I Wish I Had a Red Dress (Pearl Cleage) TP-Ex-Library

Oprah Winfrey recommended Pearl Cleage”s previous novel to her vast television audience, and soon readers—and listeners—were reveling in the joys—and aching over the sorrows—of life in tiny Idlewild, Michigan. Now Cleage brings back the characters—but this time, Ava”s big sister, Joyce, will sparkle. Unlike her younger sister, Joyce has never been flamboyant; has never owned a red dress or the kind of life that goes along with it. But now, after many years of selfless service to others, she feels it”s time to do something special for herself—especially since there”s the unmistakable hint of romance on the wind

Library Journal

It”s not surprising that Joyce Mitchell wears black all the time; her life has been full of darkness and death. Her story is the sequel to Cleage”s well-received debut novel, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, and is also set in a small Michigan town formerly a resort for wealthy African Americans. Joyce is a social worker counseling young African American women, dedicated to guiding them through teenage pregnancies and destructive relationships. She herself has been on her own for five years of widowhood, and aside from some dreaming, she cannot imagine a life in which wearing a beautiful red dress is ever going to be possible. Then Nate, a former Detroit cop and new high school counselor, moves into town. Nate and Joyce”s relationship is developing at the same time Joyce is trying to protect one of her members from a violent man. As reader, Cleage captures the struggles, tensions, and “cosmic confusion” of the war between the sexes in her fictional African American community. The struggles will continue, of course, but the hope is there for an occasion to wear that wonderful red dress. Recommended for public and academic libraries that feature African American fiction. Barbara Valle, El Paso P.L., TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.