The Coldest Winter Ever: 1 (The Winter Santiaga) Paperback – 20 Sept. 2005

I absolutely loved re-reading this book which I purchased for a friend who hadn’t read it yet I would definitely recommend for late teens/early 20s WOC. It’s also a great conversation starter as whenever I read this book in public people always approach me to tell me how much they enjoyed it too and ask my opinion on it.

Had to stop reading and write a review which I never do!! Absolutely great book, I’ve recently separated from a long term partner and wanted something create more me time.Love it!! Stay up after toddler is in bed and catch a great vibe with this book!Definitely a must read

I read this book because it was recommended as a good read for the book club that my friends and I are in.The book captures your attention from page one. It is fast moving and full of twists and turns and is not predictable. Does Winter get her man?....you will be repeating to yourself, "I will put it down after the next chapter" way into the early hours of the morning!My only criticism is that it is not available on Kindle.

The media could not be loaded. Great book we'll read and recommended

One of the Best Books ever.. Was totally gripped from the beginning and finished in 2 days..

Loved reading this book. I felt that it was a well written book. it capture the essence of criminal activities and its impact on the family and friends. It also capture the difficulty of getting out of the criminal world, even though it is clear that the end result is never positive.

I came across this book while searching for some "urban fiction", something along the lines of Push by Sapphire. This book certainly fits the bill. I read this book in under 2 days, it's a real page turner and while being gritty is an easy read. The New Yorker review puts it perfectly in it's description on the back of the book: "Winter is nasty, spoiled, and almost unbelievably libidinous, and it's ample evidence of the author's talent that she is also deeply sympathetic." Winter Santiaga isn't the a likeable character, not the type of person you would wish to meet or know in real life. However unlike with many novel main characters like this, Winter's personality did not make the book difficult to read nor was she too much to cope with. I was caught up in her ghetto world, wanted to know what was in store next for her and even hoped for a happy ending for her/her to change her ways. The conclusions that the characters come to are very believable.The one major flaw in this book for me is that Sister Souljah includes herself as a character. It is just bizarre, and very out of place especially in a novel where other "real life" people are not referred to. It adds nothing to the book from the readers point of view and personally I'd be embarrassed to voice my ignorant views of HIV through myself in a book and have myself as a love interest! This poor judgement shown makes me not want to take a risk on Souljah's other novels.

This book is awesome. If you've read Fly Girl, it's like Fly Girl x10! The book is gripping from start to finish. And the end of every chapter leaves you with a small cliff hanger, which will tempt you to read on. I don't read much but finished this book in 2 days! It was worth going to bed at 4.40am because I was hooked. Definitely a book you should purchase!