The Coldest Winter Ever: A Novel (1) (The Winter Santiaga Series)
A New York Times and USA TODAY Bestseller
“50 Most Impactful Black Books of the Last 50 Years.” —Essence
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
The instant classic from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Life After Death brings the streets of New York to life in a powerful and utterly unforgettable novel.
I came busting into the world during one of New York’s worst snowstorms, so my mother named me Winter.
Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, and business-minded, she knows and loves the streets like the curves of her own body. But when a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn’t want to go, her street smarts and seductive skills are put to the test of a lifetime. Unwilling to lose, this ghetto girl will do anything to stay on top.
Twenty-five years and over one million copies later, The Coldest Winter Ever is a bestseller and a national treasure, a classic handed down from one reading generation to the next. Whether you are reading it for the first time or have cherished it for years, you will never forget this Winter’s tale.
“50 Most Impactful Black Books of the Last 50 Years.” —Essence
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
The instant classic from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Life After Death brings the streets of New York to life in a powerful and utterly unforgettable novel.
I came busting into the world during one of New York’s worst snowstorms, so my mother named me Winter.
Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, and business-minded, she knows and loves the streets like the curves of her own body. But when a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn’t want to go, her street smarts and seductive skills are put to the test of a lifetime. Unwilling to lose, this ghetto girl will do anything to stay on top.
Twenty-five years and over one million copies later, The Coldest Winter Ever is a bestseller and a national treasure, a classic handed down from one reading generation to the next. Whether you are reading it for the first time or have cherished it for years, you will never forget this Winter’s tale.
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Community Reviews
I finally got around to reading this book at 40, even though it felt like everyone read it back in high school. While I can see why it had such an impact on readers at the time, I personally found it hard to connect with. The characters’ lifestyles and choices were so far removed from anything I or my friends experienced at that age, which made it difficult to relate to. Winter’s relationship with her parents, especially her father, felt strange to me — she always referred to him by his first name and often commented on his looks, which I found a bit uncomfortable. And the conversations she had with her mom about boys were surprising in a way I didn’t expect. That said, the book wasn’t bad. I can appreciate it as a bold, raw story that offers a glimpse into a world I never experienced — but because it felt so unrelatable to me, it was hard to fall in love with it the way others did.
Great book not the absolute BEST urban literature I've read but I can understand why it was revolutionary at the time.
I’ve heard so many great things about this series. I loved how this took me back to the urban literature i read in my teenage years being almost thirty it still was a great read. I love how Souljah incorporated her teachings into the book along with her character. I have so much respect for Souljah and everything she has done for our people. Surprisingly i didn’t learn of this series until this year when the final book came out prompting me to go back in time literally to find the beginning lol. Winter Santiaga truly pissed me off she is a stubborn and ignorant little brat who thinks she has it all figured out. Her ideology about life, family, idolizing money refusing to have any i treat in her education truly made me resent her mother. There were definitely twists and turns. I want to know who Soulja’s “midnight” was in real life. Anyways i can go on and on about this book time to read Life after Death 😌
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