Leslie

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Feelings...
Review: I work at [a bookstore] and counted down the days until Mr. Tyree's next book came out. I was so anxious to get it that I went to work early! But I have mixed feelings about whether it was worth it. One thing is a fact--I love to be scared. Voodoo scares the "mess" outta me because I have too many 'what if' questions about it. But, that made me more intrigued by the story.
But I was a little disappointed with this book--on one hand, when Tyree had parts that were good, they were EXCELLENT but there were parts in the book that weren't just boring, they were DEADWEIGHT (example: I didn't need the whole death scene with his mother--he could've summed that up to she died of Aids and she told Leslie "..." before she died. The parts about the father were sleepers too because he had no real personality). I caught myself drifting off a couple times to beg for the next page but I got to one part of the book and missed my stop on the train cause I was so into this book. He still has a knack for entertaining the reader, the dialogue is fresh, but the theme did NOT go with the plot.
The end was preaching about poverty and then went all of on a black-white tangent like his older book "Battlezone?" I'm not blind--I know prejudice is out there but the preaching in this story wasn't appropriate to the story line and took me totally away from the interest of the characters. By the way, the book is called Leslie but I was 20x more interested in Pierre. I wish I would've read more about their childhood growing up because that would have been fabulous to know--but Tyree gave us enough for an idea. I don't have anything to say about the rest of their characters--they were apparently supposed to be intriguing characters but were more like the decals on a vase--they just made it look pretty.
He did an excellent job on the parts with Pierre--that was completely interesting--but Leslie bored me after a little while.

Rating:
Summary: Leslie: A thriller more than a novel
Review: I have read some of Omar Tyree's books, but this one is original on its own. Here it talks about a young black woman with a terrible past yet trying to improve herself from present to future. Yet bad things happen that surrounds her and she's the one person who can end it.
The story has some self-discovery, history, and factual ideas about black women, blacks in poverty, Voodoo, and family. This book may catch a little bit of a mystery as to why Leslie would do all those things. My suggestion is that Omar Tyree should write a part two to this explaining her childhood past plus leading towards her later aftermath of the crimes that she committed. All in all, it was worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: dark and unrealistic
Review: i read this book- i thought omar missed the mark on this one- the storyline was dark without any real explanation as to why, it concentrated on the myth of voodoo and i never once felt connected to one of his characters. leslie was what- to who? the story was told from so many characters- the 3 roomates, her brother, father, sister and even her mother. my question, is "who is leslie"- to the reader? was i to feel sorry for her strifes in early child hood? was this to justify the unreal acts of violence that peppered the book. (i did not think so) well, i 'll pass on the seasoning the next ime round... the book was preaching in one voice and justifying violence in another... i was perplexed to what the message was here... the story jumped about so often, i could not form a picture in my head who was who from the first chapter. this was not one of omar tyree's best books- not by a long shot.

Rating:
Summary: Leslie hits her marks
Review: Raw yet lush storytelling makes Leslie a very appealing and refreshing novel from Omar Tyree. This streetwise yet educational story is about the fascinating Leslie -- voodoo priestess, murderer, or a misunderstood young college student?

The setting is New Orleans, on the campus of Dillard University. Leslie is different, alluring, mysterious, and has a lot going on underneath her darkened skin. On one hand she seems like everybody else (a student, a restaurant worker, and a person who's concerned about her family members). But Leslie's mindset is what keeps you turning the pages; maybe you can uncover the motivations of this young lady who has her roommates scared yet in awe of her -- the things she says, the expressions on her face, the unsettling feeling she gives to everyone around her.

The solid pacing gives this story an element of suspense and excitement. You never really know what's going to happen next. And the language of the novel is simply beautiful - a rhythmic mixture of street slang and French (plus the wonderful interpretations so the reader can understand what's being said between the characters). And there are expressions you've never read before that will make you laugh, or make you think.

This novel is a great and commendable effort, flavorful, spicy with good characterizations and social commentary that covers the goings-on of the hood interspersed with the challenges of a mysterious college student.

This is the best Omar Tyree novel to date. If you're looking for something different but good, then give Leslie a try.

Rating:
Summary: Now this is a good book.
Review: The character Leslie is confident, strong, and not afraid to get even. This story about a beautiful and intelligent woman who makes everyone respect her. The broken bond between the roommates is packed with adventure. Leslie dedication to her sister and nieces is incredible. She has many different dimensions a mixture of good and bad. Leslie has a voice that we all should hear.

The novel explores poverty and the mindsets of those impoverished. It's a great depature from the books on the market now. It stands out. This is Tyree's best work.

Rating:
Summary: Leslie Lacks Luster
Review: After reading Just Say No! (which I loved), I eagerly anticipated the release of Omar Tyree's latest novel Leslie. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. This was the story of Leslie, a second year college student at Dillard University, Leslie's roommates and Leslie's immediate family. After a tragic incident and a family secret is revealed, Leslie begins a journey of self-discovery. Through this journey we ascertain the history of her mother, father, younger sister and older brother. Each family member has their own demons, but they all depend on Leslie to help them relieve their pain. Eventually Leslie starts to buckle under the pressure and when a string of murders start to happen all eyes, fingers and toes point to her.

I could not get enough of the Beaudet family. At times, I wished the book would have started earlier in Leslie's childhood to see the interaction between the family members. Nevertheless, I felt I had an understanding in
what made them tick. This was not the case for the roommates. They seemed to all be surface characters. What you saw is what you got. As presented, I did not really want to dig any further to find out more about them.

As the story progressed, I saw the social message that Mr. Tyree was trying to get across, however, I don't believe that Leslie's story could be used as a model for that message. Overall, Leslie held very few surprises and was very predictable including the ending. Even though my expectations were not met with this novel, I will definitely read Tyree's next one.

This book was a 3.5 on the APOOO scale.

Reviewed by Nicole
APOOO BookClub

Rating:
Summary: wonderful wonderful
Review: this book was one of the best books i've ever read. i had a few spots where it just seemed to drag but when i did pick up it was incredible. if anyone doesn't like this book there is something wrong with you. this book made you think and truly understand where Leslie was coming from. those not true omar tyree fans don't read but those who love him, it is wonderful!!

Rating:
Summary: It just gets worse
Review: Once again,I was rather disappointed in this novel. I started out a big fan of Omar Tyree's but this is ridiculous. His last great book was Just Say No, but this one was horrific. I didn't like the storyline at all, it was very slow and just idiotic. I'm not normally this hard on authors, but this was bad. I try to support Tyree's work but after this I can't continue to anymore. Sorry but this was a diappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Attack of the Cliche
Review: I listened to this book on audio, and as far as I could tell it was one long, exhausting string of cliches liberally seasoned with the F word. Maybe he meant it to be -- to say that his characters think and talk in cliches like many people -- but here it served to make the whole thing rather annoying to listen to, and I felt embarrassed for the seemingly idiotic characters.

I haven't read any of his other books, but this one is written in the manner of a linguistically challenged person describing a B movie in great detail to a friend.

If you love cliches, you'll love this book - but unless the author meant it as a spoof on the overuse of cliche, it's hardly good writing.


Rating:
Summary: Give it a try if you can
Review: Perhaps this just wasn't my type of read. I wasn't able to finish this one. The writing was a little stiff to me and I had a hard time getting into this one. I had a hard time swallowing the dialogue and the situations. Perhaps it gets better later on. I just wasn't able to hang in there to see.