Rating: 
Summary: OMAR WRITES A GOOD ONE THIS TIME!
Review: Omar Tyree gets criticized because he doesn't write on the level of a Terry McMillian or Eric Jerome Dickey. His inability to write prose rich with compelling characters and vivid description (like McMillian) or create those exciting page turning plot twists (like Dickey) have been some of the weaknesses of his previous work.This time around, Omar Tyree's novel, Just Say No! is his best and most entertaining work to date. Tyree is beginning to realize his potential as a writer by giving us a story of the ups and downs that a singer and his best friend / manager encounter as they work their way up the charts in the exciting fast lane music industry. Omar takes us backstage and behind the scenes for a fascinating look at the groupies, drugs, and pitfalls that come with success. The bond of friendship between the two lead characters is touching and most will identify. The book is a fairly fun read, yet has a few flaws worth mentioning. These flaws make me rate this book a three star instead of a four. One, Tyree wastes time describing drum beats and lyrics of songs. This isn't effective and has no emotional impact on us because music is meant to be heard, not read! Tyree is not a very clever writer of poetry or song lyrics. (The title itself, Just Say No! is corny and lacks creativity.) He probably should have kept mention of lyrics to a minimum. Also, towards the end, the book starts to become a little preachy and this slows down the pace of the story somewhat. Should Omar now get the same praise as Terry McMillian or Eric Jerome Dickey? No! Not yet. However, Just Say No! is still worth reading because it is a good book. It is written in a simple, direct style, and this will probably be the best book he'll ever do! His next book is a horror novel called "Leslie", so things will probably go downhill from this point on!
Rating: 
Summary: review of "just say no"
Review: If you read all of omar tyree books in order, as I have. You will understand how omar tyree the writer has come to be. I thought tyree had lost his touch. "single mom" and "sweet st. louis" were very slow reads. when tyree picked up the pace with "for the love of money", i knew tryee "flyy girl" tyree was back to stay. And tyree has proven me correct. although a long book a good read "just say no" tells what it's like behind the scenes. It's a reality check of celebrity life of a beautiful singer. perhaps "Loverboy" was a little before his time..........
Rating:
Summary: Okay could have been much better.
Review: I'm about a 3 and a half on this story. The idea was really good but I think it could have been a lot better. I thought the progression to rock bottom was really lame. It was interesting at first, but I got tired of reading about all the female encounters. Thats a big part of being of star but I think Omar Tyree could have left out a story or two. I felt like his drug problem could have been described more. He obviously had one and it supposedly progressed but it seemed like Tyree didn't really want to deal with that because once his drug problem did progress the book didn't even say what drugs he progressed to. All I got out of it was that John was usually high and he starting mixing stuff. Plus I think it was a cop out to put the story in the point of view of the best friend. I did like their friendship but I think it would have been better to go back and forth between the two point of views. I felt like I didn't get to understand John or feel as much as if I would from reading something from his point of view. Sometimes Omar Tyree doesn't know how to really draw you into the characters. Sometimes it feels like you're reading a list of events. First this happened then this happened and so forth.
He did do a nice job of incorporating the music of the times into the book. Music lovers will appreciate the music history he throws in. You kinda feel like you get a recap of black music from the 1990's on.
Rating:
Summary: Just Say No - Just say yes to reading it.
Review: I just finished reading my first Omar Tyree book called Just Say No. It is a book that I could not put down. I liked the fact that it showed a deep friendship between two African American males. As an African American male reader of many books, it was good to read fiction that gives my perspective of various aspects of life. Nothing against Black Female authors. I love many of their books too. It was also good to see references to places that I've visited as I live in the Philadelphia area. The book made me proud to live here, although I was born and raised in New York. Although I don't work in the music industry, I am very interested in the financial and marketing aspects of it. The book shows a behind the scenes look of how a star can be created and how it takes more than talent to become a star. Of course, John "Loverboy" Williams was a very talented singer and song writer. However, he became too wrapped up in giving the fickle public what he thought that they wanted in order to keep their attention. His need to please and later to be immediately gratified became destructive not only to himself, but to his friend and manager Darin. There are religious themes in the book that I found enlightening. Also uplifting was how Darin matured throughout the book based on learning the importance of honesty, loyalty and faith in God. The book discussed but did not glamorize the sex, drugs and violence that exists in the music industry. It showed it for what it is, but showed how the risky experiences that John and Darin had were not worth making a lifestyle out of as we see many entertainers doing these days. Just Say No is a book worth buying and reading if you are into what I call "faction" books. The book could have easily been based on the story of artists and groups like: Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, The Temptations, The Nortorious Big and Tupac Shakur. The only negatives I can mention is that the book has many music lyrics in it that I thought were overdone. It made the book longer than necessary. The way the book ended was apparent a bit too early in the reading. The book also discussed strong reasons why someone may not want to put a family or friend in a psychiatic ward that some may not agree with. Other than that (and I had to think hard about the third criticism), It was one of the better books that I've read this year so far.
