Review: Guns Against Gangsters: Crime Boss
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 22, 2014
This is a very interesting book. The first thing that caught my attention was the attractive cover, which shows an awareness of the importance the cover has for readers. It is not only catchy, but also very effective. Whether we admit the fact or not, it plays on our own bias about race and crime, especially crimes committed by African Americans. The pictured individual, a handsome young black man, brings to mind expectations about urban culture, speech, education, dress, and behaviour.The author cleverly writes in AAVE, or African American Vernacular English, giving the book its own distinctive flavor. At the same time, no explicit attention is drawn to this, which again, is a very clever authorial decision.The book is a fast read, engaging, and completely fulfills what readers of this genre are looking for, namely crime. This is not everybody's book, so if you have never read African American urban literature before, I would advise you to pass on this book, as the author faithfully calibrates his language use to create authenticity in his characters. If you are a fan of the genre, this book is highly recommended.Reviewed by Thomas Jerome BakerAuthor ofHow to Coach A Debate TeamI received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.