Customer Reviews

Let That Be the Reason

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

My cousin gave me Let that Be the Reason and told me I had to read it. I couldn't put it down from the second I started reading it. It is like a ghetto anthem. It portrays the everyday life of a woman whose been scorned that gets back up on her feet and does what she has to do to provide from hers. It is the story of a lot of girls in the ghetto. The girl falls in love, has a child, the man leaves her with nothing and she has to find a way to make it to the top. Carmen is that woman and you will simply fall in love with that character. I got to the point where I could see no wrong in her even though I knew what she was doing wasn't the best thing. What's so dynamic about this book is that Carmen can be your sister, your best friend, the girl down the block or even you. This book is a "must read" and you better believe I'm reading every book published by Triple Crown.

First I would like to start off by congratulating you on the success of your book and wishing you many blessings on your future projects! Girl, that book was da bomb ;o) I could not put it down without wondering what was going to happen next...I barely slept for three days because I didn't want to stop reading. I just knew Chino was a rat from the beginning... I even talked to Carmen as I read like she could hear me ;o)! I loved the way you reversed the roles and made a female the top baller, and the way you explained her life struggles were all too real! I really connected with her character in more ways then one. Hopefully your book will make someone stop and think before they choose that "glorious" lifestyle. I've seen it happen to many of my childhood friends...they get all rapped up in the game, live and spend lavishly for a short period of time and then on day it's all gone, faster then it started,whats sad is that the lucky ones are the ones incarcerated, cause somehow they escaped death and they just might get another chance at life. I wanna thank you for touching me so deeply and I really look forward to reading part two... I can't wait!!! God Bless you and your family always, and much love from new york!!!
msecrets

When I first started reading this book, I thought this is a stupid book. I decided to continue to read it because I hate to start a book and not finish it.

This book put you in the mind of a true hustler. Pamela aka Carmen was a single mother trying to make it by any means necessary. She was in love with a man named Chino who refused to be the man that Carmen needed him to be. After their break-up and her going without she thought the best thing to do was become a hustler. Despite many adversitites Carmen became the best hustler in her area.

If I was to tell you anymore I would be telling you the book. Buy it you won't be disappointed.

I can't wait for the sequel to this book.

When I saw Let That Be the Reason, I thought, 'Oh great, another Coldest Winter Ever knock off.' The book surprised me. It is another of the new urban street novels but it's not a clone. If you read the ghetto fairy tale True to the Game or B-More Careful then Reason is the book for you. It's better written, edited and plotted than both of those books and it makes sense. Pam aka Carmen is done very well. I couldn't agree with her decisions but the author shows why she made them. The ending was sad but realistic. So, is this book as good as Coldest Winter? No, Sistah Souljah's crown is still firmly on her head but unlike True to the Game and B-more, Let That Be the Reason is good enough to be in the same category.

Carmen is feisty, intelligent and desperate. This is the perfect combination to get her in a world of trouble. While trying to reach her goals of a better life for herself and her son, she becomes greedy. Carman loses focus on her original objective. She is a woman scorned by her one true love, Chino; and is not about to let the past repeat itself. Everyone has a hustle. Carman soon finds out that the drug game is not as easy to leave, as it is to get in. After a come-up streak, she finally lands in a place that is worse than her first situation. Now, her reason for living, her child, will be denied the guidance of a loving parent. At a time when she finally gives love a second chance with her new man, Delano, she risks it all; and loses everything., This book was outstanding. I loved it. It was fast paced, real and creative. I think Vickie was honest with her feeling and really got into the mind of a woman trying to be a hustler. She demonstrated how a mother will go to `any means necessary' to protect and support her child. I can't wait for her next book. I want to know what happens to Chino, Carman, their son and Delano.

Reviewed By Terri G. Whatley of AsThePageTurns Book Club
www.....com

Having read books like "True to the Game", "Coldest Winter Ever" and even Jackie Collins' "Lucky Santangelo" series I have realized that, although these books can be very interesting, I can only take "gangster novels" in small doses... it really isn't my preference as far as reading material... but then again I like to give everything a chance...

