Book picks similar to
Next Semester by Cecil R. Cross II


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next-semester
fiction
teen-problems-gangs

Baltimore Chronicles Volume 4


Treasure Hernandez - 2012
    But is he really safe?The mysterious observer has come out of the shadows and infiltrated the Dirty Money Crew. Together with his accomplice, he plans to exact revenge on Scar. Meanwhile, Tiphani is plotting her return from Florida to claim her children and also get back at Scar and the mayor who left her for dead. After recovering from his injuries, Derek Fuller is out of prison, looking for redemption.Can Scar fend off all of these enemies and still control the Baltimore drug trade?

2 Days


L.B. Tillit - 2012
    Low-level teen fiction tackling tough and gritty topics like foster care, rape, teen pregnancy and more. Series contains two silver medal winners for the Independent Publishers Book Award--and a Moonbeam Children's Book Award. Each novel is approximately 200-pages. Lexile Levels: 390 to 400. Sixteen-year-old Neema Powell was always the best-looking girl in school. Her girlfriends said that she looked like Beyonce, with beautiful caramel skin and a body others would kill for. But right now she was a wreck. Her mother's sleazy boyfriend was towering over her screaming, "Get out!" And her own mother wouldn't even look at her as she walked out of the apartment into the dead January day. Neema knew that Nate, her boyfriend, would take care of her. I'll give Mom a couple of days to calm down, Neema thought, and I'll swing by to pick up a few items. Like my pills. A couple of days couldn't hurt. But those two days made all the difference, and Neema must draw from somewhere deep for the inner strength she will need.

The Last Ten Percent


Michelle McKinney Hammond - 2006
    From the author of Secrets of an Irresistible Woman comes a novel of five women who explore how intelligent women with impressive careers, coveted urban dwellings, and closets full of fashions can still worry so much about the shortage of men.

The Illest Na Na


Tamika Newhouse - 2013
    This season meet Brianna and Natalie. Best of friends but both deal with similar issues they both desire a man who isn’t actually theirs. Episode one- Meet the cast, get wrapped up in the sex, and guess the next secret as the drama unfolds as the Na Na rips havoc on these characters lives.

Ice Lolly


Jean Ure - 2010
    Her new family don't seem to care about anything Laurel loves, including books and Mr Pooter, her old marmalade-coloured cat.So Laurel decides that she won't feel anything: she'll become Ice Lolly, the girl with the frozen heart. But a special friend and a mysterious letter open up new possibilities for Ice Lolly, and for Mr Pooter…

Entangled


K. Elliott - 2003
    Entangled is a love story between a major drug trafficker and a history teacher. The subplots include a black DEA agent with divided loyalty. He wants to do his job and rid the streets of drugs but on the other hand he knows that the system is corrupt and it targets minorities, this story has all the elements of a major motion picture.

Strawberry Mansion: A Philadelphia Story


Julia Press Simmons - 2008
    When she stabs him and flees to her mother’s house with her three-year-old daughter, she thinks it’s finally over. Unfortunately, the drama has just begun! “Will she find the courage to leave him for good? And will he let her?” Lisa Perkins, seventeen, is the “strong one,” or at least that’s what Tabitha and Shanice think. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. When she leaves her home after her mother refuses to believe that her stepfather has raped and impregnated her, she thinks that distance will solve everything. She finds that she couldn’t be more wrong. Shanice Thomas, fourteen, is giving teenage rebellion a whole knew meaning. Her mother recently found Christ, and the party that was Shanice’s life is apparently over. Thrust into situations she isn’t equipped to handle, Shanice suddenly finds herself learning painful new lessons about the consequences of sleeping around.Strawberry Mansion: A Philadelphia Story is fierce fiction peppered with urban grit! It not only explores the girls’ struggles in vivid detail, it highlights their loyalty, love, and kindness for each other! You won’t be able to put this book down!

Rich Girl Problems (Millionaire Wives Club)


Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker - 2013
    Whitaker's Millionaire Wives Club are back for a third season of explosive lies, forbidden sex, and scandals like you've never seen before!Step into the world of cable TV's hit reality show and meet new bride and new mother Milan, who finally has everything she's ever dreamed of. Problem is her perfect life doesn't work for TV. What will she do when the producer threatens to fire her? Editor-in-chief Chaunci isn't feeling the fame and the last thing she needs is to share the spotlight with her worst enemy, newcomer Journee. Socialite Journee expected her eighty-two-year-old husband to only live four days past their wedding night, but it's been four years. And just when it seems that he's ready to meet his maker, his son--Journee's ex-lover--shows up. Hair care mogul Vera is struggling with her failing marriage and the last thing she needs is her drug-addicted mother to further ruin her life or her image. Jaise is finally standing by her man. But will she live the life she thinks or will it cost her everything?

