Hard White: On the Streets of New York Only One Color Matters

by Shannon Holmes

The streets are pitch black, but a different shade of darkness has engulfed the north Bronx neighborhood known as Edenwald. Sleepless nights, suspicion, and violence are plaguing the hood, all a result of rampant use of cocaine, known as hard white among residents. Two Edenwald residents, Melquan and Precious, have big dreams but must sever their ties to street life in order to realize them. A story of triumph and tribulations, beating the odds, and nail-biting drama, this novel deftly unravels the story of two lives hang precariously over the crucible of hard white.

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Shannon Holmes was born and raised in New York City’s most northern borough; the Bronx. Holmes’ entrance into the literary world was anything but ordinary. Armed only with a G.E.D. and the desire to change his life, Mr. Holmes crafted his first novel and signed his first literary contract from prison, while serving a five year sentence for various drug convictions. This was truly an amazing feat when you consider Mr. Holmes had never even written a short story in his life. He truly made the best of a bad situation.
He first achieved success with his first novel B-more Careful, which has gone on to sell a half a million copies to date. This may not sound like a lot of to the general public, but in the literary world Mr. Holmes is platinum. By producing such lofty sales numbers, Shannon was able to parlay the success of his first novel into a two book, six figure deal, with publishing giant Simon & Schuster.
Avoiding the sophomore jinx, Shannon Holmes crafted the critically acclaimed Bad Girlz, which sold fifty thousand copies in its first week. His next novel Never Go Home Again was hailed as best work... With this he achieved yet another milestone, he became the first author of the street genre to have his novel printed in hardcover. Since then Mr. Holmes has signed an even bigger deal publishing deal with St. Martin’s Press, it’s rumored to be in the high six figures, for two novels.

Reviews

[Jalil Ajarrag · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors purpose in writing the book is to entertain the reader. The authors purpose in writing the book is also to give the reader an idea of what its like in Edenwald projects. The book is about drug dealing and melquans relationship with precious."Melquan reached precious' third floor apartment in no time". Precious is melquans girlfriend. This book impacts it's audience because its drama filled and has a lot of excitement. This book will definitely have lasting value.

I think the book was very well written. I think the book had very good vocabulary usage and tremendous descriptions. "Staring amilessly out the cab window, Melquan thoughts drifted silently with the ride". I also think it was very well written because every character had an awesome description and you can always put a mental picture in your head to how the events were really like. The book was very captivating. Melquan selling drugs with his friend Mike Copeland and his relationship with precious made the book captivating. "Whats good, Mel?" Mike Copeland greeted giving melquan a pound.

I feel like I relate to Melquan because his attitude and personality is similar to mines. I did not find the book boring at all. The book was dramatic and serious. There was some funny parts and also some action packed events. I think the greatest strength is the description of events and the greatest weakness is the introduction because it doesn't really introduce all the characters. I would recommend this book to a friend because its drama filled and action packed.