When I heard that this supposed Essence bestseller was a FACT-BASED novel about a woman who gets involved in the drug cartel, escort service and makes it big? I had to see what the hype was about. Pamela a.k.a Carmen's story was a fascinating one, despite the many typos and grammatical errors. It's not everyday you hear of women reigning in such positions.

She builds a solid name in the streets and vows to herself and her son that she will only be involved in this life up until she is established enough, monetarily, to go back to school, and make a better life for child. But of course the money gets so good, that tearing herself away is an idea that isn't as appealing as it was before. Why leave, when she has become the Queen of the Streets?

Situations arise, and she learns that happiness earned in that lifestyle comes with a heavy price and serious consequences.

I bought this book years back along with "Imagine This." I bought the books around the same time because I kept reading reviews in different publications saying that they were must reads.

Well imagine this, "Let That Be The Reason" is not a must read, in fact it's a must that I slap myself for lining Ms. Stringer's pockets on this one.

The author can't decide if she wants this book to be fact or fiction. She also felt the need to explain all street lingo, she should have just put a street dictionary as an index. What's the purpose of explaining what a "hooptie" is? The flashback scenes between Carmen and Chino made no sense at all, neither did the character Delano. Upon first meeting Delano he's just a normal guy then he turns into a gangster with no explanation. I can go on and on about the shortcomings of this book but will stop here.

If I had to do it all over again I would not buy this book nor do I recommend anyone else buying it. Save your time and money and pass on this one.

Stringer's Let That Be The Reason is about the "come up" of a female hustler. One surprising aspect of the story is that it's not set in the traditional NYC, Miami, or even the palm-tree laden jungles of Los Angeles, in terms of what a reader would expect when imagining a setting for drug trafficking.

The main character, Pamela Xavier, "Carmen" when she's in hustler mode, is making her ends meet in Columbus, Ohio. The complicated story of a "good girl" gone bad unfolds before your eyes. Forced out into the streets after a disagreement with the love of her life, Chino, she's forced to make a way for herself and her son. Chino relinquishes his paternity of the child after he has convinced himself that Pamela cheated on him while he was in jail, when she had not. She begins hustling by entering the "escort" business, but with her eye on the prize of more and more money, she ends up becoming a major drug dealer, caught up in a system she can't seem to get out of.

From what I understand, this is a novel based on a true story, but I wasn't 100% clear as to whether or not this was Stringer's personal story. It was extremely difficult for me to relate to Stringer's storyline of Pamela slowly but surely becoming Carmen. It was unbelievable for me as a reader to comprehend a college student going from a legal better life, to the lap of illegal luxury with her first lover, Chino, then to the streets, when he throws her out along with the child she had with him. The level of wealth she was accustomed to, thanks to Chino, fed into the never-ending feelings of greed that eventually brought her down.

That said, I have to give Stringer kudos for the strong messages of self-love and taking responsibility for one's actions that she brought across on the page. Aside from that positive aspect, the frequent grammar errors, constant use of profanity throughout the novel, and choppy, almost elementary telling of the story left much to be desired when it comes to the quality of the novel. If you don't mind wading through imperfections to get to a story full of gritty street life, this may be a book of interest to you.

Anna
R.E.A.L. Reviewers

This was an okay read but I enjoyed B-More Careful and A Hustler's Wife better. I am not knocking this author but at times I felt it glorified hustling. I let one of my young proteges read this book and instead of seeing the real message she only saw how she would have been smarter than Carmen and wouldn't get busted. But in the street life you will eventually DIE OR GO TO JAIL OR EVEN WORSE PUT YOUR FAMILY IN THE CROSSFIRE. I think this book should be read in classrooms where children live and see this life everyday then it should be thoroughly discussed.

I expected so much more out of this book. It had no twist nor turns. I actually started reading this book and put it down and started another. Eventually I finished and I was kind of disappointed. I am hoping that her next book will make up for this.