Customer Reviews

Tennis Shoe Pimp

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We all have heard about gang wars on television, at one time or another. You never hear why the war got started, but when bodies start dropping that is when we know that they are at war. Jacqui Smith offers a tale of two gangs from the West Coast, in her urban street literature, Tennis Shoe Pimp.

The Kings and Ten Deuce will not stop until some one cries mercy. How far will Ruben, the leader of The Kings, or Black, the leader of Ten Deuce go before the war ends? How did this gang war start? Does it have to do with women, drugs, territory, or plain manhood?

Claudia Martinez and Angel Hart have been friends since they met at a foster home. They ran away only to find in order to survive the streets they had to become prostitutes. When a bad night with a trick occurs, Angel is saved by Ruben Palacios, a guy she once knew at the foster home where she lived. Ruben supplies her and Claudia with a roof over their heads and they do not have to walk the streets anymore. Will they be able to stay off the streets? What turn of events starts the bloodshed, and who will be left standing?

Tennis Shoe Pimp had a few editing issues, but the biggest of all was the spelling of the title on the spine of the book. It might not be easy to find the book in a book store due to this misprint. The sexual implications are rather harsh, at times. This would be a great read for someone looking for a glimpse in the life of gangs.

Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub

Tennis Shoe Pimp is a book that keep you flipping the pages from start to finish. It give you an idea on how some people who have come from abusive back ground might act when they have not had a strong foundation from childhood. It makes you understand the emotional pain that Claudia Martnez and Angel Hart have delt with from their childhood. For example, Claudia witness her older siste being murder. Because of the murder of sister. She is determine to get revenage on the person who is responsible for her sister death. I highly recommend that every body read this book

Claudia Martinez and Angel Hart are working the Track. Though the great state of California placed them in foster care when their parents weren't able to continue on, the girls ultimately decide that it's better to sell what their rotten foster father keeps stealing.

An ethnic version of Pretty Woman, Angel is rescued from a treacherous trick by brothers, Ruben and Diego Palacios, who'd also been in the same foster family. Angel and Claudia are right away offered the chance at new lives, luxuries and love. Is this too good to be true?

Things appear to be going well. That is until Black, a former associate now turned enemy, initiates an all out war on his main competitor, Ruben. With greed fueling Black's retaliation, is it possible that he's left the gate open?

While I'll agree that Tennis Shoe Pimp does a good job at holding your interest, I couldn't help but doubting that I'd finished the book. There were still so many unanswered questions.

Reviewed by: Crystal

Claudia Martinez and Angel Hart ran away from an abusive foster home only to end up selling their bodies out on the street. Their lives change for the better when Ruben Palacios takes them under his wing and his roof. Ruben becomes smitten with Angel and they start a steamy relationship. Everything is fine until Raymond "Black" Smith decides that his turf is too small for him and Ruben. Black will stop at nothing to get what he thinks is his, even if it includes getting Angel and destroying countless lives in the process. Claudia becomes enraged when she finds out that Black is the cause of a childhood tragedy. Will Black pay for his past crimes?

Tennis Shoe Pimp is a stellar debut novel by Jacqui Smith. Smith bringing an interesting coming of age story of two young women who are trying to find a better path for their lives. This novel dives right into the high drama of the story from the first page. The great mix of characters and the shocking twists is what really makes this novel soar. Once you read the very last page, you will be highly anticipating a sequel. Tennis Shoe Pimp has a good combination of street drama and suspense. This novel is an impressive start to Jacqui Smith's career.

Reviewed by: Radiah Hubbert
of Urban-Reviews (Rating Scale: 4 Books=Impressive)

Claudia and Angel are two best friends whose lives lead them to cross paths in the California Foster Care system. There, they form an unbreakable bond as not only best friends, but as sisters. Unfortunately, the girls are unable to deal with the abuse of their foster parents and they become runaways who live the only way that they know how- by selling their bodies as prostitutes. Claudia and Angel's lives change when Rueben, an old friend from the foster home rescues them from the streets and introduces them to the finer things in life- a life fueled by Rueben's life as a hustler.


Tennis Shoe Pimp was initially a little slow in the beginning. Yet as the story began to develop, the reader will find themselves caught up Claudia and Angel's lives. The insecurities and feelings of the characters can be easily related to. Tennis Shoe Pimp is gritty and real. The author does a great job of weaving this tale of survival in the game of the streets that will engage the reader and keep your attention until the very end.

Tamara Grant
Words of Inspiration Book Club

Claudia and Angel meet as foster children living in the home of an abusive foster dad. Through the trials and abuse the girls form a bond and eventually run away only to find themselves on the streets selling their bodies. They find life on the streets is just as bad as being in the house. Then a chance meeting reunites Angel with Ruben and Diego, two brothers who once lived in the foster house with her. From the outside looking in the girls think life is good for Ruben and Diego, but behind the scenes their empire is about to take a hit. A former member of their gang wants to be his own boss and is willing to take any one down to get to the top. When he finds that Ruben and Angel are together, he knows just what to do to bring the brothers down. What he doesn't know is that someone from his past is ready for revenge and plotting his downfall as well.