Rating:
Summary: a look at the fast life
Review: Because Omar Tyree is from Philly I admit that I am biased and try and give all of his books a chance. With Just Say No I found myself not at all as interested in the book as I should have been.
A brief synopsis: Darin Harmon, an outgoing kid befriends shy John Williams. Although the two are opposite (Darin is into sports and John is into music) they remain friends throughout grade school and high school. Once in college John comes out of his shell after singing at a talent show and becomes John "Loverboy" Williams. The book moves along through Darin and John's sometimes rocky, sometimes sweet road to fame and the girls, drugs and drama that goes with success, fame and money. The story seemed to move along at times and I found myself savoring every moment. There were parts that I couldn't wait to get through and had to force myself to read (the lyrics so some of the songs for example) and that's when I found myself wanting to put the book down in frustration. The inside look at the life of a celebrity was really interesting and I found myself glad that I wasn't on that road but this book did lead me to ask if I could "Just Say No" to the temptations that were avaiable to John and Darin.
Rating: 
Summary: My First Love
Review: See when I started to truly read about a year and a half ago this is the first book I read, now I'm up to 140 books so far and I wont stop until I'm blind. So "Just Say No" has a major influence of me in my reading for that I read all of Omar Tyree books. Just say no isn't your ordinary book, it's real it deal with a **Star** by the name of John who lets the "FAME" take complete control of his life and leads him into a more and power addiction the "Selfish-Ego". An addiction, which becomes a great defeat in his life. I love every part of it and strongly suggest it to anyone who loves to read.
Rating:
Summary: JUST SAY NO IS THE REAL TRUTH
Review: THEIR ARE SEVERAL MAIN CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK.THE FIRST CHARACTER IS JOHN.HE IS A 22 YEAR OLD SINGER.THEN THIER IS HIS BEST FRIEND DARIN HARMON.HE IS 22 YEARS OLD AND IS ALSO JOHNS MANAGER. TANGELA IS 25 YEARS OLD AND WAS JOHN FIRST REAL GIRLFRIEND.TONY IS JOHN'S DRUM PLAYER, AND BIG JOE IS HIS BODYGUARD. THEY ALL GET ALONG WELL, BUT WHEN JOHN STARTS TO CHANGE AND DARIN STOPS BEING HIS MANAGER THINGS START TO FALL APART.JOHN STARTS A NEW LIFE DEALING WITH HARD DRUGS AND THE WRONG KIND OF PEOPLE.
I LIKED THIS NOVEL BACAUSE IT IS A REAL LIFE THING. SINGERS RIGHT NOW ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS. THIS BOOK GIVES US A LOOK INSIDE THE LIFE OF A CELEBRITY AND ALL OF THERE REAL LIFE PROBLEMS. IT SHOWS US HOW HARD BEING A CELEBRITY REALLF IS BEHING ALL OF THE GLITS AND GLAMOUR. I WOULD REECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WHO IS TRYING TO BECOME PART OF THE MUSIC BUISSNESS.
Rating:
Summary: My First Love
Review: See when I started to truly read about a year and a half ago this is the first book I read, now I'm up to 140 books so far and I wont stop until I'm blind. So "Just Say No" has a major influence of me in my reading for that I read all of Omar Tyree books. Just say no isn't your ordinary book, it's real it deal with a **Star** by the name of John who lets the "FAME" take complete control of his life and leads him into a more and power addiction the "Selfish-Ego". An addiction, which becomes a great defeat in his life. I love every part of it and strongly suggest it to anyone who loves to read.
Rating:
Summary: COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN...
Review: Admittedly, I'm not usually one for fiction books at all. However, I as a huge fan of the music industry (I created New Jack Swing 4Ever), I knew I had to pick up this book and see what it was all about. I am happy to report that Tyree's book strongly resonated with me, and that all the facts mentioned in the book (i.e. Boyz II Men hitting their zenith circa 1994, or New Edition representing all things fresh and new during the '80s) were accurate and on point. If you are passionate about R&B music (in particular), are from generation X or later, and can get into a book that follows the turbulent relationship of two childhood friends, then I enthusiastically recommend this novel for a light enjoyable read. Even after finishing the book (nearly 500 pages), I was left feeling a bit sad it was over. Anyhow -- great story, great book, and great pictures and sounds filled my mind as I read. Bravo. Njs4ever
Rating:
Summary: OK
Review: This book was a bit too slow for me. The story had a good message but the pace was a bit slow. I do understand a bit why it was so slow, for him to get to the point of the story he had to show you all the aspects for the conclusion. I wish it was edited a bit better, After all it made me cry in the end. It was not his best but it was a good book. Therefore it will stay on my shelf. Omar Tyree is a good writer. Everything will not be perfect at all times. Much love to Omar Tyree and his hard work. Ths book thought me alot about friendship, sacrifice and most of all love.
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