Choke

by Darnella Ford

Book Overview

For Vanessa, a low-income housing complex in the middle of the desert in El Mirage, Arizona, represents all that is wrong with her life. Her neighbors get it on all night long, she sees an abusive... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312348037
• ISBN13: 9780312348038
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Don't choke..

Once again Darnella Ford has beautifully written a story that should be in the movie theatres. She writes with such realism that she actually makes you think you're in the story. Darnella seems to hold nothing back when creating her characters and novels. She describe them with such detail they leap off the page. Choke is centered around Vanessa, a single mom that is struggling to make ends meet without her estranged cheating husband. And although David her husband isn't in the picture he still makes it his business to slip in and out of her bedroom. He half spends time with his daughter making him a deadbeat dad. Kennedy, Vanessa and David's daughter plays the piano like she was born to do it and her mom so badly wants her to be accepted into Milligan School for the Performing Arts. Only thing is, she doesn't have the thousand dollar deposit required to attend and she doesn't know how she'll ever get it. Darnella Ford takes readers on a ride on single motherhood, being separated from your husband, making ends meet with a little or no money and all the challenges that come with just being a woman. Final rating 4.7

CHOKE

No money. No salvation. Just hope. For Vanessa and her daughter, Kennedy, this is all they have to grasp to. Life isn't easy when you're dirt poor, but Vanessa soon learns that you must catch up with it before it leaves you in the dust. Living in an apartment complex in El Mirage, she is used to sharing her apartment with the roaches and rats and taking showers with the ants. But there is a glint of hope that shines so bright, it keeps the lights on mentally long after they go out physically. Kennedy's gift of playing piano. However, the road to sturdy living isn't always paved and Vanessa soon learns she will stoop to all kinds of lows to help her daughter make it through. Will the many trials and tribulations that they go through dim the light or will it shine even brighter at the end of the road? I sincerely adore Darnella Ford's impeccable taste for making ordinary words extraordinary. This book will grab you and refuse to let you go, way after the last page. BUY IT!

Darnell Ford is one of the Best in the Game

For the second time, I've been blown away by Darnella Ford's unbelievable talent with a pen. I finished Choke five minutes ago and my jaw is still dragging the floor. Ms. Ford's style is so unique, so fluent, so very raw that I find myself truly in awe of her creativity and the utter dominance she holds over words. Choke is the somewhat sad story of a woman (Vanessa) whose husband has abandoned her with their young daughter Kennedy to fend for them selves in an Arizona Ghetto. Vanessa soon learns the difficulty of and sacrifices required to care for her teen daughter alone, while trying to put food on the table, nurture Kennedy's gift for music and help to keep both of their dream's of a better life alive; all while struggling to maintain her own sanity. On the surface it sounds like something we've seen before from Terry McMillan and a host of wanna be Terry McMillan's. Don't be fooled! Choke is absolutely fresh, well written and able to stand alone in the sea of so-called chick lit that line book store shelves. Terry McMillan is still the undisputed Queen of AA literature but I believe that if Ms. T ever decides to vacate the throne, Darnella Ford will be the rightful heir. Even with Choke's heavy undertones, Ms. Ford's writing style keeps things light and in some strange way, humorous. I usually try to give the "downside" of books in order to keep my reviews honest and well rounded but for the life of me I couldn't find a single negative thing to say about Choke because as a reader I found this book...Perfect

A Tribute To Single Women Everywhere

Vanessa Claville is in a place that she doesn't want to be. She going through a divorce, just lost her housekeeping job, and living in low income housing in the middle of El Mirage, AZ. The only good thing in Vanessa's life is her musically gifted 12-year-old daughter Kennedy. Kennedy is auditioning for an acclaimed music academy that Vanessa can't afford. Time is running out because Vanessa has to come up with the tuition money for the academy or let her daughter's dreams become a distant memory. She realizes that she will need to sacrifice her own dreams for her daughter's. With the help of her neighbors Anese and Yolie, Vanessa is reluctantly introduced into a way to make the money that she needs. But is she willing to sacrifice her morals and dignity for this new profession? Choke is an enthralling novel by Darnella Ford. Ford captured the realness of a single mother's journey and the sacrifices she has to make for her child. I like the interesting location of where this novel took place, and the interesting mix of characters. I really felt the inner conflict of Vanessa as she was trying to come up with the tuition money. There is also a unique twist toward the end of the book that will leave readers pleasantly surprised. Choke is widely entertaining, inspirational, and humorous. Darnella Ford is truly a gifted author.

Life Ain't Easy

CHOKE is an earthy new novel by author Darnella Ford. The story is written in the first person and told through its main character, Vanessa. She is a broke, separated from her cheating husband, overweight, overworked, single mother who would probably summarize her life as a series of disappointments, but she has one last hope. Her daughter Kennedy is the one bright light in what would otherwise be considered a dim existence. Kennedy is a gifted pianist with hopes of attending Milligan School, a prestigious, albeit expensive, private music school. More than anything, Vanessa wants her daughter to pursue this dream, not only because of its potential to ensure a better life for her and her daughter, but also because it is deeply linked to her own childhood aspiration of becoming a musician. There is no limit to what she will do to make sure that her daughter can attend Milligan; or is there? Vanessa's story is moving, realistic, and poignant. Her candid, acerbic voice, lends authenticity to her experiences and at times, adds an element of dark humor. The secondary characters added spice to the plot, but on deeper reflection, their stories taught important lessons not only to Vanessa, but to the reader as well. Darnella Ford's writing immediately draws you into the story and connects the reader to the characters. I found myself empathizing with Vanessa, relating to some of her insecurities, and deeply invested in the outcome of the book. The plot is gritty and deals with tough real-life situations. Everyone at some point in there lives has felt choked by the things life throws at them: Even though readers may not necessarily relate to the specific storylines, most will find it easy to relate to the underlying emotional and moral issues addressed in CHOKE because those are universal. Reviewed by Stacey Seay of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers