Discussion of The Coldest Winter Ever

[Scott]

Please use this thread to discuss the June book of the month, which is The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah. Please note, this thread will contain spoilers, so read the book before reading this thread.

What do you think of the book?

What do you think of the narrator, Winter Santiaga? I enjoyed reading a story narrated by a character who I and presumably the author find immature and maybe even annoying. I think the author points out Winter's flaws and the flaws of her environment through the spoiled, mistaken girl's praises.

While many of Winter's major flaws are made obvious, I still find myself sympathizing with her.

I am disappointed that more did not happen with Midnight. While reading the book, I got the feeling that he was going to play a more major role in the events and details about him would be revealed that would be more important to the story.

Overall, I like the book. It is definitely very original in my opinion.

What do you think?

Are there any quotes or short excerpts from the book you especially like and want to post?

[Gannon]

I really enjoyed "The coldest winter ever" (great name). At first I thought it was a novel full of darkness and despair, however when you get to the ending you realise it is a novel about hope and change. At the end, when the family is assembled at the funeral you see that Porshe has become a carbon copy of Winter but Lexy and Mercedes have been adopted by Midnight and their lives under his guidance should and will take a whole different path.

Right from the first chapter things seem to go downhill for the main character Winter. Winter is a very interesting character. She is self obsessed, street smart, without compassion. After all the terrible things she does throughout the novel, hittting an old lady over the head with a sock full of rocks comes to mind, you can not like her. However you will have to admit that she is very interesting and a great read. Is it her fault that she is like she is or is it the way her family has brought her up? Her whole life she has been given everything she ever wanted, she has not had to work a single day in her life. She has been led to believe that material wealth is the yardstick that your friends judge you buy. Winter has chances through the novel to change. At the boarding house she has the chance to get a normal job and change her whole way of life but does not try or even consider it for a second. Instead she does what she does best and starts using everyone there for her own means. Yoiu have to admire how she manipulates everybody there for her own good.

I like how Sister Souljah wrote herself into the novel and gave Winter an intense disliking of herself. Winter can not stand her but has no problem crashing at her place when the offer is placed. I suppose by that stage she does not reallly have anywhere else to go.

I think apart from some great characters, I enjoyed this novel because it opens your eyes to a different world. My own life is so far removed from Winter's it actually does feel like another world.

To sum up, I enjoyed reading "The coldest winter ever" I like a novel which leaves you thinking about it and its characters. I found myself really wanting everything to work out for Lexy and Mercedes and wondering how Winter is going to get along in prison. Knowing Winter I am sure that she is going to be fine.

[Gannon]

Hey Scott, I agree with you about Midnight. You really get the sense at the beginning of the book that he is going to play a big part. Would it have been a better novel if Midnight played a bigger role? I believe so.

I think that Sister Souljah has written a novel about Midnight and it is a prequel to "The coldest winter ever" Might be worth a look.

[Booklover1981]

I agree totally about Winter. She is so annoying and sometimes deserves a little slap but you find youself feeling sorry for her too.

[BlondeNicole]

Wow.

I read this book years ago and it was really great.

I regret they never did make the movie version with
Jada Pinkett Smith. Shame.

I didn't enjoy the sequel to this book "Midnight" at all, though.

But Winter is a classic now. This is like the major hip hop
contribution to literature. LOL!

BTW, there's a great book by TWEET called "Love Is the Drug"
but it's only in e-book format. I got it at either mobipocket
or smashwords and really enjoyed it.

"Love Is the Drug" tells the story of Real Roxanne and it's
awesome.

[xoxo]

Ohh I'm soo jealous of u guys
I really wanted to read this book
but i wasted all my money on other plans -____-"

[Indonesia]

I went to the book store and my mom told me it was a good book so i went ahead and got it. It has a very interesting title that caught my eye. Once I read the first couple pages i was hooked. Sister Souljah is a real inspiration to us young women who grow up in bad enviroments. I think Midnight is every girls dream because he sure is mine. I really like this book and it is a classic.

[textbookonly]

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah is a thoroughly engrossing, simply riveting book that I am very happy to have read. It is like a tell-all story from an urban teenaged girl's point-of-view. From the drug life to the privileged life, the story takes you on a journey that you will never forget. There's so much that can be said about this book, but I'll start with the main character Winter. This girl is sooo real, so authentic that I wondered "Who is Winter? Where is she?" SHE EXISTS out there somewhere. Sister Souljah did an excellent job characterizing Winter as well as the others (Midnight, Lauren, Santiaga, etc.). The way the story was written you were allowed to know Winter's every thought, whether you agreed with those thoughts or not. Winter was defined by what happened to her and how she reacted to the things that she experienced (mother's accident, father's jailing, being forced to live among strangers, lack of money, love for money...). And the plot had many twists and turns, shockers and laughs. My favorite line is "Bounce, nigga," which is what Winter said to a 'white man'. It was hilarious. Overall, I loved the story, the writing, the character, and some of the messages conveyed in this piece of work. It is highly recommended...a book that has "FILM ME" written all through its pages.

[divengrabber]

thats a great book n i would like 2 tell all readers 2 read that book.

[hallo]

I enjoyed reading the book "The coldest winter ever" though I had to pay much attention to go through the first few pages. It became quite interesting when Winter Santiago's character was slowly revealed. Spoiled by drugs, Winter seemed to have a selfish character. The overall message of the book is quite obvious and good for our social world.

[pringle]

This is fantastic book guys in fact I am gonna read this once again...this is one of the best book I have ever seen...

[Techforums123]

Its the story of Winter Santiaga , named because she was born during one of New York's worst snowstorms, the rebellious, pampered teenage daughter of a notorious drug dealer.

This novel is converted to movie