The Word on Street Lit

Vickie Stringer's prequel to Let That Be the Reason

By Vanessa Morris, the iSchool at Drexel Univ., Philadelphia -- Library Journal, 10/15/2009

This month’s street lit picks focus on characters who struggle to redeem their pasts. While these young men and women may make bad choices, they do take the time and energy and have the faith to turn their lives around. Another important theme recurring in urban fiction is family support. As we prepare for the holiday season, the titles below will remind readers of how family, friends, and faith can play important roles in life’s successes as well as in recovering from its failures.

Pick of the Month

Stringer, Vickie M. The Reason Why. Atria: S. & S. 2009. 290p. ISBN 978-1-4391-6609-3. pap. $15. F
Written during the last six months of Stringer’s prison term, Let That Be the Reason (2001) launched the writer’s successful career as a street lit author and publisher. Now in this prequel, she tells how the infamous crime duo Pam and Chino (also the protagonists of Imagine This) became the “Bonnie and Clyde” of street lit. Having grown up in a stable two-parent, education-focused home, Pam is now looking to escape her mother’s overbearing expectations and carve out her own identity. Chino, by contrast, is parentless. His mother died during a drug deal gone bad when he was just 12 years old, and his father is in prison for dealing. A chance nightclub meeting spirals into a street love story that turns Pam into a college dropout and single mom and leaves Chino feeling betrayed yet conflicted about his love for her. We also meet the Triple Crown posse and learn some of their backstories. 
Verdict Seasoned street lit fans may think “same old, same old,” but Stringer gets it right, recalling those early hip-hop days in the 1980s when the crack trade was emerging. She also treats Pam and Chino as real people, not stereotypes, laying out the cultural, social, economic, and emotional reasons for their relationship. Reminiscent of Omar Tyree’s Flyy Girl and Sister Souljah’s Midnight, this is a must for Stringer fans and for street lit readers looking for a well-crafted yet still authentic keepin’ it real novel. There’s little graphic sex, so this could fit in a high school–level YA collection as well.

DuPree, Kia. Damaged. Grand Central. Jan. 2010. 290p. ISBN 978-0-446-54775-8. pap. $13.99. F
Camille Logan is a survivor. Having been left in the care of her grandmother by her addict mother, Camille at age ten is placed with foster parents after her grandmother’s death. Enduring sexual abuse at the hands of her caregivers, she turns for comfort to her Nigerian American low-level drug dealer boyfriend, Chu, who is fatally gunned down months before he leaves for college. Chu’s death sends Camille into limbo, then to a tiny rundown apartment building where she lives with a group of wayward women working for one of Chu’s friends, a hellacious pimp. Eventually, Chu’s family finds Camille and helps her to get back on a productive road. The ending hints at a sequel, as readers rooting for Camille’s success will want to follow her further adventures. 
Verdict DuPree, who received the Fiction Honor Book Award from the American Library Association’s Black Caucus for her self-published debut, Robbing Peter, pulls no punches with this knockout of a story about a lost young woman seeking redemption and self-acceptance. From the very first pages, she gives readers raw, gritty, uncompromising realism, telling like it is honestly and well. DuPree is an author to watch. Highly recommended for adult and YA collections.

Gardner, Sean. Excess Baggage: Don’t Let the Past Get in the Way of the Future. Everlast Pub. 2009. 292p. ISBN 978-0-9821580-9-8. pap. $14.95. F
Ad executive Dorian meets up again with his childhood sweetheart, Tara, who has moved back to L.A. as a step-up in her career as a record executive. His friend Chris, a lawyer, falls for Nona, a nurse. Dorian’s grandmother offers up sage anecdotes to help Dorian and Tara make sense of their relationship and their sabotaging behaviors. A court trial threatens Chris and Nona’s relationship, while a character from the past interferes with Dorian and Tara. The two couples waddle through their dramas to end up with a deeper understanding and appreciation for forgiveness, friendship, and love. Yawn. 
Verdict While this debut novel with middle-class African American characters doesn’t strictly fit into the street lit genre, it does focus on the theme of redemption or reconciliation for past deeds and experiences. Stream of consciousness and flashbacks, alongside the four alternating narrative voices, are reminiscent of the technique often used by Teri Woods. The title may attract some street lit fans; however, the dry tone of the writing and the quadraphonic narration will not keep their interest for long.

Sudler, Michele. Waiting in the Shadows. Indigo: Genesis Pr. Nov. 2009. 294p. ISBN 978-1-58571-364-6. pap. $6.99. F
This third Avery novel (after Intentional Mistakes and One of These Days) opens with Devin Avery Albridge rushing to the hospital in response to the news that her husband, Chris, has been fatally shot. His death opens a Pandora’s box of a secret past identity and lifestyle; it also attracts a number of other characters, some of whom come to Devin’s rescue while others arrive to confront her. Luckily, Devin has the strongly bonded Avery family to help guide her in choices that make the most sense for herself and her twin daughters. And, as in a fairy tale, Devin finds love again, waiting in the shadows. 
Verdict Predictable in plot, yet important in message, Sudler’s novel highlights the strengths of the black community in its family ties and friendship. Although the plot revolves around a small gang of young drug dealers, it is not the primary focus. This novel’s merit lies in revealing how when street life hits the fan, its many participants heed the wake-up call and spend many years rebuilding relationships and their own destinies in a more positive direction. A bit too slow paced for YA collections, this is recommended for adult street lit and African American fiction collections.