New York : Kensington Pub. Corp., 2008
viii, 261 p. ; 22 cm.
Ni-Ni Simone is an extremely popular author at our library, and so I finally got around to reading one of her novels to see what makes her books spend so much time off the shelves and in the hands of readers.
After reading If I Were Your Girl, I understand the appeal of her books. Simone is great with dialogue and conveying the attitude of her characters. She's also skilled at moving the plot along, while creating a rich array of interesting characters. One of the things I really enjoyed about Simone is that she is able to explore the mistakes and shortcomings of her characters without being preachy, but is also able to show them developing and succeeding in ways that are interesting and not always predictable.
I especially liked how Simone is able to make a really creepy "player" like Quamir - the main character's first boyfriend - believable to the point where the reader almost believes his lies and lines. With convincing dialogue and scenes we are able to sympathize with Toi, the main character as she struggles to figure out which characters actually care about her, and which characters are simply out to use her.
Finally, the plot is really satisfying in that Toi's maturation and development during the novel is reasonable and not miraculous - and the life she creates as a young teen mother is redemptive, but still not easy.
I am truly grateful that there are authors like Simone who are writing for the teens, especially young women, who want the realism and grittiness of urban fiction and novels with "drama" - but is able to do it with meaningful characters and dialogue, instead of simply peppering her narrative with graphic sex and obscene language.
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