Book Review - Mind Games by Dionne

Parris Reed is an attractive woman with a great job, close friends, and a caring family, but she is still looking for the right man to complement her lifestyle. Parris then meets Victor. A successful attorney who appears to be the perfect man in many ways. Together, Parris and Victor quickly form a steamy romance, but something is not right. Strange things happen, and Parris quickly discovers that Victor could indeed be too good to be true.

"Mind Games" is a refreshingly decent suspense thriller with some imaginative plot twists. Although the story doesn't have a lot of action, it isn't entirely predictable. On top of that, the characters felt very real. I enjoyed reading about their lives and I think readers everywhere will be able to relate to Parris as she questions her relationship. Overall, "Mind Games" is a well-written book that can hold it's own against mainstream suspense writers. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good story.

Book Review - Midnight by Sister Souljah

After years of waiting and rumors of sequels and motion pictures, Sister Souljah fans finally have another story featuring characters from her bestselling book, The Coldest Winter Ever.

Midnight, a prequel, takes place before The Coldest Winter Ever and follows the coming of age of Sister Souljah's popular character of the same name. But, the truth is, this book is very different from The Coldest Winter Ever. There is no mention of the Santiagas, or of any of the drama and turmoil readers know he went through before rising as a hustler. This book focuses only on Midnight, who at a very young age, is sent to America from the Sudan with his pregnant mother. They eventually arrive in Brooklyn, and must adjust quickly to the cultural differences. Readers follow the boy, Midnight, as he grows, tries to remain true to his religious faith, and protect his family by any means necessary.

Even though Midnight wasn't the prequel I thought it would be, I did enjoy the book. The story is a simple love story. Genuine and unassuming, but well-told. Fans of The Coldest Winter Ever looking for a similar book may be disappointed. Midnight is much more about character development and bringing light to the way foreigners view African Americans than life on the streets. There isn't much page-turning action. And, while there are still essences of urban fiction in the book, I believe Souljah was writing for a different genre. So, while Midnight overall is a good read, Urban fiction fans, who have waited so long for more insight into Winter's story, may be ultimately let down.

Midnight is Available at Azizi Books and BlackBooksDirect.com

Book Review - Possession by Da'Neen Hale

On the outside Yaassa seems to have it all together, good looks, good job and loyal friends to enjoy life with, but she has a secret. She is dealing with an ex, Chee, that just can seem to leave her alone. From Chee, Yaassa has to deal with unexpected visits, stalking, fights, and public humiliation that threatens everything she has worked for.

This situation is the independent woman's nightmare! I found the story to be both entertaining and thought-provoking. I wondered what I would do if I, or one of my friends, were in Yaassa's situation. On the other hand, I also wondered what I would do if Chee was a friend of mine. Hale makes it possible to relate to all the characters in her story on some level, even the bad ones; and I really felt as though I could understand them. Maybe, too well. My only criticism would be that the character development was shallow or too obvious. But, Hale makes up for it with a drama-filled, page turning plot. I would definitely recommend this book.

Possession is available for sale at Azizi Books.

Book Reviews - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

As a former fine artist and current graphic designer, I am no stranger to being reviewed. In fact, most of my undergrad evaluations came not from tests and papers, but from peer and professor critiques in the classroom. Every week as my work was displayed on a big screen for all to review, I braced myself for the impact. If you are lucky, only a few people tear you apart over the details, but mostly everyone seems to like the direction you took. These are the projects that result in a solid "B" or "A-" and you can rest assured that the next project will be better based on what you learned from the scrutiny. But some people are still displeased. They are the perfectionists. They want the coveted "A+" that results in a rare "everyone-loves-it" critique. Most people never get this. I know I never did. I took my B's and A-'s with grace knowing that I would never be perfect. I also knew the alternative, failing grades that result from when a design student only gets negative comments for completely missing the mark.

What does this have to do with book reviews? Everything. Authors are reviewed much the same way I was reviewed as a design student. Every author wants readers to love their book and receive nothing but favorable reviews, but the truth is everyone is not going to love it. Even if the book is good, someone is always going to have a dissenting opinion. What authors need to realize, though, is that these minority opinions are often the most helpful. I was recently alerted to a situation where an author, who sought a review, tried to suppress a minority reviewer's opinion once the author deemed it less favorable.

In reference to the APOOO Book Club discussion question, Should APOOO Reviewer Fight Back? I posted the following response.

