Caught Up In The Trap!
Guidance Fierce, a thoughtful yet impressionable teenager from Memphis, Tennessee, finds himself at a crossroads between the seductive, dangerous allure of street life laid out by his family and the spiritual path. Raised in a family with a strong presence—his mother, Patience Fierce, stern yet loving, and his grandfather Elijah Fierce, a respected businessman with hidden suspicions—Guidance is initially presented as a church-going youth attending Junior Deacon seminars. But underneath this religious grooming lies a young man increasingly torn between expectation and temptation.
The story begins with moments of light humor and mother-son tension, gradually deepening into the darker world Guidance is edging toward. His interactions with his older brother Victor Fierce, a savvy but morally flexible hustler, show Guidance being slowly mentored into street life. He starts skipping church events, associating with figures like Travis Crawford, and becomes more entangled with a crowd whose loyalties and motivations are far from pure.
As the novel unfolds, it’s clear that Guidance’s life is being pulled by powerful family legacies and larger forces—both political and criminal. His grandfather Elijah is suspicious of betrayal within his real estate empire. His father Nigel Fierce is revealed to be a cold, calculating killer operating in a web of high-stakes corruption and political assassination. These influences circle Guidance like shadows, tempting and testing him, even as he resists full commitment to their world.
Guidance becomes emblematic of the struggle many young Black men face: trapped between family expectations, systemic corruption, the seduction of fast money, and the desire for a righteous path. He is not yet lost, but every scene adds weight to the question—how long before Guidance Fierce is caught up in the trap for good?
