Tracy Darity's Reviews > Ghetto Resume
My rating:
Ghetto Resume
by Freddie Simmons, Carla M. Dean , Keith of Marion Designs
by Freddie Simmons, Carla M. Dean , Keith of Marion Designs
Tracy Darity's review
bookshelves:
tracy-s-book-club
Aug 03, 10
Recommended for:
People who enjoy urban/street lit
Read from July 24 to August 03, 2010 — I own a copy, read count: 1
Ghetto Resume' by newcomer Freddie Simmons is a prime example of the untapped talent among independent authors. He has crafted a believable tale that with the right components in place could go on to be a bestseller in the Street Lit genre.
The book starts off with main character DeQuan “Goldie” Walker, still in the womb but already restless and aching for the good life. By the time he is 10 years-old, Goldie is challenging his fathers authority and acquainting himself with a local drug dealer who goes on to become his mentor. Circumstances arise leaving Goldie feeling that he needs to step-up his involvement in the dope game to survive. At this point some readers, depending on their background and upbringing, may debate some of the things Simmons has written but the fact remains that these things do happen in drug-infested neighborhoods across America.
As the story unfolded I was envisioning Goldie as the student who eventually becomes the teacher, but the author failed to take me on the journey I needed to get to that place. We have Goldie making decisions that lead to a relationship with street level drug king Marcus “Snake” Robinson who takes him under his wing. However, when Goldie reached the age of 13 the story changes focus. He goes from being an attentive apprentice to a well-endowed lover boy who is turning out girls ages 13 – 18. Simmons further deviates from Goldie’s journey, to focus mainly on Snake, leaving this reader longing for some form of interaction between Goldie and Snake that would justify the eventual changing of the guard. Although I am sure of Simmons intentions, it just didn’t translate onto the pages of the book. Even after he refocused on Goldie, the book never really regained the momentum I was experiencing at the beginning, or the build-up that would leave me yearning for the next installment.
I believe that the basis of the story itself is strong; the writer simply didn’t bring everything together to make it flow smoothly. There was a lot of telling, which is common amongst new writers and something I believe will correct itself as Mr. Simmons progresses.
The only true negative that I have regarding Ghetto Resume’ is the overuse of the suffix “ly.” Again, this is something that the writer will work through as his journey moves forward, but it was a big distraction for me.
My rating fluctuated between 3.5 and 4 stars. I have decided to rate it 4 stars based on it being a pretty good debut novel and I believe Freddie Simmons is passionate about his craft and will make the necessary adjustments to be around for quite some time.
Much Love,
Tracy
Tracy L. Darity is the author of “He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!” and “Love…Like Snow In Florida On A Hot Summer Day.” For additional information visit www.TracyLDarity.com.
The book starts off with main character DeQuan “Goldie” Walker, still in the womb but already restless and aching for the good life. By the time he is 10 years-old, Goldie is challenging his fathers authority and acquainting himself with a local drug dealer who goes on to become his mentor. Circumstances arise leaving Goldie feeling that he needs to step-up his involvement in the dope game to survive. At this point some readers, depending on their background and upbringing, may debate some of the things Simmons has written but the fact remains that these things do happen in drug-infested neighborhoods across America.
As the story unfolded I was envisioning Goldie as the student who eventually becomes the teacher, but the author failed to take me on the journey I needed to get to that place. We have Goldie making decisions that lead to a relationship with street level drug king Marcus “Snake” Robinson who takes him under his wing. However, when Goldie reached the age of 13 the story changes focus. He goes from being an attentive apprentice to a well-endowed lover boy who is turning out girls ages 13 – 18. Simmons further deviates from Goldie’s journey, to focus mainly on Snake, leaving this reader longing for some form of interaction between Goldie and Snake that would justify the eventual changing of the guard. Although I am sure of Simmons intentions, it just didn’t translate onto the pages of the book. Even after he refocused on Goldie, the book never really regained the momentum I was experiencing at the beginning, or the build-up that would leave me yearning for the next installment.
I believe that the basis of the story itself is strong; the writer simply didn’t bring everything together to make it flow smoothly. There was a lot of telling, which is common amongst new writers and something I believe will correct itself as Mr. Simmons progresses.
The only true negative that I have regarding Ghetto Resume’ is the overuse of the suffix “ly.” Again, this is something that the writer will work through as his journey moves forward, but it was a big distraction for me.
My rating fluctuated between 3.5 and 4 stars. I have decided to rate it 4 stars based on it being a pretty good debut novel and I believe Freddie Simmons is passionate about his craft and will make the necessary adjustments to be around for quite some time.
Much Love,
Tracy
Tracy L. Darity is the author of “He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!” and “Love…Like Snow In Florida On A Hot Summer Day.” For additional information visit www.TracyLDarity.com.
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Reading Progress
| 07/24/2010 | page 16 |
|
4.0% | "So happy Freddie FINALLY dropped off my book...LOL" |
