Strapped

by Al-Saadiq Banks

Amber Jones A.K.A Lil Bit was born with the odds totally against her. "A hard knock life" is the best way to describe her childhhod years. The death of her mother at an early age leaves her with no guidance and she's forced to find her way through life the best way that she knows how. Her life brightens up in her teen-age years when she meets her Prince Charming, Maurice who is 10 years her senior. Maurice is a cold hearted Drug Kingpin and the leader of an organization known in the streets of Newark as the Federation. She learns a great deal from him. He teaches her the code of the streets, the meaning of loyalty, honor, morals and principles. Most importantly he teaches her the meaning of true love. As much as she loves him he could never love her the same for the mere fact that he's a married man. She's content with playing the number 2 position until she meets a man who promises her the number 1 position. She's stuck at the crossroads, not knowing whether to continue her and Maurice's complicated love affair or to cut off their intimate ties and only retain their business affairs. The only problem with that is as much as Maurice has emphasized never mixing business with pleasure when it comes to her he has a problem practicing what he preaches. She finds herself trapped in between what she thinks is uncondiotional love and the love of money. To make a decision in the name of love could not only affect her luxurious lifestyle, it could also jeopardize her life and the life of her true love.

395 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 18, 2013

About the author

Al-Saadiq Banks is an urban fiction author, publisher, and filmmaker from Newark, New Jersey. He is best known for the Block Party series and is the founder of True 2 Life Media Conglomerate.

With over 19 published books and more than 1.5 million books sold worldwide, Banks has built a strong and loyal readership over two decades. His work is known for raw, character-driven storytelling rooted in loyalty, ambition, survival, and consequence, reflecting the realities of life and the weight of personal decisions.

His catalog continues to expand with new creative directions, including The Mix: Gen Z Series (February 2026), which marks a generational extension of his storytelling universe.

Banks has also expanded into film with Sincerely Yours, originally written in 2002 and brought to screen over two decades later, representing the evolution of his work from page to film.

He continues to build a connected storytelling universe across books and film, where each series—Block Party, Sincerely Yours, and the Gen Z Series—explores one central theme: every choice carries a consequence.