Review of Cry Baby Cry or Not

[Kira Bonita Reece]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Cry Baby Cry or Not" by DeWandus Johnson.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Cry Baby Cry or Not is a hardcore street story written by DeWandus Johnson. We meet a young girl named Trina. She has had a very hard life even before she became a teenager. She was born in a dangerous neighborhood in Chicago to a mother who was both deaf and dumb. Trina's mother has been through many traumatic events in her life, and she deals with it by hating her own daughter. She isolates Trina from society and would often physically abuse her. Trina did not receive the love she needed at home, so she sought it in any place she could. She ended up in a sexual relationship with her mother's boyfriend. Being the young, naive girl that she was, Trina thought this pedophile actually loved her. In her search for love and affection, she got involved with a gang member named Mistro. He was the only one who truly cared for her. We watched Trina make one bad decision after another. Will she finally find happiness? Will she be another victim to gang violence and prostitution? Or will she find a way out of all this mess?

Cry Baby Cry or Not has the potential to be a great story. The author captured 'street life' quite impeccably and shows us what it is really like when one makes bad choices in life. We see first-hand how things work in a gang and the awful things people go through when they get engrossed in this lifestyle.

While reading this book, I found quite a lot of discrepancies. The writing and grammar are very mediocre, and the story has an uneven pacing. The story seemed to be all over the place. This made it hard to follow the storyline in most places. The introduction of new characters and new scenes did not flow smoothly. When new characters are introduced, I found myself almost reading the entire chapter just to try and figure out how this character fits into the story. Also, the tense of the story was not continuous.

I had no choice but to rate this story 2 out of 4 stars. Although this story had an interesting storyline, there was an excessive number of grammatical and spelling errors. I also think the author should have stuck to one main character. The excessive number of characters made the story chaotic.

After this book receives a lot of proofreading and editing, I would recommend it to crime and drama lovers. I would also recommend it to older teens, especially those thinking about joining gangs or defying authority. This book will show you that there is nothing good that can come from choosing this lifestyle.

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Cry Baby Cry or Not
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[ROSEY-ANN]

Great review!! Sounds like an interesting story. The storyline is relatable.

[Muna Chizzy]

It's really painful when a mother abuse her own child. Sounds like a book that will make me to cry alot, i think i will pass on this one. Thanks for the great review.