A Thug's Redemption

by Yani

When Jamal decides to take matters into his own hands by avenging his best friend's murder, he is forced into the street life, forever in debt to his cousin Samir, one of Philadelphia's biggest drug lords. After finding love; separating himself from the game, and turning his life around, fate comes into play when a desperate act by his younger brother Shawn, brings back the haunting night from Jamal's past. Secrets are revealed, and Jamal is forced back into the street life to save his brother as well as himself. In this story about friendship, love, and the dangers of North Philly streets, Jamal will soon learn that mistakes are hard to clean up and they will cost him dearly in the end.

334 pages, Paperback

First published January 14, 2008

About the author

Born in 1984 and raised in both North Philadelphia and the Germantown sections of Philadelphia, Yani knew she would be a writer at a young age. Starting with short versions of her own Tom & Jerry stories at only 5, Yani put her skill and talent to use in her grade school classes by writing other short stories to entertain her teachers and peers. Poetry became an interest to her at the age of 13 when she discovered her ability to free-style lyrical flows. Her first poem "Incomplete Dream" was published in University City's High School newspaper, but her rise to small fame in the school came after performing one of her best poetic pieces during a high school talent show, being the only student to receive a standing ovation. Her poem "Why Tyrone Can't Read" is still remembered by students and staff who run into her almost 13 years later. Yani has performed her poetry on the local hip-hop and R&B radio station Power 99FM, and other open-mic nights throughout Philadelphia. Though her ability to combine rhymes and metaphors together comes easily, her desire to become a published novelist was stronger than anything else. She wrote A Thug's Redemption at the age of 15.
Yani first became published through Publish America. When seeing her writing career was going no where with that company, she purchased her rights back and began making moves to become self-published. Using the money saved from being a self-employed phone sex operator, Yani went to work with developing her own publishing company, Anitbeet Productions, built and designed her own website and paid for printing and marketing for her debut novel. A Thug's Redemption has been featured on Yo! Raps Magazine's website and Yani has been interviewed by Joey Pinkney for Black Urban Times. It is not only available on Amazon and Kindle, but other online book stores as well as her website anitbeetproductions.net

Reviews

[Jenna29 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome! Hands freaking down! Yani made it so easy to fall in love with the characters. I could easily see myself as Deisha! Loved the story. She did NOT lie when she said Karma does not miss in this book! I def recommend it as a MUST read.

[Ericka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story chronicles the teenage lives of Jamal, Tamera, Shawn, Chandra, Deisha and Maurice as they go through there ups and downs in life while trying to continue high school and eventually graduate.All of them experience there own growing pains some more painful than others. Tamera has to deal with her sometime abusive over protective father, while Chandra is trying to cope with the lost of her little brother that died in her arms. Jamal and Shawn whom are brothers are just way in over there head. The ending was very tragic and brought a lot of emotion out of me which was a very good thing. Upon entering this book I thought to myself wow a book about a couple of teenagers in high school how far could this go? But as I read deeper the author was able to keep my attention as the plot grew stronger. The flow of the story and the characters were very believable some parts took me back to my high school days hanging at the mall with my friends and finding my first love. What I liked most about this story was the tight bond that the characters had with each other when one was down the other was there to pick them up. What I liked least would be the slow start I was up to about 50 pages before it got really interesting but it was worth the wait, also the ending but hey that can't all be good endings and by me not liking the ending means that the author was able to evoke that in me with her words I could not believe it and never would have seen it coming it was definitively a cliff- hanger. All in all this was a very good read that will bring out emotions in you or my make you have flashbacks from your on high school years like it did for me. I also would like to say there was know editing issues with this book which made it a more easy read.

Okay! Peeps you know what time it is that's right Q&A

1) Would I recommend this book to my readers?
Yes great book to curl up with ..

2) Would I buy any other books from this author based off this one?
Yes I think this author has a very smooth flow and knows how to draw in her readers

3) How would I rate this boo on a scale of 1-5?
I would give it a 4

[Nerd-girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It wasn't hard to keep up with the characters, it wasn't too fast paced or drawn out. It was funny, suspenseful and had a mind blowing ending like I couldn't believe Yani ended this book like that! I follow her blog and was hype there's going to be a sequel I just wish she was releasing it sooner. From the look of the preview, the sequel might be crazy! 5 stars hands down!

