September - October 2004
 Bad Girlz
by Shannon Holmes
Another of the contemporary street novels penned by an author who has been there and done it. I speak of Shannon Holmes, lately of Triple Crown Publishing. Shannon’s novel, Bad Girlz is an example of the street life where reality is more than just living without drama to define it. This wild and wooly adventure is set in the streets of Philadelphia and the jaundiced strip joints that magnify the life of Goldie, Tonya and Kat. These are women caught up in the less than perfect world of cheap thrills and broken promises. They suffer the usual hard-luck circumstance where exploitation and disrespect is the norm, and good fortune a distant carrot in the face of reality. The authors give us characters that makes for a fast moving, action-packed drama indicative of the inner city.
Reasons to ultimately fall prey to the sex game and the life it spawns are many and for different set of circumstances. In the case of Tonya and Goldie, lessons are learned fast and too late to have second thoughts. The two are taken under wing by Kat, a cunning veteran of the streets, who at an early age took her job seriously and learned how it was to be her own boss in making the business proposition more than just an act. Both of these young and beautiful girls, raw to the game but willing to be used allowed Kat to give them what they lacked at home: Love and Nurturing. Goldie, running from her past found a love in money and ways to seduce men to get what she wanted. Tonya the youngest was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. Making matters worst, her mother turned her back on her and Kay was there to pick her up.
Shannon Holmes does a wonderful job of milking the setting of club life and how it juxtaposes with the street for dramatic effect. The vernacular is stunning and metaphoric as it gives you the feeling that you’re there in person. The life of whores and pimps are real in this saga. This book may find it in the hands of those that can relate to this gritty life, and also to many who want an entertaining aspect of how rough the streets can be like.
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