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HOT JOHNNY
Sandra Jackson-Opoku Ballantine/One World January 2002 (3+) Nathasha Brooks-Harris |
Mainstream Fiction |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS: |
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REVIEW: |
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To coin the vernacular, Hot
Johnny is a trip! HOT
JOHNNY is
a title that was everyone’s lips for quite a while—both on the book club
circuit and online. Everyone was talking about Hot
Johnny and quite frankly, this reviewer was curious as to what all the buzz
was about. Hot Johnny is the nickname of
John The Baptist Wright, the hero of the novel. He’s a n’er-do-well who came
from humble beginnings and wound up a household name—especially with the
women. He goes through many women and he means different things to each of them.
His relationship with these women is not necessarily sexual, but he leaves an
everlasting impact on all of them. The common thread that they each have is the
way he touches their lives. One of the women is Destiny,
the woman he marries but cannot save. Another young woman he met in college is
Tree. She swears that she never knew love and tenderness until Hot Johnny gave
her some. Cinnamon is a
freak-of-the-week whom only Hot Johnny can “do right.”
This story is told from each
of these and the other women’s point-of-view and the events are seen through
their eyes. With them, readers
travel through his past, his present and see how his colorful life catches up to
him. Deep secrets are revealed and Hot Johnny changes over the course of the
story. However, Hot Johnny comes off
as a pimp of sorts because he knows how to talk the talk to each of the women
and tells them exactly what they want (and need) to hear. He’s everything to
everybody and for some reason, that takes away from the story a bit because
it’s unrealistic. Hot Johnny spreads himself so
thin that there’s nothing left for him . In real life, he would’ve sent some
of those women away as all of them had issues. Coupled with all of those issues,
he would’ve easily burned out. In other words, Hot Johnny should have saved a
little something for himself in order for this book to have the desired effect
and intended message). In terms of mechanics,
Jackson-Opoku crafted a well-written tale. Her characters are richly layered,
but there are too many of them. It’s
easy to get lost trying to figure out who did what to whom.
The plot, for the most part, flows smoothly making this book an easy read
once you get the characters straight in your mind. HOT JOHNNY isn’t like any other book currently on the shelves. It has a unique flavor and a different voice than the other books. It deserves a read, so pick up your copy today. Be forewarned that you just might get caught up in Hot Johnny’s web, so be careful! |
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nathasha@romanceincolor.com (25th October 2001) |
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