Review by Princess_321 -- Cry Baby Cry or Not

Princess_321 · Post by **Princess_321** » 06 May 2020, 22:36

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

1 out of 4 stars

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“How does it feel to kill someone?” Cry Baby Cry….. or Not truly explains the illegal activities that the people on the street participate in due to the inadequate style of upbringing they have experienced. One of these many people is Trina. Trina’s mum, Jackie, is deaf and cannot speak. Jackie has forever been troubled by the world due to her disabilities and in order to lighten the weight of her shoulders, Jackie mentally and physically abuses her daughter in a cruel and unspeakable way. Until one day, the tables turn. That's when Trina meets Mistro, a member of one of the most wanted gangs in Chicago and it’s from there where she tries to fit in the street life and loses herself along the way.

Cry Baby Cry….. or Not has 334 pages, separated into 23 chapters and the author, DeWandus Johnson, wrote the book in regard to his own past experiences in life and he truly deserves the appreciation for that.

One of the things that I disliked about this book was that with nearly every new chapter came a new character and in my opinion, not every one of those characters were a fundamental part of the novel and were therefore not needed. Nevertheless, the character development of Trina and Mistro was executed flawlessly! Apart from this, I believe I do not have any more positive factors to list about this book!

Overall, I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. The reason behind this being that the book contained numerous grammatical and spelling errors and it was pretty obvious that the book had not been professionally edited. For example, the word Wednesday, which is such a common word, was spelt incorrectly and there were many sentences that made no sense at all! As well as this, the book included unnecessary examples of profanity and vulgar language, which made reading certain pages a very difficult task. When I first read the storyline of Cry Baby Cry….. or Not , I was really excited to read the book but by the time I got to the last page, my view on the book had completely changed! I guess I found the reason as to why they say, ‘Never judge a book by its cover!’ If only DeWandus Johnson had put a little bit more effort and changed some aspects of the book, then this book could potentially have been a hit in the market.

Personally, I would recommend this book to mature teenagers and young adults so that they are aware that the consequences of murder, drugs and being in gangs will lead to their own downfall. However, I would not recommend this book to younger readers and people who are sensitive to the topic of abuse. I hope that the sequel to this book will be more interesting than this one and I wish DeWandus Johnson all the best for the future!

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Cry Baby Cry or Not
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Awesomeliker · Post by **Awesomeliker** » 27 May 2020, 15:49

Great review! I totally agree with you. The book wasn't well edited and I doubt that he even proofread it. It seems really rushed and obvious that he is inexperienced. The language was also really vulgar with no good reason. Most chapters as well as most character didn't even have a point in the plot and are incredibly useless and unmemorable. He even introduced a character for 3 pages and then they never appeared again.
In my review I gave the book 2 out of 4, but I was really tempted to give it 1 star.
On an unrelated note, this book was my first review as well, I'm now on my third. Good luck and have fun on your experience!!

Zoe Luh · Post by **Zoe Luh** » 27 May 2020, 15:59

Love your review! It's really disappointing that it wasn't well edited and didn't make much sense, because the concept initially seemed interesting to me.

Leen282 · Post by **Leen282** » 28 May 2020, 00:23

Thanks for your honest review. The title and the story line are promising, it's a pity that the book doesn't live up to expectations.

Lorna Houston · Post by **Lorna Houston** » 22 Jun 2020, 10:19

Awesomeliker wrote: ↑27 May 2020, 15:49 Great review! I totally agree with you. The book wasn't well edited and I doubt that he even proofread it. It seems really rushed and obvious that he is inexperienced. The language was also really vulgar with no good reason. Most chapters as well as most character didn't even have a point in the plot and are incredibly useless and unmemorable. He even introduced a character for 3 pages and then they never appeared again.
In my review I gave the book 2 out of 4, but I was really tempted to give it 1 star.
On an unrelated note, this book was my first review as well, I'm now on my third. Good luck and have fun on your experience!!

It was also my first review. What a disappointing read! It really needed a serious edit. I am enjoying reading others' reviews.