I figured this would be a nice, easy palate cleanser.  Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.   It was quick.   It was easy. 

And while part of me wishes this wasn't just dudes posing, often times with guns, it's a coloring book about gangsta rap.   I suppose I really should just be happy there wasn't more calling women 'bitches' and 'hos' in the forward and afterward. 

That being said, I did learn some things.   Like a rapper actually chose to call himself Brotha Lynch Hung.   I skimmed the afterward, to be honest, because it seemed to just list the rappers and where they came from.   The forward, which was shorter, also managed to give a little more insight into the history of gangsta rap.   Not much at one page long, but still. 

I also got this from Humble Bundle.  I didn't expect to love this going in, but I also was really into the rest of the titles when I bought this, so I figured if I never read this?   No big loss.   

Ah, well, let's see if I can finish anything else I start.  I feel so flaky, although more human than I have in the past couple of days!

Almost don't know what to say.  Some things speak for themselves.

Anne Rice, apparently bored and still looking to keep her name in the press, is set to embark on the latest leg of her jihad against the Careerist Gangsta Thug Bullies by creating a pamphlet/booklet on the subject, filled with cautionary tales and anecdotes shared by victims of the various and sundry traps that befall unwary, innocent authors out here in the Big Bad Bookworld. Only thing is, it's not supposed to include any real proof of such behavior, so you'll just have to take her word for it.  After all, she's Anne Rice and they're her People of the Page.  They are above scrutiny.  Or logic.

https://m.facebook.com/annericefanpage/posts/10153129926295452

You'll note how the first response is from one Micki Peluso- who was swapping 5-star reviews with Raani York.  Yes, we Bullies have long memories.  And screenshots.  Which Anne Rice already declared she won't use.  Because that would be proof.  Not to mention potentially libelous. 

2.75 stars

   I swear I had Gangsta's Paradise on a loop in my head while reading this. It was hard not to compare this book to Dangerous Minds. Don't get me wrong, there was more going on here, but the whole teacher out of her element trying to connect to some hardened, troubled kids through some poetic type means....it screams for a leather jacket and a soundtrack, just sayin'.

   I liked the greek tragedies and the way they were not only in the story, but ultimately came through as the story as well. That was nicely done. I find all those interesting, so it was easy to see why some wayward older kids might have as well. There are a lot of elements in them that an audience like that can relate to.

   What really fell short for me though, was the characters. I was as uninterested in her as she was with pretty much everything in general. She was so detached from life, and I get it, she was struggling with some serious stuff, but in turn I was detached from her. The most interesting people in this story to me were the misfit kids, and even they never seemed fully developed. I really just felt bad for them for their lots in life, and for being stuck with yet another person that was only half there in their lives. Alex had her moments of helping them, but she was way too far into her own troubles to help anyone else with theirs.

    All in all it was a decent story but I think it had some real potential to be more if the characters could have been a little more.....something....just more than they were. The detachment there, for me, just seemed to make this story drag on a little.

    I received this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

by little Annie Rice... My comments were deleted, I can't post or like.

Poor Annie. She does so dislike anyone who doesn't see things her way.