CaSandra Mathis

Drayton Clarke, Tools of the Trade

About the Author...

CaSandra Mathis was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. Though her childhood did not consist of the daily threats of a New York, Cali, or Chicago based crime wave, watching over your shoulder for errant bullets, and watching favorite television shows from the safest spot on the living room floor was not foreign to her. The hood was still the hood.

 Raised on the income of a divorced mother of seven, CaSandra's life was poor, but full. Her mother was an intelligent woman who was big on education and short on tolerance for bull crap and most everything else. As a result, her life young life was a constant spurt between hell and high waters that she wasn't even sure the devil himself could endure.

CaSandra was always a leader, never a follower which was a saving grace when it came to peer pressure. If she found herself in a heap of mess, you best believe she was the reason she got there and the reason she got out of it.

At the tender age of 20, and seven months pregnant, she found herself locked in a cell less than 1/4th the size of her bedroom at home. It was an interesting experience for someone who'd planned her life so carefully and was known to be the 'straight arrow' of the Mathis clan. Her day in court proved her innocence. Still, it was a life altering experience and one she'd take to her grave as a lesson well learned and never to be repeated again.

The world around her took many ill advised turns and, as the years flew by, CaSandra found herself a loner. With such high aspirations and the talent and abilities to see them through, she couldn't see wasting her life behind bars, or throwing it all away in some grave. But, that didn't mean the hood was anymore accommodating to her than anyone else. She didn't choose the streets, but one way or the other, they seemed to make their way to her.

CaSandra's passion, disheartenment, and overall struggles can be found on the pages of her books. To date, she's self-published two, written six, and developed storylines for many, many more.

An avid reader and lover of the written word, CaSandra decided to start her own publishing company, CME Publishings. Look for much more from this author, entrepreneur, mother, and dedicated soul of the literary world.

Rating Individual Points:

8 1/2 x 5 1/2, trade paperback book, 254 pages. Like this author's previous work, typography (arrangement of text, fonts, font size, headings, etc...) is excellent and comparable to books published by top publishing houses. Graphics, text, and overall printing are excellent. This book would do well alongside books of established authors sold in higher end, book stores as well as online, and other venues.

The overall size and thickness indicates readers are getting a full product for their money, and the title is one that makes the viewer wonder what's inside. From first look, there are no flaws.

Rating Individual Points:

This cover grabs the reader right away. The title is fitting and ensures that each of the graphics have a place in the story and will serve a purpose. Pictures are crystal clear and almost jump off the page.

Using a weapon so blatantly on the cover was a daring move that could be considered stereotypical. It could even run off certain readers.

However, keeping the hole in the barrel of the gun hidden takes away the danger of appearing to advocate violence that some readers may see as a reason to shun the book. Instead, in this manner, it indicates that, as the title states, the weapon, money, woman, and car are all 'tools of his trade.' Necessities used to exact a purpose. Not pictures tossed in to lure a particular audience. Well done!

Rating Individual Points:

The cover itself is not of major significance. It's bright with black text over a back drop of the front cover. Creative. A good back cover. It's the text that's guaranteed to grab the interest right away.

The twist and turns of the author's words and slickness of which she describes the story within promises this book to be written with a sincere grit and true street edge.

Rating Individual Points:

This book is an in your face story written in a 'this is the way it went down' kinda way. No frills, or unnecessary words thrown in for effect. It's a take it, or leave it style of writing that any true fan of urban fiction will enjoy.

Those who like Donald Goines, Iceberg Slim, and other authors who don't apologize for putting down the butt naked truth so tough the reader can actually smell the stench, will definitely want to get their hands on this one. The author took great care to write in the voice of the main character which is important since the tale begins when he's a very young boy. Also, it's impressive that a female author dares to write in the male voice, and did so to the point the reader couldn't care less what the author's gender was because the story was so believable.

The chapters are titled and say much about what is covered. Not every writer does this, but here it works well without giving too much.

Rating Individual Points:

7

This is a hard hitting, no holds barred account of a young man who grows to adulthood at a pace and manner no mother would wish for her child. Readers who are squeamish about the things that men do, especially before they've legally become men, may find themselves blushing, or even appalled by some of the pitfalls young Drayton finds himself in.

However, the Maury Povich show lasted many years because he exploited the promiscuity of young girls and America watched faithfully. While this is clearly not the author's intent, it proves the fact that there's a lot going on in the hood and suburbs than mothers and fathers want to know about, or admit, much less read about. Still, this author dares to hold back nothing. This book tells it all.

The storyline opens with seven year old Drayton Clarke fighting for his life and a manhood he should've been granted many more years to develop, or defend. Instead, aware that his mother has left him home alone for the umpteenth time, a drunken, pedophile has crept into his bedroom and is in hot pursuit with very bad intentions.

Drayton wins the battle of wills in a major way and is catapulted to major level street credit which, in 'Hell Town', the forgotten hood, is not easy to come by. Soon his once hurried trips to the ghetto McDonald's a mile away transform into journeys of excitement as he experiences the joys of finding and creating trouble after being taken under the wing of a thirteen year old gang leader. Considering he's shielded by some of the most ruthless thugs imaginable, their crew has no problem owning the block. Lots of blocks which they run like pros.

Drayton is a child prodigy, a genius and a stone cutie that has young girls and grown women wanting to pinch his dimpled cheeks and braid all that 'good hair' running well past his shoulders. The teachers of his advanced schools of academics want to exploit him, his mother despises the day he was born, and the hood wants to love him as a spawn of its own. Which would you choose?

