Rating: 
Summary: Best work since Mama
Review: Being a supporter of ALL Black authors, I had to pick up Terry McMillians newest novel. I must say that although I own all of her novels, I really only loved Mama. If you loved that book as much as me, then you will adore A day late and a dollar short. Lots of books have touched me in a personal way, but this book is one of the few that have made me cry. I had a rollercoaster of emotions going through me throughtout the whole time I read the novel, it was awesome. I dont want to give away anything, but if you want to read Terry at her absolute best, you have to pick this book up.
Rating:
Summary: A Day Late and A Dollar Short, but Right On Time
Review: As I lit my aromatherapy eucalyptus candle and placed my saucer with two cucumber slices on my nightstand (yes, I use cucumbers on my eyes), I crawled into bed with my new book, Terry McMillan’s A Day Late and A Dollar Short. There is one more thing needed to complete my nightly relaxation ritual, I turn my television on and place it on channel 409, Body and Soul Music Channel. And let the relaxation begin!
Two pages into Viola Price’s, the main character, monologue about her common-sense-lacking son, Lewis, I know that Terry has written another masterpiece and those two cucumbers will not be touching these eyes tonight.
A Day Late and A Dollar Short takes you on a yearlong passage thought the ups and downs (mostly downs), of the Price family. Headed by Viola Price, the soon to be 55 and separated from her husband, the “bad habit” of 35 years, the novel is narrated by Viola and told from the points of views of her four adult children; Paris, Charlotte, Lewis, Janelle, as well as though her husband, Cecil.
The year starts off with Viola explaining how each one of her four children and her husband has contributed to the asthma attack that she recently suffered. The book continues and follows the lives of each family member as they deal with their own personal problems. Paris, the oldest, who must deal with the pressures of being viewed as Viola's predecessor and having the perfect life, is realizing that her successful life is becoming a dependent and lonely one. Charlotte is the self proclaimed black sheep that no one ever liked. Her journey will lead her through a road of self-hatred and egomania all at the same time. Lewis, the only son and jailbird, is traveling a voyage that will lead him to a place of responsibility acceptance and accountability for his own actions. The baby of the family, Janelle, who has never worked for anything she ever wanted is about to realize that her picturesque home is a nightmare for her daughter. And then leaves Cecil. Cecil going through a long-term mid-life crisis that Viola just doesn’t understand; which leads him to find a life elsewhere.
A Day Late and A Dollar Short is a must read if you think your family has major issues. Even though the book is a work of fiction, just the prospects of a family being this disturbed is enough to soothe the minds of the members of the most dysfunctional homes. This neo-masterpiece will be a topic of conversation of both Terry McMillan’s talent and the parallels of the Prices and the readers’ own family for as long a family drama strengthens the family.
Rating:
Summary: Family dynamics and sibling rivalry at it¿s best.
Review: We are introduced to Viola Price and her family chapter by chapter. Her four grown children and their absent dad who has found a new family to look after. Each chapter is written in a different voice so we see the story from many angles.Viola is lovingly human and knows how to get right to the heart of the matter when it comes to her kids and their mistakes, after all she muses, it's a mothers business. The families involved are torn apart by cheating spouses, sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, and drug and alcohol addiction, just to name a few of the hurdles placed along your way through the story. I love how this author ties it all together. I did have a problem with the accents and poor grammar spoken by the characters in this book and I found it hard to like any of them at first but their transformation, and my ultimate change in attitude, is part of the magic of this book. Kelsana 10/30/01
Rating:
Summary: Terry is still the girl.
Review: From what I understand this was the first book that Terry started writing. I don't know if that is true but she worked it out. She has taken the very essence of a dysfunctional family and made it understandable, passionate and almost humorous. The Price family are like many families I know and unlike many others. The story is written in respects to everyone's relationship with their mother. I am slightly stumped now. I felt that Disappearing Acts was her best with Mama coming in at a close second. But this one is definitely up there too. This is a must have.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tamer Taste of Terry McMillan
Review: McMillan's latest novel will once again give fans a taste of her wonderful ability to bring characters to life. Each of her charcters is tragic and yet rises up to vindicate themselves by the end of the book. A Day Late and a Dollar short is not as racy or chic oriented as her last two novels, Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. It's a good read but if you're craving the same saltiness you got from Exhale, hold your breathe.
Rating:
Summary: best book i ever read...........
Review: THIS IS THE SECOND BOOK I'VE READ BY TERRY AND I MUST SAY THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY ON OF THE BEST BOOKS THAT I'VE READ IN A VERY LONG TIME.IT'S DEFINATELY A PAGE TURNER THAT WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH,CRY, AND STAY UP ALL NIGHT TRYING TO FINISH READING IT.
Rating: 
Summary: Very reminiscent of "Mama"
Review: I liked this book okay. I didn't think it was as good as her other books. I basically read this book and "Mama" back-to-back because they were the only Terry McMillan books I hadn't read. The storyline was mostly the same as "Mama", which I liked better, and I was disappointed with that, but I did like it some.
