Rating: 
Summary: A Real Winner!
Review: I absolutely loved this first novel by Pearl Cleage. The characters were true to life and very well defined and the storyline was interesting and positive! A great read!
Rating: 
Summary: What looks like a great book
Review: I read this book after reading the sequel, Red Dress. At first I was not crazy about reading a book with HIV/AIDS as the main topic. However, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. These two books go great together. If you like one, you'll love the other.
Rating: 
Summary: 3.5 stars really. An interesting debut novel!
Review: This novel was quite interesting, especially for a debut. The imperfect narrator is quite real and identifiable. The characterization of Ava diagnosed with HIV is so edgy it's appealing, particularly in the first chapter: "At that point I can't dercide if I;m supposed to be sorry about having had a lot of sex or sorry I got sick from it. And what difference does it make at this point anyway? It's like lying about how much you loved the rush or nicotine just because now you have lung cancer."Unfortunately, the edginess is not maintained throughout the book. Although never boring, the novel begins to become a bit stale after the first 75-100 pages. The sub plots are enough to keep the reader reading, but nothing would have been lost if a few of them had been cut out entirely. My biggest complaint about this novel is that it overstays its welcome. Not because the characters fail to remain endearing, but because the plot points themselves are insufficient. It must be noted that, primarily, this is a love story, and subplots involving crack babies, overbearing/hypocritical/self-righteous church members, AND a lost ignorant youth sub-culture just doesn't mesh well in the overall collage of the story. It doesn't seem to fit well. It seems innapropriate for a "romance" book that is trying to be taken seriously to exceed 200 pages. And while this book has a lot of merit that justifies taking it seriously, it still falls victim to the oldest romance cliche: The male lover is absolutely one-hundred percent perfect. Yes, he has a shady past, but that isn't enough to make him real. He is just too spiritually evolved, and physically evolved, and attractive, and sexy, and graceful/beautiful to watch dance to be considered real. All in all, this isn't a bad book. But please remember, this is, at its core, a love story. And if that doesn't really appeal to you, I would not suggest investing 244 pages of reading into it. However, if you are prone to enjoy love stories, you will definitely enjoy this impressive debut novel, particularly if you aren't a sappy romance reader who can't handle the uglier side of life.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Is An Inspiration To Women Everywhere
Review: This book is an inspiration to women everywhere. It is a no frills cinderella story about Oprah Winfrey's life. It begins in her early childhood where her mother struggles with taking on the role of mother when she is no more then a child herself. The author takes you through Oprah's difficult childhood, where she is abandoned by both mother and father. You can't help but smile at the toughness of this character and how she learns to rise above her difficult circumstances. I recommend this book for anyone who likes a feel good story that is not sugar coated.
Rating:
Summary: Crazy for What Looks Like Crazy on An Ordinary Day
Review: What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day, by Pearl Cleage is a wonderful story about a middle-aged women named Ava who has just recently founded out that she has become HIV positive. She decides to live with her recently widowed sister Joyce for a while in Michigan before she moves to what she calls the most HIV friendly city: San Fransisco. Ava soon takes on the responsibilities of helping Joyce with Imani, the crack baby that she has taken in, and the Sewing Circus, an organization Joyce started to educated young women for city life. This book gives a unique descripition of what its like to live in a suburb and how difficult it is to try and live normally with HIV. I think that it is an amazing and memorable story of love, friendship, family, and what it really means to be there for someone.
Rating:
Summary: Lifestyles
Review: The book is about a young women that is building her life back up. Ava is a young women living in Altanta, but she is also living her life in the last lane. Ava basically can get anything she wants, but she ends up with something that she can't get rid of and that a disease. Ava decides to move back home with her sister and her adoptive baby. Once she moves back her world is turned up side down, people are now in her business of way she's back, and the disease that she thought she could keep quiet is now in the air. This story of life, love, and family shows us as people what we can do when we over come things. I recommand this book to anyone who loves a story that will make you think about life situation, and what it really means to be there for one another. Peace Denise
Rating:
Summary: absolutely amazing
Review: I agree with the reviewer who said that this book is one of Oprah's best picks. I laughed, cried, fumed, and felt like I KNEW Ava Johnson from the minute I picked up the book. This is a truly amazing and inspiring book, full of conviction and attention to heavy subjects, while at the same time being lighthearted, extremely funny, and very readable. I read so much and so quickly that I don't keep books very long but constantly trade them with a used bookstore; this one, however, has a special place on my bookshelf, where it will stay forever!
Rating:
Summary: WINNING SPIRIT
Review: If you are ready for a complicated, modern-day, real life story full of humor and confidence, WHAT LOOKS LIKE CRAZY ON AN ORDINARY DAY is the book for you. This is one of Oprah's best choices. It's a complex story full of characters who have problems, but who also have not only the will to survive, but to win.
Ava Johnson is intending to escape her last 10 years in Atlanta by spending the summer with her big sister, Joyce, in Michigan, before moving on to San Francisco to start a new life. What she's really trying to do is come to grips with the fact she's HIV positive. However, sister Joyce is having some problems of her own and she needs Ava as much as Ava needs her.
Then there's Eddie, the handsome, serene and helpful neighbor, who has his own past filled with unpleasant issues. When Eddie and Ava come to the point in their relationship of intense physical attraction where she has to tell and he has to react, the reader is sitting on the edge of the seat, speed reading with a vengeance.
Also there's the story of the church folk. That, in and of itself, gives the book an unusual and unbelievable humor. How they're dealt with should be a lesson for us all.
This is one of the best books I've read and I'm very happy to have discovered it. I'm now a Pearl Cleage fan, and have already acquired I WISH I HAD A RED DRESS.
Rating:
Summary: Best Short Novel I Ever Read
Review: I have read alot of books in my 45 years, but
this book tops them all! It's heartwarming, hilarious,
and impossible to put down. You fall in love with
Ava and learn lesson after lesson right along with her.
The author takes the reader on a journey from despair to hope
and leaves you breathless. Do not miss the ride!
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Four-Plus Stars!!!
Review: This is a great book!! It tells the story of two sisters who are struggling with modern-day problems such as HIV, family loss, cocaine addiction, maternal love, and falling in love. I picked up this book and didn't put it down until over 100 pages had passed. I loved the characters; Ava, the younger sister who'd fled the family town for bigger and better things only to come home after discovering she has AIDS. Her older sister, Joyce, a strong, loving woman who is determined to pass on positive vibes to the young town-folk who are slowly succubming to ignorance, crack, anger, and nothingness. Eddie, another awesome character, who I fell in love with. And, of course, Imani, the innocent baby who grabs your heart. This story is one of THE BEST I've read in a long time! Do not miss it!!
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