[Lisa G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the 1st book in this series and I loved it. i'm from Philly so I know the places that this book continued to highlight. In this book we meet Jamal Shawn Maurice Tamera Chandra and Deisha during their high school year. it focused on the relationships and the ups and downs these couples face Maurice/Deisha Shawn/Cnandra and Jamal/Tamera. I was sadden by the what happen to Tamera. I cant wait to read book two.

[Letitia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome story about a group of friends falling in love and coming of age together. Truly sad when Tammy & Jamals life together looked as if it were coming together: her music career, the pregnancy, and college. It was all taken away when her and her childs life were taken because people hated on and was jealous of Jamal. I'm glad that Jamal didn't fall apart and went on to college ~ let's see what the future holds in book 2

[T.A. Beasley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six friends learn lessons on life in A Thug’s Redemption by Yani. Jamal, Tamera, Chandra, Shawn, Deisha and Maurice are dealing with everyday issues, parents and trying to stay away from the streets. Some are not as careful as they believed themselves to be and soon learn the hard way.

Jamal is dating Tamera, who keeps getting herself in situations that Jamal has to come to her rescue. One mistake with another girl causes Jamal and Tamera’s relationship to take a turn for the worse. The frustration lead Jamal to go back to hanging with his cousin Samir and soon Jamal is back to the behaviors that got his friend killed. Will Jamal be next?

Shawn is dating Chandra. Shawn helps Chandra deal with her distant mother while also mentoring her little brother. After Chandra losing her brother home life task a drastic change causing Chandra to move in with her father. When Shawn takes a bullet protecting his brother, Jamal, he realizes that life has to change before it is too late.

Deisha is dating Maurice both dealing with dysfunction in their families. Deisha is staying with her aunt and trying to have a normal life. She is also dealing with the fact that Maurice’s mother does not care for her or their relationship. Maurice is focusing on his relationship with Deisha and blocking out his mother’s concerns. Both decide pursuing college is their ticket of out their situation.

A Thug’s Redemption is a typical street lit book with drama and murder. The author does a wonderful job expressing the bond between the friends. On the other hand, this book had a lot of ancillary characters that did nothing for the storyline for me. Readers will be able to relate to the issues these six friends experience. This book had a slow start but picked up keeping my interest. It had an unsuspected ending that seemed to leave readers hanging, which leads me to believe there is more to these characters lives. This book had some grammatical errors but I was able to keep up with the storyline. However, I do recommend A Thug’s Redemption to others.

This book was provided by the author for review purposes.

Teresa Beasley
A&RBC Reviews

[Tumika Patrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Thug’s Redemption by Yani is the very powerful story of six teenagers trying to navigate their world while dealing with typical teenage issues, dysfunctional families, and social pressures all while living in a proverbial urban warzone. From the first line until the last, ATR had me enthralled. The story evoked so much emotion, bringing back to my memory my own journey as a teenager, the heartbreak of loss, the hope of dreams yet to be fulfilled. The characters were so real, feeling like people I either knew or have seen; each sentence playing in my mind like a movie. I could feel their emotions – their pain, their struggles, their dreams, their love, their hopes, their fears. Yani has brought forth a powerful message the affects the lives of too many of our children. While loss is devastating in and of itself, senseless loss is that much more heartbreaking. Whether one has personally lost a loved one to gun violence, known others who have or seen clips from the news, A Thug’s Redemption brings it all home, making it real. This book has given a real glimpse into the minds and lifestyles of urban youth and the day to day struggles they face just to receive an education and make it safely into adulthood.

As we all have, these teens learn the lessons that people come into your life for a reason, a season or for a lifetime. And for those who are not meant to endure an entire lifetime, their presence brings lessons and messages always meant to evoke some sort of change. There remains a choice whether to embrace those lessons or proceed on business as usual. Sometimes the lessons that have the deepest and most lasting impact are those that cost us the most to learn. For those with a desire to change, no matter what obstacles they face change can be achieved if they stay the right course.

Yani is definitely a literary voice with a story and a message to tell. 5 stars.

[Scarlet Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good story. I loved how the author established the characters and made the reader feel apart of the story. I hated for the story to end. It brought me back to my own teenage years and really drove home the moral of loyalty.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I received this free from good reads first reads.