Even though this is really sad, and a bit childish, I would let the situation slide. It doesn’t look like there would be any win here for the reviewer by contacting the author and voicing concern. This author is obviously not interested in true, independent opinions. I don’t understand is how you can be an author or producer of anything creative for that matter and expect that everyone will like what you create. It is just not realistic.

My bottom line for authors wanting their book to be reviewed:
Don't publish your work if you do not want honest opinions. Stop being so sensitive, do better next time and move on!

This Weekend - African Festival of the Arts

Azizi Books is selling discounted advance tickets to the African Festival of the Arts.

This Labor Day weekend Chicago's Washington Park transforms into an authentic African village complete with three stages of spectacular entertainment featuring Kool and the Gang, Rachelle Ferrell, Diblo Dibala, Nicholas Payton, Big Daddy Kane and Black Sheep among outstanding others; African Marketplace showcasing authentic art and culture; luscious African cuisine and fare; cultural pavilions; fantastic family fun; and premiering the first ever African Festival of the Arts youth tennis tournament.

For more information about the festival click here.

Shocking Facts About Chicago Public Schools

September 2 is scheduled to be the first day of school for the Chicago Public School district but this year, students are taking a stand and boycotting the first day back. The boycott is organized by The Save Our Schools campaign (S.O.S.) in protest to the serious lack of funding that Chicago Public Schools receive as opposed to suburban schools.

S. O. S. says,
"On September 2, we have decided that instead of children attending the first day of school for Chicago Public Schools, we are taking our children to a well funded school district in Winnetka and attempt to register/enroll them. If the state won’t provide the necessary school funding for poor and minority children school districts in Chicago, we’ll go where they can receive a quality education."

Save Our Schools Now

Take a look at these shocking facts!

Only 6 of 100 Black and Latino high school freshmen males will graduate from a four year college. Source: University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research

Between 2003 and 2007, white students' reading scores went up while African American, Hispanic and low-incomes student's scores went down. (Chicago Sun-Times, October 31, 2007)

Money spent in Illinois on:
Housing an adult prisoner: $21,000
Educating a child in Chicago: $10,000
Source: Illinois State Board of Education
Office of Governor Rod Blagojevich

Only 9% of African American 4th graders ranked proficient or above in reading, ranking Illinois 38 out of 41 states. (Chicago Sun-Times, November 2, 2006)

Illinois has the largest unaddressed district-to-district funding gap in the nation. (Source: Education Trust)

2005-2006 School Year Graduation
Rates in Chicago
Black males - 37%
White males - 62%
(Source: Schott Foundation)

Illinois ranks 49 out of the 50 states when it comes to funding education from state funds. (Source: Education Trust)

View more facts about the school funding crisis...

Sign up to be a volunteer for this cause!
http://www.saveourschoolsnow.com/volunteers.html

Book Review - Blood Colony by Tananarive Due

It is really no secret that Tananarive Due is one of my favorite authors. Ever since reading her story about the African Immortals in high school, I have not only been addicted to her books but to the entire speculative fiction genre in general. To this day, if I absolutely had to choose one, 1997's "My Soul To Keep" is still my favorite book. Well, it has been seven years since the publication of "The Living Blood" by Tananarive Due, the second installment in the African Immortal series, but finally the third installment is here. "Blood Colony" is that novel.

It is hard for me to not love a book by Tananarive Due, but I'll only give this one 4 of 5 stars. "Blood Colony" is wonderfully written and more intriguing than the average novel, but after waiting such a long time for this third installment, when I finished, I still felt like I wanted more.

Set in 2015, we meet up with the Wolde family and the Life Brothers. While they have been distributing their healing "living" blood in secret to third world countries, plagued with sickness, an Underground Railroad of distributors in North America are selling the same thing under the street drug name of Glow. I can't say that I am disappointed, because I am not, but I didn't get a sense that I learned anything new from these characters. The book continues their stories, and we catch up with their lives, but none of the mysteries completely unfold. "Blood Colony" is written so that it could be a stand alone novel, but I think you need to read the other two books to get a full grasp of the characters and to really connect with them and all that they have been through.

Very good but not great. "My Soul To Keep" and "The Living Blood" set the bar up very high and I cannot help but to compare. I have read them both more than once, but unlike the other two, I may not be picking up "Blood Colony" again for a second go 'round. I'll wait until book four.