As the story moves along, Drayton's life takes on many twists and turns. One minute he's on top of the world. The next, he's in a hole so deep he can't see his way out. He suffers in more ways than one can imagine, to include getting beaten and left for dead. Academically, he's on the level of the nation's top college students. Age wise, he's just turned 12.

Drayton's surroundings present a number of ill advised, sexual exploits and by the age of 14, he's experienced things that, outside of pimps and hardnosed players, most men could not undergo in three lifetimes. As with all boys and their toys, it seems like fun and games. But, at a pivotal point in the story, it catches up with him.

Drayton realizes that like his over advanced body and mind, his level of maturity is growing at an unusual rate. He has to make some real choices about his life and the lives of others that he effects. In a defining, well written moment between sheer agony and spiritual awakening, he goes from child to man.

At the tender age of 15, Drayton becomes the youngest member of a faction more feared than the CIA. They are the Architects - a clan of highly trained militants who kill to effect proper design. His mission is well accepted as he's granted the right to rid the world of pedophiles in all ranks of life. He embarks upon a year's long journey that takes him around the world. For a young boy from the hood, this is one hell of an experience to say the least.

Rating Individual Points:

This is a book that will have the reader laughing, crying, and wanting to kill somebody for real. Young Drayton is such a believable and lovable character that it's impossible not to cheer for him, defend him, protect him. One minute you're proud of his accomplishments. The next, you wish he'd been born any place other than Hell Town, The Forgotten Hood, and to any set of parents other than the ones he's been cursed with. But, to those who are given much, much is expected. This kid pays a whole lot, goes through a whole lot. But, the writer did well to bring out points in the book where it all makes sense.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that this urban tale was about a young, black male who was highly intelligent. We get a lot of the other side of black youth, but not enough of the this side. So, this was quite refreshing. I also liked the fact that Drayton's intelligence was realistic, believable. For some, it may not seem real that a black child could speak the way he does, or know the things he knows. But, when you see a nine year old boy of Indian heritage speaking like a grown man on Oprah as he tells of how he assisted in surgical procedures at the age of seven, you know it's not far fetched for a Black child to do as Drayton does. Shame on anyone, especially one of us, who thinks otherwise.

Then again, having spent most of my youth around adults far more than kids my own age, my own conversation as a child was far beyond the average child's. Also, having had a brother who graduated high school at sixteen, left home and earned good money working on the docks where people believed him to be much older because he was 6'5" tall, had facial hair, and spoke like a college graduate, graduated from college, did four years in the Marines and served on the police force before he died at the tender age of twenty-six, I know the possibilities. Therefore, reading how 'grown up' Drayton's dialogue was at times, and how he switched back and forth to street vernacular at will was very, very real to me.

Anyone who reads this book and only sees the sexual escapades, or gang related incidences has missed the entire point of the book. Drayton Clarke is a hero, the epitome of what Black manhood should be. How he gets to this point is relevant, but not as much as the fact that he does. What he does after is far more relevant than all he does before, although both were very necessary. This story was one that pulled at the very soul, tore at my heartstrings. It's a truth we can't deny that demonstrates the fact that you can't have the good without the bad. And, even more scarier is the fact that, more often than not, the best of the good comes from the worse of the bad.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can read it over and over again and still find something new and exciting. Drayton Clarke is proof that anyone can win, we all have choices to make, and our lives and those we love will be better, or worse for those we choose.

Overall Rating:

I'd recommend this book to anyone. Even though it does have strong sexual content, and highly detailed accounts of violence, I'd strongly encourage readers as young as fifteen, or sixteen and as old as the good Lord allows one to get.

As indicated in C's View above, some may shun this book due to the street grit and realism through which it is written. But, those who do will be doing themselves a grave disservice. The truth is not something one should run from, but something we all should run to; embrace. It is what it is. But, like it or not, we can't change the world by ignoring what goes on in it. Even those who don't give a hoot about the world, surely must care at least for the children they bring into it, or the family members that will have to experience it.

Then again, if daytime talk shows can exploit our youth, if daytime soaps and night time dramas can tell the sordid tales of young girls and boys and the unwise choices they all too often make, why can't Drayton Clarke depict those truths? How much better is it for a young, Black male to make the mistakes before the world, then make good of them on a stage for all to see? The transformation will not go unnoticed by the true reader.

This book is definitely one that should be made into a movie. It's a tale of triumph that I can't see anyone not relating to. No matter where you were born, Drayton Clarke's life effects you in a major way, touches your life on one level or the next.

This book should do well once marketed to the buying public. Not only does it look good from the outside, the storyline is compelling, soul stirring. The characters are real, and the dialogue timely. Overall, it looks damned good from the inside too.

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Ratings range from 1 - 7 points with 7 being the highest. Individual ratings on the 7 points covered are a consideration of the final rating, but there are other factors which take precedence as indicated in point 7 "Overall Assessment".

Therefore, a book with one, or more lower ratings may still receive a higher final rating than a book with relatively higher ratings on all 7 points. It all depends on the significance of the particular category, i.e., a book with a 3 for back cover could still be rated a 7 overall as the book may be so well written and otherwise perfect that the back cover becomes a non-factor.

For a complete explanation of ratings go to: Ratings Explained.

C's 7 Point Book Critique is simply in-depth opinions based on my experience as an author, reader, lover and respecter of literary works, publishing, and publishers, and should not be regarded as anything further.

If you'd like a critique of your book, click here >>>>> C's 7 Point Book Critique.