"The Coldest Winter Ever"

I just finished reading this novel by Sister Souljah today. This novel introduced readers to Winter Santiaga, the 17 year old rebellious, pampered teenage daughter of Ricky Santiaga, a notorious drug dealer. But when the FBI arrests Ricky Santiaga and seizes his house, money, guns and drugs; Winter, her mother and her three sisters lives are turned upside down. Her sisters Porshe, Lexus, and Mercedes are placed in the foster care system and her mother gets locked up for assaulting an officer. Winter escapes by pretending to be a friend of the family and must rely on the hustling tricks she's picked up from her father to survive the streets and maintain her materialistic lifestyle.

Everything that followed including being eventually turned over to child authorities, living at the House of Success, a group home for teenage girls, pissing off Simone, her partner who would boost clothes and other things for her to sell to her housemates and later hooking up with Bullet, an old boyfriend, who has enough money to keep her in the lifestyle her former drug lord father did lands her a mandatory 15-year prison sentence after being arrested and convicted of transporting drugs in his rental car.

There were so many lessons to be learned in this novel. But the one that I hope many girls who are drawn to this type of lifestyle take away is that making poor decisions can ONLY lead to the path of drugs, death and destruction. Thus, I hope that they take the time to make better decisions and make better investments in themselves.

Good read!

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