Karen, Mina, and Shanna are self proclaimed get money chicks living large in the Philly projects, but things are never really what they seem with these three. For one, these best friends seem more like secret enemies several times throughout this novel. They talk trash behind each other's backs, lie habitually, and sleep with each other's men. I thought they would completely turn their back on one another at any given moment. I honestly don't see why they became and remain friends when Mina and Shanna didn't like Karen from the beginning. It isn't like they need each other to get money so I wonder why they tolerate each other.
Karen comes from a very wealthy family and there is never a clear indication as to why she chooses to live this dirty dangerous life. She is the stand out of the group not entirely due to her being Caucasian but because she has a surprisingly curvy body and exudes class that the other two lack. Not only does she move herself into the projects from her posh neighborhood, she also sleeps with wealthy men for a quick buck, and secretly helps run a growing drug cartel. Her dying father declares in his will that all of his businesses will be left solely to her and not her racist mother if only she obtains a business degree which she isn't far from receiving. This alone leaves the reader confused and not able to understand why she is out there needlessly getting her hands dirty while putting her reputation, health, future, and freedom on the line when money was not, is not, and will never be an issue for her.
Mina is undoubtedly the sexiest of the bunch but definitely not the smartest. Early on in the novel she faces a tragic life shattering scenario that leaves her shaken when she finds out that the blunt she laced with embalming fluid caused someone's death. After that it seems she wants to change the life she is living and get on the straight and narrow but that doesn't last for long. She obviously doesn't learn much from her mistakes because she is back to her old tricks in no time flat. Addicted to money, she foolishly agrees to be a drug mule regardless of the possible consequences. I had high hopes for Mina since she is the only one with a legitimate job, a 9 to 5 at that, but she continually disappointed me.
Shanna is the dumbest but the only one who doesn't lie to her best friends. She is sleeping with just as many random men as her counterparts but Chilae is the main man sponsoring her lifestyle. When he pisses her off she ignorantly plans to sleep with his arch enemy for revenge. Her friends warn her against it but she naively dives head first into her plans and into trouble. Her actions open up a can of worms that she was in no way ready for and her before she knows it her choices come back on her and others in shocking methods she would have never expected.
This novel was interesting but I feel it had a very weak plot. Nothing seemed cohesive and the story lines went in circles and didn't add up in many instances. Towards the end the climax finally emerged and quickly disappeared. Very disappointing to say the least. It was also highly confusing when there was a secret yet somehow the other characters slyly knew about it somehow. Occurrences like so were not always clearly explained to the reader. I also don't understand why Chilae had his own chapters when the main focus of this book was supposed to be about the get money chicks. Lastly, not only was the conclusion of this novel very open ended but there are questions from throughout the book that never got answered, and circumstances that never got followed up on. Again, disappointing.