Midnight: A Gangster Love Story

I loved this book! I loved how Sister Souljah told about his background and where he came from and the beauty of it all. I loved how she displayed the contrast between the culture of how he lived in Africa to how he had to learn and adapt in America. I also loved how he fought for his love and how he had to fight to win her heart. I loved everything about this book! Sister Souljah is a one of a kind writer!

Midnight: A Gangster Love Story tells the story of Midnight, a Sudanese immigrant, who moves to the United States with his mother and sister. Not only does this book chronicle the often rough and tumultuous life of Midnight and his assimilation into American culture, but it also presents the stark contrasts between the way he grew up in Africa and the way he learned to live in America. For those of you who read The Coldest Winter Ever, you will recognize the character of Midnight as one of the acquaintances of the book's main character, Winter Santiaga. I did get tired of constantly reading about how terrible Americans are in this book, though. I understand that there are many things that need to be changed in the African-American community, but after a while, I just shut down when I hear passage after passage generalizing Americans as lazy, promiscuous, and not worthy. As a well-education woman of color, I became offended after a while. I guess Midnight and his family never came in contact with admirable Americans, of any color, ever. That's a shame because I think Sister Souljah could have also explored the differences between the people Midnight lived around and others who actually do good things for the community, their families, and themselves.

First off if you are looking for a sequel to The Coldest Winter Ever, this aint it, you will be very disappointed. Though the story is about the charachter Midnight from the Coldest Winter Ever, this book is about his life before the Santiagos. As a matter of fact the oldest he gets in this book is the age of fourteen. But let me tell you he happens to be a very mature fourteen yr. old, who lives the life of a well bred man who instead if giving into temptation resist it. I found him so captivating the way he lives his life, the culture, the religion, though I do not agree with everything of muslim faith i do believe that if we all could just live by this one law, no fornication!!! we would be much better off as a people, Dont You Think? My favorite charachter in this book after Midnight of course, is Bangs I found her as he did funny but also bold. As much as I respected Midnight for staying true to hiself and his beliefs I found myself a little upset that things could'nt and would'nt come together for Midnight and Bangs i really believe he would have made a big difference in her life a positive difference. so even though I was a little disappointed that this had nothing to do with the Coldest Winter Ever. I was not disapointed with this book not at all. All ive got to say is Sister Souljah you better be working on part2 Because you can not leave me hangin like this!!!!!!!

"MIDNIGHT: A LOVE STORY" By Sister Souljah REVIEWED BY KOLA BOOF 10 STARS!! When I Pre-Ordered Sister Souljah's latest book almost a year ago, I had no idea that the lead character would share a journey very similar to my own...from SUDAN to AMERICA. Now after receiving the book and consuming it in one long, fascinated pillow prop...I have to say, one novelist to another, what I truly feel... IT'S A MASTERPIECE. AND...it's about time that a mainstream book presented such a positive and heartfelt portrayal of MUSLIM characters (God knows that because of my own personal pain as a Sudanese forced out of Africa, I have rarely been able to). But this book fully renders Umma and Midnight as human beings; normal, brave, flawed and complicated as all the rest of us. I love Sister Souljah so much for being brave enough to take on such brevity via such a cabal as Corporate Publishing. I love her even more for doing what Lauryn Hill did in music---identify, highlight and expose the self-hatred and self-destruction of otherwise good (but misguided) brothers and sisters who need so much to be given positive examples of who they are (were meant to be)...and to do it without preaching as Sister Souljah does so marvelously here. MIDNIGHT is a son that we can all wish to give birth to ourselves. When you close this book...you really feel that there is HOPE for our young people's vitality and talent and natural beauty to be rooted and bloomed. Affirmation that we don't always get from other segments of HIP HOP culture. And since the day I first read "NO DISRESPECT", I have always known that Sister Soujah could take us to this level. When her book "COLDEST WINTER EVER" came out--I thought her voice was just as vibrant and important as an Alice Walker, Maya Angelou or a Toni Morrison, but from a YOUNGER more HIP perspective. I knew that she would go beyond the Crass Exploitation that makes up so much of the "Street Lit" offerings. Of course, I don't agree with everything that Sister Souljah espouses. We are two different (but extremely similar) types of warrior women. I believe that women's BREASTS should be exposed and be viewed as they were BEFORE Islam and Christianity invaded Africa...as SACRED ornaments representing GOD and the circle of life. I don't believe that women are impure and should be covered up. I was born Muslim in Omdurman, Sudan to a Muslim father who was considered "White". I have written much in my own books about the fact that it was "illegal" for my father and I to have meals together in Sudan's Sunni society...women I saw rolled in carpets and burned alive for not producing boys...enslavement of "darker blacks" by Brown Muslim Religious Fanatics and mass killings of "river & sun people" who refused to SUBMIT to the invading Islamic religion... ...much of which led to me rejecting the Muslim faith as an adult (I rejected Christianity as well). BUT I CAN SAY...that my Muslim father was one of the greatest human b

Prior to reading this book, I read Sister Souljah's own personal memoir, "No Disrespect" and found her story touching, her words genuine, and was completely indulged, page-by-page. Thus, this review is somehow biased by my admiration and respect for Souljah as a writer, activist, and human being. Much like the construction of, "Coldest Winter Ever", "Midnight" is well-orchestrated, from the first sentence on the first page, to the last sentence on the last page. Clearly, Souljah has mastered effective use of words, espescially with a character as mysterious and profound as Midnight. Although "Midnight" is NOT a sequel to "Coldest Winter" it proves to be an outstanding read for anyone interested in the whereabouts/story of Midnight. This book also offers readers of urban fic who may not venture outside of this literary genre insight on Afrika and her people. Souljah has obviously done research to complete this novel, as she tells Afrika's story very well and portrays the views of non-Americans in general very well. (For example, as a Caribbean person, I found myself agreeing on numerous occasions with Midnight's worldview). In short, "Midnight" is a good story because of the delivery, the content and the perspective. We should support Souljah's newest book just because of the beauty of "Coldest Winter"!