Sunshine On Sugar Hill

by Angela Gilltrap

From Bondi Beach to the backstreets of Harlem, Angela Gilltrap hilariously recounts the culture shock of transplanting herself in New York.

In a story that even she will admit borders on the surreal, Angela Gilltrap, ex-Strictly Dancing star, finds herself living in Sugar Hill in Harlem, New York City. For a performer who has always sung soul, jazz and gospel music, it is a dream come true. Sharing a six-floor walk-up with her boyfriend, a composer/musician and international chess champion, she suddenly has to adjust, not only to her new city, but to the nuances of her new surroundings – which happen to include the occasional drive-by shooting, drug deals and daily arrests.

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2009

Reviews

[Christel Keijzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

entertaining account of an Australian woman leaving her life in Bondi Beach to transplant herself to the unknown trials and tribulations of living in Harlem, New York City

[Tara van Beurden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book I picked up from the cheap table at a local book store. I love the United States, having been there four times (I’m going back in a month!), so I thought I’d enjoy this book about an Australian moving to New York. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t as compelling as I’d hoped. Angela, an Australia, meets and falls in love with an African American man when on holidays in New York and decides to up and move over there to live with him. Of course, matters don’t quite work out quite that cleanly, and anyway, her new beau lives in Harlem, and she’s not exactly traditional Harlem material. I felt like Angela’s stories were pretty pedestrian and she made a bigger deal out of certain things than they actually were for amusement’s sake (which fell flat). There were a few interesting moments but otherwise, this was a book I really had to drag myself through. Apparently Angela still lives in New York, though I’ve been unable to confirm whether she’s still with the boyfriend she moved over for. Probably a good read if you’ve never been to States, but for me, it was exactly illuminating.

[Louisa Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angela Gilltrap is skilled at drawing her readers into her story. It's as if we walk beside her and share her emotions as she discovers the hidden, the scary, the different about her new neighbourhood. After all, Harlem isn't everyone's idea of "fun".

We can picture her standing on the couch to look out her window, we can empathise with her struggle to carry bags of groceries up six flights of stairs, we can pull our own feet off the floor when she describes the mice in her apartment and we can gasp and feel the fear when she describes hearing gun shots on the street below.

Gilltrap has a remarkable way of painting pictures with words, making this book extremely easy to read. I needed a wonderful, happy book to lift me. This did just that. Thank you Angela.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really inspiring story of love, creativity and following your dreams...even if it means moving to the other side of the world. Angela Gilltrap narrates with an honesty that is exciting and realistic, completely capturing the Romance of living in New York.

My main critique is that the narrative form could do with some stronger editing - at times there is very little flow and quite a few jarring grammatical and spelling errors. But the story itself is engaging and better than any romance fiction could hope to be. Whether you dream of going to New York for the first time or already love the city, you will see another side to it in this book.

[Sherry Mackay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay I'm feeling generous and giving her 3. This book doesn't have much story. The author seems very shallow and we don't get any real ending to her story. Does she get back with the boyfriend ? Where does she end up living etc? I wanted a bit more depth.

[Marilu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting

[R Fern · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it in a day. Lovely and interesting story, I was amused and surprised on every page.