and they range from his wife, to his mother, to his half sister. While reading each chapter, a little more about Johnny and his life will unfold before your eyes and, by the final chapter, you'll know and understand how Johnny got his name and what he really is like. This is not a book I'd recommend for anyone but the serious reader as casual readers might not understand it or they might just give up. But, if you want to read an excellent story, pick up this book, stick with it, and be ready to enter the fantastic world of Hot Johnny!

What can I say? Hot Johnny was written by a TRUE writer at the top of her game. Not one of these fly-by-night authors who can't tell a metaphor from a meteorite. The story was so textured and and deliciously layered with the best in literary form and structure, I found myself gobbling up each chapter and racing on to the next. There is no comparison between Ms. Jackson-Opoku's writing and that which is currently flooding the African-American commercial market. Writers on this level include, Gloria Naylor, Bernice McFadden, and very few others. Most of the people out there penning novels (myself included) wish they COULD write with such style and finesse. Many readers and so-called reviewers give praise (and 5 stars) to a lot of the poorly written and trashy work of today, but as a developing writer I recognize pure talent when I see it, and Hot Johnny is written proof that anyone with enough money or the right connections can be an author, but it takes something very special, something Ms. Jackson-Opoku has in abundance, in order to call yourself a writer. Congrats, Ms. Jackson-Opoku, for a literary gem that is thoroughly enjoyable.

Hot Johnny is an extremely well written, very well crafted novel. I have been talking about Hot Johnny every since I read this novel and that was three weeks ago. I can not say enough about this book. To say it was good doesn't even come close to describing the feelings you are left after reading this book. I have read five books since, and even though some of them have been good books, nothing, I repeat, nothing comes close to this novel. It was so expertly woven, you had to constantly go back to see what was really going on here and how the lives of the women that loved Hot Johnny were somehow intertwined with one another. I will not even attempt to give away the ultimate surprise to this book, I will only say that fate and destiny are a real "mother". Please anybody and everybody read this book!! I look forward to reading more from this outstanding author.

this book is about a one of a kind player, who is worldly, articulate, manipulative, and able to get under skirts easier than a breeze. johnny's story is colorful: he goes from being a foster-child, to male lolita, to gang-banger, to soldier-boy, to cananova, touching the lives of the women he meets, literally and physically....

ms. opoku can write. that said, this book has enough sex to keep you reading. even without the erotica, the story is strong. through the eyes of women, we come to see how john the bapist wright became the man he was...

the religious symbolism was excessive; it weighed down the book, and some of the symbolism went over my head. the scenes involving the church and the church lady were boring. the chapter about cinnamon is hilarious and tragic: she knows she's a hoochie mama and is unrepentant. to quote a song" she uses what she got to get what she wants..." feminists will drink a bottle of haterade when it comes to cinnamon. jonavis' chapter consists mostly of letters to her grandmother, and very moving...malaika is independent, brassy and impressive...lola belle should've been 86'd from the book; nothing personal. i just didn't like her...the last chapter in the book about johnny's grandmother is the best, worth the 4 star rating alone. her story is dreamy and poetic. i read it twice. it was that good....also give props to ms opoku for taking on the issue of female genital mutilation, which still goes on sadly in african countries. a very good first book....

John the Baptist Wright a man with good looks and green eyes. Women fell in love with him by just looking,Johnny loved them in return. Johnnys' loved was embedded in a web of lies,secrets,and sorted affairs from the love of his great-grandmother to his baby girl Miracle. Not to mention his love for Destiny his wife who could not beleived he loved her nor that she was pretty. His daugther Beauty Lynn who died of from the disease Sickle Cell at the tender age of two. In addition to loving hard Johnny had a hard life,he survied gangs, being shot, being a pimp, college, the army stationed in Africa. Ending up back in Chicago where it all started trying to find a family member to give his daugther bone marrow to save her life. Only to find members of his family he never knew. A wonderful told story of life and love.

Hot Johnny is not for the lightweight reader. If you want junk food for the mind, don't look here. This is a novel written on a philosophical level, and for those readers who are accustomed to reads by EJ Dickey, E Lynn, etc., don't even attempt to understand the craft and skill it takes to write a novel of this calibur. We all read on different levels, and for those who have the intellect to delve into and appreciate great african american literary fiction, I say leave the Big Macs and Kentucky Fried on the shelves and treat yourself to a meal of filet mignon and rock lobster. Enjoy Hot Johnny!

This book was for me a surprise because 1. the author was unknown to me and 2. because I expected the book to be a typical love story. I was pleasantly surprised. The author is a true writer and the story was a true love story--the way is happens in real life with a not-so-perfect brother and not-so-perfect sisters loving him for not-so-perfect reasons. Now, that's life and I enjoyed reading about it tremendously. Her characters were hilarious and their dialogue was authentic. I now have another favorite author of this genre of fiction: Ms. Sandra Jackson-Opoku!

PAGES READERS GROUP - Hot Johnny And The Women Who Loved Him. The book is a myriad of tales that intertwine themselves around the main character, John "The Baptist" Wright. Obviously a man who's ability to capture the heart and mind and soul of each woman he encounters in his life, past and present.

Almost like some of those heavyweight title fights from years ago, the vote on this book was a split-decision. Those that enjoyed it found that it dug into the heart and soul of a many on a serious venture to save the life of his daughter, Beauty

The other side did not find a "flow" and agreed that the lack of it made the story complex and some characters, insignificant to the story. You could really never get a true sense of why these women liked him so much, other than the short description about "having Smokey Robinson" eyes.

In short, reading this book is an aerobic exercise on the mind, while others may find some pleasure in having to work to enjoy it!

I am not done with this book, but from the parts I have read, I got to write this. Despite the title, Johnny loved and loved deeply. He truly loved Destiny despite the fact that she didn't even loved herself. Even though he tried he best to show her. It is so sad. There are many Destinys in this world, and that is the tragedy of that story. A well written book by a very lyrical author.