If I Ruled the World [Paperback]

JOY (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2005

In every ghetto there is that one who stands out above the rest. In this unforgettable novel, her name is Harlem.

Harlem Jones is a twenty-six-year-old bad-ass female who owns her own home, her own car, and her own business. And no, some drug dealer didn't front her the money for any of it. Nor did she have to sell herself to get what she’s got. Harlem came up the hard way. She had the perfect family until her mother fell prey to an addiction and Harlem’s whole world fell apart. After several life-changing encounters, Harlem seems to have lost everything. But then, under circumstance she wishes never existed, she inherits a modest fortune and opens up her own business.
Then into her life comes an unexpected and unlikely love, a street-bred charmer named York. Not your typical hood, York is out for Harlem’s heart. But when tragedy strikes, Harlem knows that, as a survivor, she must be the one to decide her own destiny.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Harlem, a 26-year-old bookstore and cafe owner in Columbus, Ohio, has a well-earned hard-nosed view of life. Her drug-addicted mother abandoned her, and her father died in prison. Her grandmother eventually took her in but died shortly thereafter, leaving Harlem with a house and the funds to open her own business. Until she met Morgan, a college student selling magazines door-to-door, Harlem had no real friends. The two went into business together and shared a life of young single women, dodging the hustlers and drug dealers while looking for love. Morgan, a magnet for the wrong kind of man, is the only one who knows Harlem's vulnerabilities. When two handsome men come into the store and Harlem is too cool to stake a claim on the one she really wants, the couples end up mismatched with rising tensions as the relationships ebb and flow, until they are tested by tragedy. Fans of urban literature will love this novel, but some readers might find the sex and violence too graphic and the language too rough. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“The best urban tale since The Coldest Winter Ever.”
---Erykah Badu, Grammy Award Winner

“Finally, a tale about truly surviving the streets. If I Ruled the World is the epitome of hip-hop fiction.”
---Mix Master Ice, legendary DJ, Hip-Hop Hall of Fame

“A well-written, street, gritty tale. This stellar novel is sure to be the bestselling urban book of 2005.”
---Crystal Lacey Winslow, author of The Criss Cross and Life, Love & Loneliness

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (June 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312328796
• ISBN-13: 978-0312328795
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,030,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Can you say..... Overrated??????, January 26, 2006

By 

Kenny Knows (Philly/Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If I Ruled the World (Paperback)

My little sister read this book first and told me it was good. Maybe my expectations were a little high because this book was dubbed "The best urban tale since The Coldest Winter Ever." Being that I loved Sistah Soulah's book I was amped to read Joylynn's book. It started off good, and I thought it would get even better but it flattenned out. Harlem's journey through life was mundane compared to Winter's. Almost every twist in this book was predictable. The whole "Jazzy ALMOST being related to her" was corny to me. Harlem did what she did in the woods without a single person ever finding out????? I mean come on. "The Coldest Winter Ever" stands out to me, this book gets lumped in with everything else if you ask me. "The Coldest Winter Ever" was a 400 page, page turner. This book had Harlem being a tuff talker using phrases like "get to steppin" like its 1995. There was no Santiaga, no Midnight, the crackhead mother in this book is less realistic than Mrs. Santiaga. To get to the point this book was just OK, a borrow not a buy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking for something different, August 20, 2005

By 

Ms. J (Long Island, New York , USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If I Ruled the World (Paperback)

I am an avid reader of African American contemporary fiction. But as much as I love to read, most of the books are predictable and the story lines are pretty much the same. But this one totally caught me off guard. I have not shed a tear while reading a book in years and I defintely got emotional while reading this book. Yeah, some parts were just like all the others, but JOY did her THANG and added a remix to her writing that was refreshing and needed in the market today. Happy reading!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If I ruled the world, all books would be this good!, June 25, 2005

By 

PrinceLuva79 "Loves a good book!!" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: If I Ruled the World (Paperback)

Joy, you did your thing on this one! I finished this book in under 48 hours, it was so real! As soon as I got it, I put the other book down I was reading and started this one! One of the best books I've read this year, it's in my top 10 for sho! I won't tell the story, but it's a real good read. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.