TENNIS SHOE PIMP by Jacqui Smith is a gritty tale of drug life, gang wars, sex, and deceit. It is full of action and drama but pacing issues keep the book from being as entertaining as it could be. The twist and turns that are supposed to enhance also become somewhat predictable. Lastly, the ending fails to bring the novel full circle as if it is being left open for a sequel. However, Smith's novel still remains a realistic depiction of West Coast street life and the consequences it brings.

Reviewed by Criss Coles
for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Claudia Martinez and Angel Hart left an abusive foster home only to live in another hell - the streets. They were turning tricks and living life on the edge until Ruben saved them. Ruben moved them into his mansion and allowed them to taste the good life. Angel was able to shop and be the mistress of kingdom, while Claudia set back and relaxed.

Just as quick as their life changed for the better it turned again. Angel, wanting more of the finer things in life fell for the charms of Ruben's arch revival - "Black". Claudia didn't want Angel to ruin her life, so she developed a plan to rescue her friend and seek revenge at the same time. But Claudia may be too late since Angel has sold her soul to Black.

Tennis Shoe Pimp webs an intricate story of love, betrayal and the ultimate revenge. The characters develop slowly throughout the book adding drama to the storyline. The war between the rival gangs is hectic at times but nothing that we haven't seen before. Hmmm, good combination of action, love and suspense with a sprinkle of spelling errors - that's urban lit worth reading!

Reviewed By - Deltareviewer
For Real Page Turners

Of the violence in the cities of Oakland and Richmond, and Bay View/Hunter's Point in San Francisco, assassins kill innocent people along with their marks; it helps to have some understanding into why. Any insight into the drug and vice trade at the emotional level where murder, revenge and abuse occur--not rarely--is moving forward. Jacqui Smith's book, Tennis Shoe Pimp, an escape-hometown, bodice-ripper is a gritty page-turner. The story follows the semi-romantic life of two teenage girls living hard and fast. The author drops us in a world of unscrupulous drug and vice gang bangers separated from civil society by a Barbary Coast of San Francisco or Five Points of New York mentality where pirates reign with no consequence for immoral profits.
There is innovation and strength and truth in the story--either gotten by great research or lived by someone close--thanks for putting it out, Miss Smith. It is rowdy and real.
The author's main characters portray the lives of moral people set in an immoral world. (But then, isn't this the human condition in modern society?) Here we are within the landscape of street soldiers, a pit-bull eats pit-bull world of ignored, no-stakes neighborhoods. The violence may be the violence that breeds another kind of soldier--for an obscene occupation in a war faraway, generating more violence back home.
One character has a vivid flashback of psychic pain--spoken clearly to the effect of: "the deeds been done, now grab the loot." We recognize this phrase--a hypnotic cue that signals the outward consequences stemming from the PTSD within the story.
Dangling a glimpse of the final act at the beginning: "to understand the ending, go back to the beginning," Miss Smith places the reader in a seductive loop of unresolved pain, a dreamlike quality.
The friendship between Angel and Claudia is a moving kinship and cues how foster care is mentoring at highest. The terms and phrases of the novel's dialogue are rich, alive. The hard-boiled relationships and hoodspeak drive the edgy and surprising plot in a setting that is probable but probably unfamiliar. It really is all new to this reviewer who grew up in the suburbs of Orange County.
Other stories of revenge come to mind, Nevada Smith, Get Carter, and Blade Runner, and it's true, Miss Smith brushes the hair of Daniele Steele's romance novels. Throw in the loose and rough sex and you have a shocking tale of the far side of The City. Miss Smith would be wise with her talent and determination to purchase Syd Field's classic, Screenplay, The Foundations of Screenwriting to etch out the story for a wider public in the aspect of screen or stage. File down the edges, Miss Smith, and get the message out--because we cannot afford to underestimate or misplace any body in this town.

"In order to understand the ending, go back to the beginning" Tennis Shoe Pimp.
Tennis Shoe Pimp kept me flipping the pages from the beginning to the end. It was packed with nonstop action and drama. I recommend this novel as a must read. I'm looking forward to reading "The Dollar Bill Girls" when it drop.
Antoine L. McAdoo, Author of Scandalous Intentions - Lust, Trust, and Betrayal, and Scandalous Intentions 2 - Loyalty and Revenge.

The book included a lot of difficult subject matter, rape, murder, gangs, youth violence. Smith weaves an interesting story based on the lives of two young girls from the Bay area. I love the way the story begins with the end and the reader is able to get into the lives of the young women. Her writing style is raw and passionate, I too look forward to more of her books.