Not since Noire's THONG ON FIRE have I read such a tale of love and redemption, payback and betrayal as what is found in C. J. Domino's SIDELINE HO. Set in her hometown of Louisiana, the novel outlines the life of an individual whose past disappointments have shaped her into a callus human being seemingly destined to always be second. There are many themes that run throughout the book, and thought the story moves quickly through the lives of its main characters, it is hard not to read the book and not find at least something you can relate to in your own life. Whether it is the way Domino addresses the issues of infidelity, domestic violence, self-love, self-respect, the consequences of our actions and even unprotected sex--- there is nothing that this book doesn’t seem to address.
At one point in our lives, I think we can either say that we have come across characters like that in Domino’s SIDELINE HO, or we look at them every day in the mirror. How many of us have mirrored the thoughts of the main character Nikole Freeman: ‘I didn’t have a thing to offer but drama’ (p.104).
Intertwined within the main message of the book is an old saying that Nikole finds to be so true: “Keep your friends closer, and your enemies closer.” For her the lesson is learned after underestimating a friend that she herself has betrayed—but who seems to have the last laugh.
Don’t let the title and cover dissuade you from reading what is definitely one of my favorite reads of the Summer.
I will be recommending SIDELINE HO to others, and after you read it, I am sure you will join me in doing the same.
--- C. A. Webb, President of Conversations Book Club
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