Rating:
Summary: One Family, Many voices
Review: This story is about the Price family. We get to meet them, warts and all, chapter by chapter. The first chapter introduces us to Viola, the matriarch of the family. Viola, in the hospital suffering from a massive asthma attack, is wearied and worried by her spouse and her offspring. In her first-person narrative voice that instantly evokes reminiscences of listening to my own grandmother's southern-black-English argot, we get to hear from Viola's perspective the strengths and weaknesses of her family. Because she sounds so real her impressions leap right off the page and into your own consciousness until you find yourself agreeing with Viola. Yes! Her husband is an ungrateful wretch who moved out with no warning. Yes! Her constantly-in-jail son is book smart but street stupid for allowing himself to fall into the trap that has snared so many other black men. Yes! Her oldest daughter is a control freak who spends too much time looking out for others and not enough time looking out for herself. Yes! Her second daughter is too blinded by jealousy to really see how much her family loves her and Yes! Her youngest daughter has been too dependent on others and can't stand up on her own two feet. But wait a minute. Before you get too comfortable with these characterizations, Ms. McMillan switches gears and allows the others to speak for themselves. In Cecil's chapters we see a man who has a wife who is astonishingly self sufficient, grown children who don't really need him anymore and a life that has seemingly passed him by. We see someone who still has an enormous amount of respect for his spouse but who feels useless in her world. In Lewis' chapters we meet a man who is incredibly intelligent but who has never had anyone pushing him to succeed. Instead his family pigeonholes him into the slot of a drunken failure, never seeing the man underneath the surface who has dreams and aspirations like everyone else. In Charlotte's chapters we hear from a woman who has always felt like the outsider in her family. Doing desperate, sometimes unkind things simply to get them to notice her. She longs for the approval of her family and constantly seeks ways to get it only to be defeated by bitterness when she feels she's come up short in some way. In Janelle's chapters we visit a woman who having been the petted baby of the family is trying to re create what she feels is the perfect family and is desperately trying to create an identity. She marries unwisely and realizes too late the price she has to pay for her naivete. And finally, Paris' chapters reveal the oft told story of the oldest sibling given too much responsibility too early. Having been put on a pedestal, Paris strives mightily to live up to the image of perfection she believes her family has of her. But at what cost? I usually get all bent out of shape when a story is told with shifting P.O.V.s but in this case, the voice of each of these characters is central to this story. Ms. McMillan has no trouble moving from the clipped, "proper" tones of the uber-educated Janelle and Paris to the more blue-collar street slangy tones of Lewis and Charlotte. Each sibling and each parent is fully in charge of the space he or she inhabits. The care taken in crafting each character in this book is so subtle that it is easy to miss how sophisticated the storytelling in this book really is. There is a reason that Terry McMillan was the vanguard for the renaissance and current popularity of African-American popular fiction and this book is represents that reason. Ms. Macmillan is an engaging writer who writes absorbing stories. I recommend.
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Summary: It's a Family Affair
Review: A Day Late and A Dollar Short delineates the trials and tribulations of the Price family. The story is told through the eyes of each member of the family. Viola, the headstrong matriarch is the centerpiece. She's opinionated and very involved in the lives of her kids and of course she knows what's best for all of them. Cecil, her estranged husband, whose trying to find his way, with a new woman and a new family. Lewis is the trifling son of Viola and Cecil with a high IQ and a penchant for trouble. Janelle, the youngest and most spoiled of the bunch prides herself on having a fit body but whose mind appears to have a screw loose. Charlotte who shares a birthday with her mother, has a "stable" marriage, but happens to believe that her mama and her sisters are constantly trying to one-up her and rub her nose in it. Finally there's perfect Paris, the first born, a single divorced parent, well off, and always doing the right thing in the eyes of folks, but isn't truly happy. McMillan allows each person a clear voice in the book and each is able to reveal their insecurities, their fears, their loves, their talents and of course their secrets. All of them really just want to be loved and hold a special place in the heart of their mama Viola. This story touches on universal themes that can affect families of any race, chronic illness (Viola's asthma), molestation and sexual abuse, deadbeat dads, loneliness, sibling rivalry, and the affects of birth order on personality. The central character Viola, is like most our mothers, she may work your nerves but you love her and she's almost always right This book reads quite differently from McMillan's previous work. Though still conversational in tone, the story is more complex due to the viewpoints provided by each of the characters. Any reader of this book will see traces of their own family within it and will laugh and cry as they watch the Price family fight, reconcile and learn to love each other with the mother serving as the glue that brings them all together.
Rating: 
Summary: A Day late and dollar short
Review: I was disappointed in this latest edition of Terry McMillian. It was slow, boring and predictable. Terry has lost the magic of her earlier works...Mama, Disappearing Acts and Waithing to exhale. In my opinion, her sister Roslyn is a better writer.
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