Quentin Carter

Street Love
A Triple Crown Anthology
Keisha Ervin, Danielle Santiago, Quentin Carter, T. Styles, Leo Sullivan
Triple Crown Publications
315 Pages
Softcover $15.00
978-0-9778804-6-1

As nutritious and wide-ranging in tastes as a sampler pack of breakfast cereals, Street Love is full of sweet moments, bittersweet scenarios, and urban grit. Created as a showcase for five of Triple Crown’s best-selling authors, large themes wend through each of the stories: sacrifice, survival, family, money, and show more race. Triple Crown has specialized in leading what it calls the “urban fiction renaissance” and giving African-American authors the opportunity to forge careers by writing about their culture. This anthology is both a stunning introduction to the press’s offerings, and a Valentine to regular readers of each author.
Keisha Ervin’s “After the Storm,” for example, details the rocky relationship between Mo and Quan, a couple that fights and has numerous infidelities, but ultimately can’t be tweezed apart. Even Quan’s mother steps in during one notable scene when Quan seems threatening: “And what you think you about to do?” she asks. “You ain’t getting ready to touch her up in here! ‘Cause if you do we all gon’ be thumping!”
In “The Fink,” by Quentin Carter, the main character gets out of prison, where he landed after testifying against a friend, and finds that his actions are still remembered in the neighborhood.
Younger urban dwellers are portrayed in T. Styles’ “Cold as Ice” and Leo Sullivan’s “B-More Love,” highlighting the fact that kids in the ghetto have problems and issues far different than those suburban America, but that they share the same fear of the unknown, and desire for connection. The fifth story, “Allure of the Game” by Danielle Santiago, is a slice of city life so acutely rendered that it feels like a play-by-play done in real time.
The tales here aren’t for everyone—there are hardcore descriptions of sex, gut-turning violence, and swearing appears frequently. But Triple Crown never has played it safe, and this anthology is an indication of how much the publisher lets its authors write about their culture and their lives in an authentic voice. If urban fiction is truly in a renaissance stage, these authors are the new Leonardos. (August)
Elizabeth Millard show less

Whoa..this book was REALLY good.It started off a little slow for me but picked up soon after.This book was all about trust.It seemed like everyone was trying to get over on everyone else and the smartest person in this book was Tukey.Tukey did everything for Keith-going to jail for him,making drug runs,risking her life..and what does he do? Marry another trick! Revenge sure was sweet for her in the end.Men never realize when they've got something good until it's too late.The only thing that show more irritated me was that the author overdid it on the Jamaican accent at times.Now I'm off to read the sequel :) show less

This book was so good. i read it in 2 days and after that read it 3 more times. if you like drug running and street life i think you should read this book. Tookie was an pretty jamician cutie. who had her life together. until she met her boyfriend, Twan. he was an hustler. she was basically his ride-or-die baby. but i look forward to the sequel.

i loved this book :)