Author: Elton Loud
Genre: Drama
Publisher: LMG Group Publishing
Release Date: February 1, 2012
File Size/Pages: 229 kb/145 pgs
Source: Received for review by the author
Challenge(s): eBook Challenge
My Rating: 4/5
Summary: "It had been a little over two days since fifteen-year-old Shanice had seen real sunlight, or another person. Despondent, she sat silent on the basement floor, her jeans soiled with the red sediment from the brick walls that lined the damp basement." The place is Oakland. The year is 2004. Little Girls: A Short Story Novella is a collection of linked short stories that focus on a group of characters whose connection to each other is the sex trade in the Oakland Bay Area. More than a collection about prostitutes or prostitution, Little Girls examines the complexities of the human condition, cutting across generations of family to reveal the people, places and history that have formed their identities, and motivations. Mistakes will be made. Lessons will be ignored. Consequences will be deserved. Each story is unique, and will grab and hold the reader from the first line.
Review: I received a copy of this book from the author himself, in exchange for a review, and although I wouldn't normally read a book like this, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is a collection of short stories that is based on the Oakland sex trade. The characters that novella focuses on are Cherise, Shanice, Ed, Doris, and Diamond; each character is facing hard times, and you truly feel bad for them. This novella was very depressing, but somehow at the end of each story each character found the light at the end of the tunnel. My favorite stories out of the collection were "The Things We Forgot To Say" and "Hopping John". I love how it automatically brought us into Cherise's life and her loss; to some people this story may seem a little far-fetched as to how the character reacts to the event that's taking place, but believe me, people actually react that way. I also liked how in "Hopping John" although Ed was a man of God, he had faults and his addictions made him weak; it made him seem like a relatable character. For some odd reason, I couldn't really get into the story, "11-500", but I think it was because I was confused as to if the story was about Doris, who we were originally introduced to in the beginning, or if it was about her mother, Elaina because there was a lot of backstory on Elaina and not enough about Doris. I also liked how "The Strip" coincided with "Hopping John". It was a good read, a little provocative at times, but a good read.
**Click here to order your copy of Little Girls.**
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