Sistah Souljah. With those two words you could start a fight. The hip hop b-girl turned activist turned novelist is never anything less than controversial. She says what she thinks, even when it is completely inflammatory and while I don’t often agree with her opinions, I give her props for having the guts to be true to herself. She is for me, the black female writer version of Quentin Tarantino, crass, full of bravado, overly graphic, but also consistently interesting, original, and possibly a genius.
In 1999 like many readers I found myself completely caught up in the world of Winter Santiaga. The Coldest Winter Ever, Souljah’s debut as a novelist was gritty, gripping, intense, but in short totally brilliant and completely fascinating. Winter Santiaga was a bad bitch (self described). Her father, Ricky Santiaga was Brooklyn’s premier drug king pin, making their whole family nothing short of hood royalty. She had the flyest clothes, a car with a gorgeous driver, and her pick of boys. True to life, everything was great, until it wasn’t. When Ricky Santiaga finally gets busted, Winter’s whole world falls apart.
SPOILER ALERT: What really got me about this book, besides the fact that it felt like a story I hadn’t read before (which is rare), was how Winter never really gets better. She is a hood rat on page one and stays true to character throughout the book . I keep expecting there to be some Pollyanna miracle where Winter gets a clue and grows into a more evolved consciousness, but she doesn’t and that, while maddening, made me respect the book even more. There were no happy endings.
Nearly a decade later, Souljah comes out with Midnight: A Gangster Love Story which was billed as the long awaited sequel. Midnight was Santiaga’s driver, a mysterious, sexy coal black heart throb who Winter was forever trying to get with and who would never give her the time of day. The book begins with Midnight as a boy. This was a story I did not expect to read. It is the story of a Sudanese refugee who is a devout Muslim tasked with taking care of his family when his father abandons them ( my take on it…Midnight has a different experience). It’s a story about conflicting values and how Midnight works to preserve his cultural heritage while surrounded by people with very different values and morals.
Like many readers, I found myself a bit distracted. I read the first 50 pages just waiting. What happened to Winter? What about her family? Are Winter and Midnight going to meet again? It’s Ricky Santiaga who makes a cameo just as Midnight begins an improbable romance with a Japanese artist named Akemi. That is around the time I decided to give up on Midnight as a non linear sequel or even a prequel to The Coldest Winter Ever. Perhaps that’s why I actually enjoyed it. When I read it without the burden of the previous book, it had enough intrigue to hold its own.
I also read the sequel to A Gangster Love Story, Midnight and the Meaning of Love. Here Souljah did something different. She took a risk and strayed from the formula that made The Coldest Winter Ever so compelling. Winter felt real. Love her, hate her, pity her, shake your head at her, whatever your reaction, she felt like somebody’s cousin’s friend. Her story felt like a story that really happened. While Midnight’s tale begins more or less believably, it takes a fantastical turn that includes interludes in Japan and Korea. I’m not gonna give away any more details about Midnight and his adventures, but suffice to say a little suspension of disbelief is necessary as Midnight goes commando.
A Deeper Love Inside- The Porsche Santiaga Story is the resolution I have been waiting for. All my questions about the other characters were answered and Souljah provided a well balance novel. While the first book focused on Winter as the oldest and most spoiled daughter, the apple of Ricky Santiaga’s eye, Winter had three younger sisters, Porsche and the two twins Lexus and Mercedes.
The book begins with Porsche’s first night in lock down after she stabs a social worker for talking shit about her family. It is rough. Souljah pulls no punches and we are returned once again to a gritty, sad, but real feeling story. But it doesn’t feel the same Coldest. While Porsche idolizes Winter, she is definitely her own person. She is smart, imaginative, and very into dancing and music. It’s these qualities that make her relatable. While I was steadily cheering for Winter to get it together, I didn’t have much hope, whereas Porsche is just fresh enough to make some different decisions. And does she ever. There were parts to it, especially near the end, that got a little far-fetched, but the majority of the novel has a very authentic, compelling narrative.
Souljah knows how to tell a great story with some very unique characters. In a world where Black narratives in young adult fiction have become so narrow (either historical fiction involving slavery or MTV hip hop soap opera crap), this book broadens the spectrum.
Reagan Jackson is a writer, artist, YA fiction aficionado, afro-punk, international educator, and community organizer based in Seattle, WA. You can find her most Tuesdays at the Seattle Poetry Slam or maybe just being nerdy at her favorite bookstores.
Reagan Jackson is a writer, artist, YA fiction aficionado, afro-punk, international educator, and community organizer based in Seattle, WA. You can find her most Tuesdays at the Seattle Poetry Slam or maybe just being nerdy at her favorite bookstores.
