Helpful Score: 14
Ava Johnson finds out that she is HIV Positive. She goes back home to be with her sister and get her head together before she moves on to San Francisco. Life takes several unexpected turns and leads Ava down a different road.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable story. Sometimes funny, sometimes maddening--just like life.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable story. Sometimes funny, sometimes maddening--just like life.
Helpful Score: 10
This is a wonderful book. I was laughing, crying, getting mad and feeling that sometimes, as the characters in this author's first novel does, you have to put aside your worries, and look at all the wonders that are so close, you know you're learning a life lesson. All my favorite characters in this novel are victims, who refuse to stay victims, because they're too involved helping others. I didn't understand the title at first, but it really fits the story. Cleage puts real life on paper!
Melva S. (TropicAtHeart) reviewed what looks like crazy on an ordinary day on + 32 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
This story discusses a lot of real-life topics - AIDS, teen pregnancy, drug use - all of which occur in the suburbs in Michigan. I liked this book because it tackled all of these issues head-on. A lot of "coming homing" books are all about how home is where you are safe and where you belong; this book doesn't buy into that myth. It shows how the issues that we associate with "the city" are just as prevalent in "the country," and that the people who deal with them are just like everyone else in the suburbs.
It was a really quick read, and it's got everything - a little humor, a little romance, a little action etc.
It was a really quick read, and it's got everything - a little humor, a little romance, a little action etc.
Helpful Score: 7
When I first started this book, I did not expect to enjoy it. It came highly recommended to me, but I just didn't think I would be totally absorbed into it. After the first 50 pages, I was hooked! Sometimes it takes me at least that amount of paper and print to make a decision about a book...I am so glad that I gave this book time to grab me into its spell! It is a beautiful story! Very well written and very emotionally touching! Thank you, Pearl Cleage for the gift of this wonderful manuscript. It is a tale of love and positive energy in even the most negative of situations. It is a story of love and hope.
Helpful Score: 5
This is a great story of family and friends dealing with trouble and tragedy. A terrific quick read.
