• Random Family

  • Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx
  • By: Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
  • Narrated by: Roxana Ortega
  • Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (203 ratings)

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Random Family  By  cover art

Random Family

By: Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
Narrated by: Roxana Ortega
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Publisher's summary

This New York Times best-seller intimately depicts urban life in a gripping book that slips behind cold statistics and sensationalism to reveal the true sagas lurking behind the headlines of gangsta glamour.

In her extraordinary best seller, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc immerses listeners in the intricacies of the ghetto, revealing the true sagas lurking behind the headlines of gangsta glamour, gold-drenched drug dealers, and street-corner society. Focusing on two romances - Jessica's dizzying infatuation with a hugely successful young heroin dealer, Boy George; and Coco's first love with Jessica's little brother, Cesar - Random Family is the story of young people trying to outrun their destinies. Jessica and Boy George ride the wild adventure between riches and ruin while Coco and Cesar stick closer to the street, all four caught in a precarious dance between survival and death. Friends get murdered; the DEA and FBI investigate Boy George; Cesar becomes a fugitive; Jessica and Coco endure homelessness, betrayal, the heartbreaking separation of prison, and, throughout it all, the insidious damage of poverty.

Charting the tumultuous cycle of the generations - as girls become mothers, boys become criminals, and hope struggles against deprivation - LeBlanc slips behind the cold statistics and sensationalism and comes back with a riveting, haunting, and true story.

©2016 Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (P)2016 Random House Audio

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What listeners say about Random Family

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    5 out of 5 stars

The narrator ruined this book.

This book might actually be good if it wasn't for this narrator. The entire time I spent listening to this my mind kept wandering off into a million directions because the voice is so flat and fluctuates so little that the narrator could make any story, good or bad, boring.
I can't listen to it. I stopped it after 2 chapters because the narrator just ruined it. I keep wishing I was reading it instead of listening to this flat boring voice.

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3 people found this helpful

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Speechless

This book has been one the most amazing audibles I have come across. I haven’t been trying to find it for years and finally was able to get ahold of it through audible. Coco was my absolute favorite character. She reminded me of so many women in my life. Truly a beautiful told story of the hardships that many people who live on poverty and how the influence of your surrounds and family can shape your life.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow.

So well-written and eye-opening. You feel as though you are there, experiencing everything with the random family members. I never wanted to stop listening and don't quite know what to do now that I've finished it. I wish all of the book subjects the best and truly appreciate them sharing their lives with us.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved It

A good read.A book to learn from.Boy George was a great man who went to to the street life who found himself with a life term in prison.He will always be the star amongst the moons.Boy Georve,Jessica,Coco,and Cesar,their stories touch my heart.I wish them all well.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Powerful

Wow. This one packs a punch.

It has taken me the better part of a year to read / listen to this book. Adrian Nicole LeBlanc is an incredible journalist and has told this story— of George, Jessica, Cesar, and Coco —so well. Their struggles are real and exhausting and painful, but such an important story to tell. This is some incisive and insightful journalism.

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1 person found this helpful

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REAL

I really enjoyed this book. It was great exposure to the cultural experience alive in America with Americans. Thank you to all who allowed us into their lives.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Must read

This is a powerful story of the vicious cycle of poverty in the Bronx. Growing up here and not too far from where the story begins, makes the characters and their circumstances familiar, relatable, and heartbreaking. A must read, no matter your zip code.

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outstanding

love it
narrator was perfect
it felt like I was there my favorite is Ms Scutari

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Everything is perfect

I read this book 16 years ago when I was a senior in high school and am glad I listened to it as an adult. The narrator carries the story well and it is an important book to read - there is a sympathy and empathy that often isn’t afforded to the groups of people depicted. The author did a great job and I have thought of these people for years and hope they are as okay as they could be now.

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Nothing

Not a must read at all. Skip it. You won’t be missing anything. Look for better resources

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