“Life and love keep on coming,” Aunt Babe tells us. And who’s to deny her? Many will identify.
Berry’s fourth and perhaps breakthrough inspirational (Jim & Louella’s Homemade Heartfix Remedy, 2002, etc.), in tamped-down black English.
The narrative voice belongs to Aunt Babe, who happens to be dead but nonetheless unburdens herself about her sister Buster’s love child, Bernita Brown. Bernita is charmed with goodness and jumps into every household chore to keep from dwelling on her dismal family. She’s the only Brown daughter to go to college, aided by her teacher, Mr. Morris, and his wife, Anna Louise. Anna Louise dies as well and helps out Aunt Babe in the afterlife as they both look after Bernita, who becomes a social worker at Passageway House. Ever fearful of men because her grandfather was so mean, Bernita gets suckered into marrying handsome, fast-talking Tyrone Phillip Thomas; she leaves after finding him in bed with an even more handsome man. Tyrone can’t face up to being gay, but Bernita must face her own fears, and Aunt Babe lends a hand. But, first, on the rebound from Tyrone, Bernita falls for Jimmymack, a roughhouse bus driver studying to be a pastry chef. Then she falls for Re Member, who says he’s an African/Asian trapped in a white body. Re leads the Enlightened Ones and calls Bernita the African Queen for his African King. Then she tries Jesus and churchgoing, joins the church’s Wellness Center, but quits when she realizes she’s on the right track but the wrong train. At last Aunt Babe’s spirit shows up on Bernita’s couch and shows that she must face herself and forgive her family. She’ll be led toward the artist Douglas Ford, who’s also being guided by a dead relative: father Ray, a philanderer who didn’t even know his illegitimate son existed until he crossed over. Then Benita helps Douglas break through his own chains, and all’s well that ends well.
“Life and love keep on coming,” Aunt Babe tells us. And who’s to deny her? Many will identify.Pub Date: June 14, 2005
ISBN: 0-385-51083-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Broadway
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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