Whew, I enjoyed this book. When I’m picking something new to read (well—listen to), I usually skim the summary. If it grabs me in the first few seconds, I borrow the book and press play. And let’s be honest, this TITLE ALONE was enough to hook me. Another reason I don’t read full summaries? It makes the twists and turns even more surprising, which makes the ride even more fun.

Before we go any further—SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read this book yet and don’t want spoilers, stop here. If spoilers make you feel sick—like EXPIRED EGGS sick (and we all know eggs are EXPENSIVE right now), go read it first. But if you love a deep dive and don’t mind details, press on.

A Promising Start… and Then, a Plot Twist

The book starts by painting a picture of Tanya’s family. Her parents were hard-working and honest, and her father was well-connected with influential people, exposing his children to a life of privilege and exclusivity that wasn’t common for African-American families at the time. So I’m thinking, Oh, okay, this is going to be about how she takes what her father taught her and levels up.

Then—Tanya’s first big obsession was… MEETING MICHAEL JACKSON. And not just hoping to run into him—PLANNING every step to make it happen (and get married! I love a girl with goals). By the way she connected this call and that so she can meet her future husboo, it was easy to see early on that Tanya was WHIP-SMART and RELENTLESS. You couldn’t tell her no. She was going to make things happen. And instantly, I loved her. I loved little Tanya. I loved the bond she had with her twin sister. I was all in.

From Helping People… to Hustling the System
At first, Tanya’s early schemes were about helping people. she saw the economic barriers that kept people from meeting their basic needs and figured out ways to fix them. and honestly? I resonated with that. Yes, maybe she was going about it the wrong way, but the intent? I feel you, young Tanya.

Then came her first major transaction—for her grandmother. And if you had a GOOD grandmother, you already know. She wanted to make her grandmother’s dream come true, and one thing led to another, and the transaction was a success. A LIGHT BULB WENT OFF.

The Interrogation That Made Me MAD

The first time the police questioned Tanya, they assumed she had to be working for someone else. Because she was a neegro, there was no way she could have masterminded something like this on her own.

I was PISSED.

How dare they question her BRILLIANCE?! Tanya’s response? Okay, bet. I’ll show y’all. And at that moment, I was ROOTING for her even harder.

The Fall… and the Aftermath

When Tanya finally got CAUGHT-CAUGHT and was sentenced to prison, I was crushed. (yes, crushed, because how dare they, lol.)

And Jim’s family? LOW-DOWN. they were all low-down. Tanya was in prison, her sister was in prison, and everything was just… a mess. and yes, I know she committed a crime, but the way they treated her was so wrong.

Through it all, Tanya kept her spirit strong (‘the epitome of you can knock me down, but you can’t keep me down’). and then—another twist—she found out she was pregnant. Twice.

Final Thoughts: A Wild Ride

This book was a PAGE-TURNER. (Can you say PAGE-TURNER if you listened to it? I think so.)

Aside from Tanya’s SUPREME GENIUS and all the wild ways her life intersected with different people, the biggest thing that kept me hooked was the TWISTS. I’d think I knew what was coming—and then BOOM, completely different direction.

And you know what, I didn’t even realize this was a TRUE STORY until I looked up the book after finishing it. I had to know what the author was doing with her life after writing such a story (similar to looking up actors after an amazing film) Finding out that Tanya Smith was chronicling her real life made me love it all over again.

I HIGHLY recommend this listen. If you put it on while folding laundry, trust me—you’ll end up getting EVERY piece folded AND put away because you won’t want to stop.

10 stars. Or five flowers. Or whatever rating system you subscribe to. But just know—it’s WORTH IT.