I just don't get it. You couldn't pay me to believe the idea that A.A. wrote The Prada Plan and The Prada Plan 2. Based on the little that I know, which is my reading of many A&J books in the past and these two, my thoughts are this: A.A. wrote The Prada Plan which was her big foray into writing alone if I remember correctly. It failed miserably so she enlisted hubby's help for #2. What else can it be? The Prada Plan SUCKED. The "crazy" parts came off as if a toddler had thought them up and being that this was the entire premise of the book it killed the whole thing. IMO.
This, even the "crazy" parts, were done 1,000x better. She had help. Which is fine. Who am I to care? But I don't like being deceived and any intelligent person who reads both of these can see a marked difference between the two.
Anyway, a few highlights if I may.
I think this just may be the first urban fiction book EVER to include a white man (even if he is a trick - hey, beggars can't be choosers right?) with... wait for it.... a big dick AND stamina. Who can actually work a chick over. Wait... what?! Did you say a white man?! Here I was thinking all white men had little dicks and no no skill. Hmph.
I'm not pleased with the insinuation on pg. 77. I have yet to find a news station - any news station - that only caters to missing white kids. Call me crazy but I do watch the news and actually am more well informed than many on this subject and I don't see it. This is nothing but another racial dig on the part of the author to the masses and it's disgusting, immature, and evil.
Now, yes, this is fiction. But... and this is a big but people.... not only is Nancy Grace mentioned by name but MSNBC and Fox. Leads us to believe this is meant to be realistic no? I happen to be a HUGE fan of Nancy Grave and I also watch Fox AND MSNBC. Never have I seen any of those three stations only carry information about white children/white victims. NEVER.
So let's keep stuffing misinformation into the minds of out readers shall we? We already know a huge part of the mass of readers we have can't think for themselves and will buy anything we tell them without actually doing any research or checking of their own. Big let down.
It was awhile ago when I read The Prada Plan and besides the fact that I couldn't stand it and felt like Brillo-ing out my brain afterwards, I have a bad memory already. But in The Prada Plan 2 we go all the way to pg. 134 without ever hearing about Indie and Leah and her being pregnant. There should have been some bridge between the two books here because it startles the readers when it pops up all of a sudden. Something that is that big.
This isn't a big deal but Indie having the cell phone handed to him, while in custody, right before Leah texts? Too convenient. It allowed for the story to flow uninterrupted but I like things a bit more realistic than that.
Here we have what is, quite possibly, the mother of all editing mistakes I think. Pg. 155 - "She went up to her bedroom and over to her closet. She had an entire department store inside: clothes, cash, cars, even jewels."
Do I need to say it? That's a baaaaddd bitch right there!!! I've caught an episode of cribs a time or two and never have a seen any bitch open up her bedroom closet to reveal some cars. Day-UM. (What may be even more funny is the use of the word 'even' right before 'jewels'. As if the cars are a given and the jewels are unexpected.)
Mona isn't mentioned until pg. 156 and although the context clues are there I believe some background could have been given. That she dies is all the reader is given so anyone reading this without reading the first would be clueless. Granted, it's sequel and shouldn't be read first but still, background goes a long way.
I'm not exactly sure of the time frame this story is running on but let's just say it's safe to assume months go by from beginning to end. Leah has recently miscarried (beginning of book) yet breastfeeding (end of the book)? A mother's body just doesn't work that way. You're not producing milk a half a way after having a miscarriage. Unless you're actively breastfeeding you're not producing milk at all a half a year later. And if I'm remembering this right Leah has a miscarriage early did she not? So she wouldn't have been producing milk at all anyway. She didn't give birth to a live baby or stillborn. It would have been so easy to say she was "trying" to breastfeed and this would have fit right into her mental issues as well and not stood out to the reader.
I've come across this before and again, even though this is fiction I don't like the insinuations. Pg. 206 has YaYa visiting Indie in jail. YaYa, after being searched feels that "prison is a different form of slavery, modern day inhumanity." This is coming from YaYa yes, but only in form. This is coming from the author. I'd like to pose this question myself: What would YOU suggest we do with our rapists, murderers, molesters, child abusers, etc. Put them in a plush, 5 star hotel complete with a jacuzzi and chef? Then we'll ask them nicely to please stop committing these crimes? It makes me wonder if A.A. considers a white man being locked up a "form of modern day slavery"?
