Chasing Destiny~EJD

[TonyB06]

Ok, let's do this.....

Chasing Destiny was all over the place. EJD is back from his dark phase (Thieves Paradise, Drive Me Crazy). His exploration and deconstruction of Billie/Keith's relationship drives the book and makes you want to see how the story is resolved.

Billie and Keith seem starcrossed from the start. Billie was ok, with me. I rooted for her. Her feud with Carmen yielded some classic confrontations; and by the end she saw herself eventually becoming "Carmen" had she rolled with Keith. I think it made her wise up. Did she ever explain how her first pregnancy ended? If so, I missed it. Ok, I wanted to see this motorcycle poster.

Keith? I never felt dude. He was a whiner, who never found a way to take control of his situation. I know he made bad options for his life, but dayum, pick one and make the best of the situation. He was weak at the start of the book and was the same way at the end. That he wound up where he started, miserable, yet with Carmen, didn't really surprise me, I guess.

Carmen? wow, this chick was bizarre crazy. Evil, conniving, desperate, she took Keith and Destiny through madd changes. I neve knew what to expect from her, except that it would be nasty. Her near-death scene was really transformative. Did yall think Billie was gong to let her die? I think it made Billie see her (and herself) differently.

Destiny? She needed her ass whupped. hard. I know her parents and grandparents were crazy, but geez. Ok, I know her "video rape" was traumatic, but she went off the hinge, in getting her payback. It almost seemed unrealistic because she didn't seem that "street" before, so how did she know how to pull off the wreckage she did? Slicing folk, throwing acid and shooting Mo --this kid should have wound up in prison, not some juvenile detention center. Trying to get Billie to take those "pills" was foul.

I think the young couple's "baby crying" across the street from Keith's apt. was really a metaphor for Destiny's character. Always a point of stress, the mother finally snapped, just like Destiny did later.

...that's my take. EJD, can you chill on all that swearing next book?