GIRLZ N THE TRAP

By: KING MILLI, VINCENT MORRIS

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

THEY WERE OUT OF CONTROL, SEXUALLY REBELLIOUS, MISEDUCATED AND ONLY THIRTEEN. THESE WERE THE GIRLS IN THE TRAP. Shawnette was the most educated and ambitious preteen in her junior high, yet unable to escape a broken school system and a home temporarily in shambles. Her friends, the combative and sexually adventurous Vicki, and Yoka, the dark skinned girl with a complex about color and self-esteem issues, were her gift and curse. Shawnette’s parents worried they would be her downfall, yet knew she needed them as a leg to stand on when life became difficult. As Shawnette blossomed into womanhood, expressed interest in the opposite sex, and grew into her independence, the walls of the trap began closing in. This was in addition to emotionally unstable friends falling victim to everything from pedophilia to extreme violence. At thirteen Shawnette was introduced to her father for a second time. After being released from prison, a better version of daddy, vowed he would turn his life around, become a proper role model, and rear a queen, as opposed to what America perceived to be a hoodrat. This would prove challenging in the presence of Shawnette’s friend’s Vicki and Yoka. At thirteen they were already sexually active and rebellious, sending Shawnette’s father into a tailspin of worry and regret. Making matters worse, their mothers were trapped in similar cycles of easy sex, inappropriate men and underemployment. Would Vicki rise above losing her virginity to a pedophile? Would her mother see her as a daughter, as opposed to competition for sex partners? Would Yoka learn to love her blackness and rise above a mother who tells her she’s nothing? Would Shawnette escape the block, or see her father rise above his criminal past? Would any of these girls find love? Were they even prepared for a healthy relationship? Who would escape the trap? Would anybody ever be happy? The author is quoted as saying, “This is another of my tributes to John Singleton. His movie Boyz in the Hood was about a father teaching his son to rise above foolishness, and this book is about a father teaching his daughter to do the same.” Girlz in the Trap is an emotional thrill ride that takes the reader on a journey of young girls fighting a troubled and abusive past in order to become the women God intended them to be.

Making it out of Da Hood

There is very little I did not like about this story? It is one of the best tales I have read this year. It deals with 13 year old teenagers dealing with life in the inner city. The pain and the potential promise that these teens face on a daily basis. The story is raw but it lifted my spirit as I read it. It is a great urban story.