whitneydaniell

by: Carl Weber
published: Jan 01, 2005
genre: Romance, African-American, Fiction
320 Pages, Hardcover
GoodReads Link

I decided not to buy new books in July and read books I’d already had on the shelves. After a visit to my family’s hometown last month, my cousin gave me this book and because I’ll read anything from a black author, I cracked it open. This was a rollercoaster in a book- more like a poorly-directed, low-budget, Tyler Perry play.

I. Characters. The story is told through the point of view of:

• Dante – the son of Bishop TK Wilson a prominent pastor in the community.
• Donna (or Madonna) – the daughter of Bishop Wilson and sister to Dante
• Tanisha – a young woman who catches the eye of Dante and eventually, they begin dating
• Shorty – Dante’s best friend from childhood who is pining after Donna his high school crush
• The First Lady (Charlene) – the wife to Bishop Wilson, mother to Dante and Donna

There is zero character development! No real backstory or any story that gives you a peek into why they are the way they are or, who they will become, nothing. These characters just materialize and have no endearing stories or anything that connects you to them; nothing that makes them seem human to the reader. For 95% of the book, The First Lady was awful to everyone around her. Playing favorites with her children, speaking so awfully to her daughter, and being disrespectful to a total stranger who just wanted to enjoy dinner with her family. Donna was insecure, and naive, and had no sense of her self-worth, which was probably because of how her mother spoke to her. Tanisha has the most interesting backstory but, you are left to assume it because it’s not written in the pages. Even with all of her growth throughout the story, she was a walking red flag for 60% of the book. Shorty is a creep, period! Every time he was in a scene or had a chapter he was being creepy and pushy, eww. Dante was no savior, he may have some redeeming qualities but he certainly has some emotional issues and baggage that needs to be unpacked.

After finishing this book, I couldn’t tell anyone one good thing about any character.

II. The Story / Plot

Ugh, gross. I hate to even say that this is something that Tyler Perry would have cooked up because I can only hope that he wouldn’t write anything this bad. The big plot twist was disturbing, albeit it was explained, it still didn’t sit right with me.

I know this was published in 2005 but, was Red Lobster that big of a restaurant back then? Maybe, I’ve just never been a fan.

Everything about this story was basic. Crackheads. The ghetto. Uppity church people. Judgmental church people. Adulterous church members. The tropes are all there. Low-hanging fruit everywhere. It was underwhelming at best.

III. The Writing

Again, taking into account that this book was published in 2005 the dialogue tripped me out. “Pu Pu”, what is that? But what did it for me the most was Donna’s dialogue with her close friend (who she hadn’t seen in months), reading that chapter made me feel like Donna was talking to an older auntie and not a close friend who she is close in age with. The dialogue was like taking a spin in a way-back machine.

The book was a quick read and outside of the dialogue, the writing style was conversational and well-written in my opinion.

Final Thought: I was able to fill some time of my day reading this. Would I pass it off to a friend to read? No. It was cringe and its best and, predictable at its worst. Is this what books were like in 2005? Back then I was reading, the Coldest Winter Ever and Sex Chronicles. I wonder how Zane is doing.