Product Description After the deaths and arrests of his entire crew and an informant-fueled investigation into his past, the man known on the streets as Animal relocates to Texas and finds fame and stardom as the newest act signed to the notorious Big Dawg Entertainment. His girlfriend, Gucci, is thrilled when she gets the news that he's coming back to New York on a promotional tour, but when she discovers the hidden agenda behind his homecoming nothing can prepare her for the life-altering consequences that will come of it.There goes the neighborhood . . . again. From Publishers Weekly K'wan (Section 8) continues the stories of characters Animal, Gucci, Don B. and his Big Dawg crew, while introducing some new ones, who all inhabit the complicated and interconnected world of the "hood." Animal is now a big-time hip-hop star who's returning to New York from Texas on music-related business and to avenge the deaths of his posse. Malika gave up a middle-class life when she became pregnant by Suede, who after his release from prison betrayed her and denied their son, Solomon. K'wan offers fans more of what they expect--double-crossing, violence, sex, and drama involving the characters they have come to love or hate. For first-time readers, the back­stories from previous novels can get confusing, while narrative threads suddenly drop away without resolution. The novel ends much like others in the series, begging for a sequel, but regardless, K'wan excels at dialogue, and his densely packed universe has every element of successful street drama. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review “Quick and entertaining, K'wan's latest captures a small slice of modern urban life with a great degree of credibility and finds in Animal his most conflicted, memorable, and likable character yet.” ?Publisher's Weekly on Section 8“K'wan once again comes through with a gritty and violent yarn that raises the street-lit bar.” ?Library Journal on Section 8“A street-lit version of The Godfather . . . Hoodlum does what literature should do. It shows us that writing really matters.” ?Library Journal on Hoodlum“The big draw here is the electric prose, which is imbued with profane, comic lyricism.” ?Publishers Weekly on Hood Rat“One of hip-hop fiction's hottest authors . . . fans will appreciate many of the qualities that make K'wan a writer to check for: gritty settings, memorable dialogue, and authentic action.” ?KING magazine on Street Dreams About the Author K'WAN is the #1 Essence bestselling author of Welfare Wifeys, Section 8, Gutter, Still Hood, Hood Rat, and others. He wrote his first novel, Gangsta, as a therapeutic release, and it went on to become an Essence bestseller and a part of urban-lit history. In 2008 he received the Black Author of the Year Award from Black Press Radio. He has been featured in Time, KING, The New York Press, and on MTV and BET. Besides an author, K’wan is also a motivational speaker, a mentor to at-risk children and the C.E.O of Black Dawn, Inc. He lives in New Jersey. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1TRAFFIC WAS PRETTY LIGHT AT THAT TIME OF MORNING on the Saw Mill Parkway. The south-bound lanes were just starting to become congested with cars and people making the commute into the city proper to start the workday, but the north was wide open, which was a blessing considering the way Brasco was driving. The engine of the Honda Civic whined as he sped up the road, weaving in and out of traffic and occasionally checking his rearview for troopers. He didn’t give a shit about a speeding ticket, but it would be hard to explain why he had a sawed-off shotgun stashed under a blanket in the backseat. After spending the last eighteen months on Rikers Island on a probation violation he had no desire to be caged again.That summer had been a bad one for his little family. China had been killed in a botched robbery, Silk lost h