I came busting into the world during one of New York's worst snowstorms, so my mother named me Winter. In a stunning first novel, renowned hip-hop artist, writer, and activist Sister Souljah brings the streets of New York to life with a powerful and utterly unforgettable tale. Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, businessminded, and fashionable, Winter knows no restrictions. No one can control her. She's nobody's victim. And her Pops lets her know she deserves the best. No slum jewelry, cheap shoes, or knockoff designer stuff. We lived in the projects but we were cool with that. We weren't wanting for a damn thing. Winter knows the Brooklyn streets like she knows the curves of her own body. She maneuvers skillfully, applying all she has learned to come out on top, no matter how dramatically the scenes change. But a cold Winter wind is about to blow her life in a direction she could never have expected. Pops wanted us to stay away from Brooklyn. He said things weren't safe there. I went crazy. Brooklyn was my world. Unwilling to give up her ghetto celebrity status, her friends and her lovers, Winter sets off on a series of wild adventures to reclaim her role as princess of the alleyways. But when her schemes begin to unravel, Winter is on her own, figuring out a whole new way to survive. The Coldest Winter Ever marks the debut of a gifted storyteller. Sister Souljah explores a young urban woman's innermost state of mind in a voice as bold as it is bracingly honest. Provocative and thoroughly entertaining, this is a daring novel of passion, loss, courage -- and of the sometimes terrible tolls exacted from us just to stay alive. You will never forget this Winter's tale.

Sister Souljah, born and raised in New York, is a graduate of Rutgers University. A hip-hop star, she is best known for her work as a political activist and educator of underclass urban youth. Currently, Souljah is the Executive Director of Daddy's House Social Programs, Sean Puffy Combs' not-for-profit company for children. A frequent guest on television's most popular talk and news shows, Sister Souljah is a loved personality in her own community and was a featured speaker for the Million Woman March. She lives with her husband and son in New York City.