It's sad. But, the book itself is good. far, far better then the first. A.A. asks in the back of the book whether the readers want a continuation. This is a moot point because even if the book wasn't left open there would be a third. No way can she leave it alone.
I'll read the third, not only to see if it leans more towards this or the first writing-style-wise, but also because this was, indeed, a good story.
This, even the "crazy" parts, were done 1,000x better. She had help. Which is fine. Who am I to care? But I don't like being deceived and any intelligent person who reads both of these can see a marked difference between the two.
Anyway, a few highlights if I may.
I think this just may be the first urban fiction book EVER to include a white man (even if he is a trick - hey, beggars can't be choosers right?) with... wait for it.... a big dick AND stamina. Who can actually work a chick over. Wait... what?! Did you say a white man?! Here I was thinking all white men had little dicks and no no skill. Hmph.
I'm not pleased with the insinuation on pg. 77. I have yet to find a news station - any news station - that only caters to missing white kids. Call me crazy but I do watch the news and actually am more well informed than many on this subject and I don't see it. This is nothing but another racial dig on the part of the author to the masses and it's disgusting, immature, and evil.
Now, yes, this is fiction. But... and this is a big but people.... not only is Nancy Grace mentioned by name but MSNBC and Fox. Leads us to believe this is meant to be realistic no? I happen to be a HUGE fan of Nancy Grave and I also watch Fox AND MSNBC. Never have I seen any of those three stations only carry information about white children/white victims. NEVER.
So let's keep stuffing misinformation into the minds of out readers shall we? We already know a huge part of the mass of readers we have can't think for themselves and will buy anything we tell them without actually doing any research or checking of their own. Big let down.
It was awhile ago when I read The Prada Plan and besides the fact that I couldn't stand it and felt like Brillo-ing out my brain afterwards, I have a bad memory already. But in The Prada Plan 2 we go all the way to pg. 134 without ever hearing about Indie and Leah and her being pregnant. There should have been some bridge between the two books here because it startles the readers when it pops up all of a sudden. Something that is that big.
This isn't a big deal but Indie having the cell phone handed to him, while in custody, right before Leah texts? Too convenient. It allowed for the story to flow uninterrupted but I like things a bit more realistic than that.
Here we have what is, quite possibly, the mother of all editing mistakes I think. Pg. 155 - "She went up to her bedroom and over to her closet. She had an entire department store inside: clothes, cash, cars, even jewels."
Do I need to say it? That's a baaaaddd bitch right there!!! I've caught an episode of cribs a time or two and never have a seen any bitch open up her bedroom closet to reveal some cars. Day-UM. (What may be even more funny is the use of the word 'even' right before 'jewels'. As if the cars are a given and the jewels are unexpected.)
Mona isn't mentioned until pg. 156 and although the context clues are there I believe some background could have been given. That she dies is all the reader is given so anyone reading this without reading the first would be clueless. Granted, it's sequel and shouldn't be read first but still, background goes a long way.
I'm not exactly sure of the time frame this story is running on but let's just say it's safe to assume months go by from beginning to end. Leah has recently miscarried (beginning of book) yet breastfeeding (end of the book)? A mother's body just doesn't work that way. You're not producing milk a half a way after having a miscarriage. Unless you're actively breastfeeding you're not producing milk at all a half a year later. And if I'm remembering this right Leah has a miscarriage early did she not? So she wouldn't have been producing milk at all anyway. She didn't give birth to a live baby or stillborn. It would have been so easy to say she was "trying" to breastfeed and this would have fit right into her mental issues as well and not stood out to the reader.
I've come across this before and again, even though this is fiction I don't like the insinuations. Pg. 206 has YaYa visiting Indie in jail. YaYa, after being searched feels that "prison is a different form of slavery, modern day inhumanity." This is coming from YaYa yes, but only in form. This is coming from the author. I'd like to pose this question myself: What would YOU suggest we do with our rapists, murderers, molesters, child abusers, etc. Put them in a plush, 5 star hotel complete with a jacuzzi and chef? Then we'll ask them nicely to please stop committing these crimes? It makes me wonder if A.A. considers a white man being locked up a "form of modern day slavery"?
It's sad. But, the book itself is good. far, far better then the first. A.A. asks in the back of the book whether the readers want a continuation. This is a moot point because even if the book wasn't left open there would be a third. No way can she leave it alone.
I'll read the third, not only to see if it leans more towards this or the first writing-style-wise, but also because this was, indeed, a good story.
