Into the summer heat of New York's Spanish Harlem strides Carmen, a chica who is as hot as the sizzling city streets. When she first meets José, she falls for him hard. He's not like the gansta types she knows – tipo duros who are tough, who think they are players. But José has a quick temper, and he likes to get his own way. And nobody gets in Carmen's way. When Escamillo rolls into town, everyone takes notice of the Latino Jay-Z – a quadruple-threat singer/rapper/producer/businessman. But he only notices one person – Carmen. And Carmen has given up on José – he's not going to get her out of her tough neighborhood, el barrio, and into the action. Escamillo will. But José won't let that happen. Passion, love, and betrayal explode into tragedy in this modern retelling of an enduring love story

A coming-of-age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, this is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the service when his dream of attending college falls through. Sent to the front lines, Perry and his platoon come face-to-face with the Vietcong and the real horror of warfare. But violence and death aren't the only hardships. As Perry struggles to find virtue in himself and his comrades, he questions why black troops are given the most dangerous assignments, and why the U.S. is even there at all