Book Review - Derailed by D. Skies

Derailed by D. Skies

Paperback, 230 pages

Published May 15th 2011 by La' Femme Fatale' Publishing (first published May 1st 2011)

Source:  Purchased (also won a copy along with Olive Garden Gift Card!)

(book 3 of 13 - 3rd Quarter 2K11 Reading/Reviewing Challenge)

About the Book:

Ever have dreams that took your mind to places reality couldn't? Kristle wanted it all, money, power, and lavish possessions. But being a poor girl from the South side of Chicago, she had no idea how she was going to get it all. She busts her butt to get her finances to a generous amount using her dope girl skills when it is all whisked away on a whim. Kristle is left without a pot to piss in and has to regain her life back by fending for herself anyway she can. She finds a way to make some money and learns to live off civil means. But as things are starting to look up again they come tumbling back down with a house fire. Just as Kristle is about to give up she encounters a man that gives her a strange note. The note introduces her to an opportunity of a lifetime with a few stipulations. It's a game that needs to be played in a timely fashion or Kristle is a dead girl. If she successfully completes her task she gets more money than she's ever seen before in her life. What she doesn't know is that the tasks are not ordinary and the person making her play the game is someone she least expects.

About the Author:

D. Skies aka Shante Harris grew up on the south side of Chicago. At the age of 10 she began writing poems and short stories for her teachers. They encouraged her to submit some of her work into competitions. D. Skies was not able to do so because she had so many others things on her plate having to help care for her sisters and mother. She also learned to play the clarinet and alto saxophone at that time.    

Soon after entering high school she became pregnant with her first daughter. Though D. Skies was faced with becoming a teenage mother she did not let that stop her. She finished high school and even went on to attend college at The International Academy of Design and Technology, without any help from her child’s father. She found comfort in teaching herself to play the acoustic guitar. In 2003, her daughter’s father tried to step up and become the father he should have started out being, but he was tragically murdered. After which D. Skies still pressed on to continue her studies.  

After meeting up with some women whom she thought were her friends she came into some run-ins with the law which forced her to leave school. D. Skies fought her case and ultimately came out with 3 years probation. She decided that was her wake up call to get her life back on track. In 2005, she met her husband and in late 2006 they began dating. The following year they became pregnant with her second daughter. After giving birth she enrolled herself back into school attending Kennedy King College and joining the Honors Society Phi Theta Kappa. She began her writing again and this time it evolved into full-fledged novels. They then became pregnant with her third daughter in 2009. The couple then wedded in November 2009.


D. Skies graduated in December 2010 with an Associates of Arts degree with Honors and are now attending Chicago State University in pursuance of her Bachelors of Arts degree in TV and Film Making. She has recently finished her first book entitled, Derailed, which is due to debut in late Spring 2011. D. Skies plans to continue to write novels that are inspired from her upbringing and dreams. Her goal is to bring life to her writings by directing and producing them into movies. D. Skies’ motto is “A strong woman is not born, she is made.”
(source http://www.mydskies.com/)

My Review:

Wow!!!  It's a page turner!

Kristle's life was doomed from the moment she was born.  Her mother Kenya was only 14 years old when she had her.  Kenya was a crackhead who seemed to only care about herself.  She would go out to find drugs and leave Kristle behind.   When Kristle got older, she began a business of her own.  She was doing very well for herself too, but then something happened and she was back to square one.  She wanted to find the woman known as the First Lady.  It was supposed to have been a rumor, but she wanted to think she was real.  She wanted to be as powerful and successful as the First Lady was supposed to be!  Eventually, Kristle got a note.  It was a game she had to play.  One wrong move, and she would die.

What I liked:

The Characters - Kristle and Kenya was unforgettable!

The chapter titles - I would find that I would start reading the chapter then flip back to the first page of the chapter to look at the title again because it gave a little bit of an indication on what was going to happen.  

The game that Kristle had to play -   I got hooked and couldn't wait to see what would happen.  

The concept of the First Lady - I kept wondering who the First Lady was and if she was real!

What could be improved:

There were some some spelling errors and wrong use of words.   Also, when someone spoke in a quote it was in one paragraph, and the next paragraph would be the rest of the sentence after the quote.   It seemed like it should have been all in one paragraph separated by a comma. 

Overall:

I thought this was a great first book by D. Skies!  I enjoyed reading Derailed!  It kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next! Kenya and Kristle are characters that I won't forget!  I wonder now if there will be a second book.  I was left wondering who is was at the end!   I highly recommend this book!  

My Rating

4/5 Diamonds - Highly Recommend!

Buy the book at:

Disclaimer:  My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist. They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.

© 2011, Cheryl of Black Diamond’s Book Reviews. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than blackdiamondsbookrev.fatcow.com, Urban Image Magazine, or Cheryl’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.