Mistress of the Game


Sherrie Walker - 2003
    Henry's Orphanage where, under the harshest circumstances, they forge a bond that is to last a lifetime.

Dog Food


Raynesha Pittman - 2014
    Especially, when all the dogs involved are hungry! For a sheltered mama s boy like Demarcus, everything was all roses until a life changing experience showed him that every rose has thorns. After a well-orchestrated set up, Demarcus' plans to go to college are derailed by a trip to state prison. It is while in the belly of the beast, that the mama's boy has to make the choice between being a man, or being a victim. Upon his release, Demarcus tries to get his life back on track, but his felony conviction causes door after door to be slammed in his face. Going to college is no longer an option, and flipping burgers is not in his plans. With little other choice, Demarcus applies the lessons learned in prison and takes it to the streets. He gets caught up in the game of selling heroin, known on the streets as Dog Food. When all hell breaks loose between the major dealers, in Memphis, over the city s heroin distribution, Demarcus finds himself on the losing side of a bloody drug war. As he prepares for the show down with his opposition, he begins to uncover truths about his past, including what happened that fateful night of his arrest. To add insult to injury, when he finally stands face to face with his enemy, he discovers that the face is a familiar one. They say that blood is thicker than water, but when it comes to cash, sometimes even those closest to you will try to do you in.

Complicated


Chenell Parker - 2017
    Mekhi knew from the first moment he saw Rylee that she would be his wife. He doted on her and placed her on the pedestal that she deserved to be on. He cherished her. Or so Rylee thought. Rylee’s picture perfect life became a cracked glass frame when Mekhi’s true intentions were revealed.  As fate would have it, Zyra’s brother Zyrian is standing in the wings preparing to put the glass pieces back together again.  Will Rylee be willing to walk away from all that she has ever known with her husband Mekhi? Will she be willing to swim in new uncharted waters with Zyrian? Will Mekhi fight for who he believes rightfully belongs to him and only him? Will Zyrian’s persistent interests complicate Rylee’s thoughts? With a host of supporting characters and Mekhi’s extreme disdain for Zyrian, the situation gets more complicated at every turn. Will Mekhi be able to stop Rylee from committing what he considers the ultimate sin with Zyrian or will his secrets run her right into the arms of the man that he despises the most?

Doom Fox


Iceberg Slim - 1998
    Written in 1978 and unpublished until now, Doom Fox is a tale of the Los Angeles ghetto that begins just after World War II and spans the next thirty years. In the no-holds-barred tradition of Chester Himes, Doom Fox captures a violent, vivid world of low-riding chippie-catchers, prizefighters, prostitutes, and smooth-talking preachers.

Chocolate Sangria


Tracy Price-Thompson - 2003
    Although she has a very light complexion, she is proud of her blackness, even as she takes a beating from the very sistahs she tries so hard to emulate. Her only friend, Scooter Morrison, is an upwardly mobile brother who also happens to be young, gifted, and gay. Then a chance encounter with two fine Puerto Rican men changes Juanita’s and Scooter’s lives in ways they could never have imagined. There is Conan, a hardworking man who wrestles with both his love for Juanita and his guilt over his brother’s death; and Jorge, an unscrupulous bad-boy thug who has no problem using what he’s got to get what he wants, until he comes dangerously close to getting scorched by his own flames.Fast-paced, suspenseful, and unpredictable, Chocolate Sangria explores the hearts of two lovers who get caught in the great cultural divide—and the devastating consequences of keeping secrets, telling lies, and betraying those you love.

The Union


Tremayne Johnson - 2012
    He values trust, integrity, and he lives by the code of honor. As a child, he witnessed the horrific murders of both of his parents and it scarred him for life. From that day forward, he vowed that no matter what obstacles came his way, he would find the mysterious killer and seek the ultimate revenge. When he meets the lovely, street savvy Priscilla Davis, a powerful bond is instantly formed, and life as he knew it, took a drastic change.With the help of his cousin Cleo, the two men form The Union. Money is power and power is control, and by any means necessary Mox and his crew were out to get it. Family isn't always family and all money isn't always good money... problems occur when secrets surface and the truth eventually unfolds. When deceit spreads like a plague will Mox maintain his position... or will he fall victim?Show More Show Less

Altered Destiny: A Hustler's Choice


Sherylynne L. Rochester - 2010
    She manages to make a life for herself on the streets, with money, sex, respect, power, notoriety, and even love, and she feels that the choices she has made to get there are the right ones. No one can stop her or tell her otherwise.But it all comes crashing down when one of the choices she has made comes back to haunt her. While living the life of a drug dealer’s girl, entering the game and scheming her way through to get what she wants, she learns that success in this game and the choices she has made do not matter—especially when she faces Him, and He shows her how her choices have altered her destiny. Will Sasha get a second chance to make the right decisions? Or will it be too late?