This gripping story about an abused girl, who uses the unlikely prototype of a pimp as a guide to a better life, acts as a sort of metaphor of social realism regarding the rise of the African Americans to greater prominence and wealth in modern society as a whole. The narrative, which is closely written, and uses a realistic version of African American speech soon draws us into the central dilemma of a child, who due to her light skin, is rejected by the other children in her school, this then leads to her being ostracized, bullied and at one point even her life is threatened.

When she retaliates, in order to save herself, the system unfairly punishes her. She is sentenced to juvenile detention. In many cases that would be the end of the story, with a predicted descent into a spiral of ever more crime and degradation. But two things save her from this likely future. Her own qualities of intelligence and determination and the interest taken in her by a lady child psychologist who encourages her in her studies even to the extent of standing by her in the years that follow.

Female sexual frustration is not something that often appears in the media which tends to center upon ladies complaining about the unwelcome attentions of men, but this book tends to show that many older women are deprived of fulfilment of their intimate needs by social niceties and prudery. Pamela is acutely aware of this problem and does something to provide relief for these women – at a price.

The ingenious way in which Pamela sets up something that purports to be a charity for the aid of children bullied in the school yard as a front for her male prostitution business is well described, as are the problems she runs into in running such a business.

This is a very satisfying read which I highly recommend.

Jim Watson (less) ( )