Rating: 
Summary: Not one of Oprah's most inspired choices
Review: This book deals with an HIV+ African American woman going back to her small Midwest hometown for a visit, only to be shocked by the violence, crime, teenage pregnancies and crack that have reached the Heartland. These are worthy topics that would make a fine book, but this is not one. At the end, when i put down the book, i was left asking too many questions. My biggest objection is that many of the characters do not seem real and consequent. People can certainly change, but i do not believe that they can change 100%. There is something that always remains from your previous self. Eddie seems to have achieved a 100% transformation from his past. The author presents old Eddie as a pusher, assassin, wife-beater and evil person, and new Eddie as a vegetarian, Buddhist, Tai Chi lover, tea-drinking, balanced individual. Even though Eddie makes references to his past here and there, i find very little connection between then and now. New Eddie is too perfect and too gentle, and he ends up looking unreal. Another character that looks forced is Gerry. She is angry and self-righteous, and it does not make sense. She was supposed to keep a very low profile, after how things had gone for her husband back in Chicago. Instead of showing her simply in denial (understandable), she is portrayed as a vindictive woman who will stop at nothing (unreasonable). The story is quite predictable. You know Ava and Eddie are going to get romantic after the first few pages. Then the author makes it very easy for you to complete scenes. As soon as i read about Joyce and Eddie being away for the night, i knew the hoodlums were going to break into the house. As soon as the baby was taken by the social worker, i knew something bad was going to happen. As soon as i read about the "practice" session at the Sewing Circle, i knew Gerry was going to drop by. This kind of predictability is to me one of the greatest disappointments i can find in a book. I expect to be surprised. Of course i also want to be right on some of my hypotheses, but in this book i was right too many times. The biggest secret of the story is hinted at during the visit that Ava and Joyce pay to the Reverend. Both women, who prove during the development of the story to be smart and perceptive, didn't jump on the comment that the grandson makes about the Reverend. This book is a lightweight (the title should have tipped me). Sure, one can feel empathy for some of the characters, but from a literary standpoint, this book misses the mark, in my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: A Look In The Mirror
Review: I couldn't help noticing that one reviewer commented "What unnevered me about some of the reviews is the bad grammar . . ." and went on to say "the amount of people who wrote in . . ." Grammatically correct verbiage is, "the number of people". Amount infers weight; number infers an actual count.
Rating: 
Summary: Sister No Matter What the price........
Review: Ava and Joyce this a pair that I won't forget. This book has many twist and turns because one the sisters had to endure alot of issues such as losing their parents at an early age, AIDS, losing a spouse, and falling in love again renewing their spirts together from a community that was supposed to be the black Mecca turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the both of them. By the end of the book you will be saying go girl in one breathe and in another saying God DON'T LIKE UGLY so be careful what you wish on others (...)
Rating:
Summary: There is light at the end of the tunnel....
Review: After reading this wonderful, moving book, I was amazed that author Pearl Cleage was able to write so optimistically about such tragic topics: AIDS, teenage pregnancy, drug addiction & crime, society's apathy towards the "wasting" of America's youth. These problems have been faced by people living in "big cities" for years, but now they are spreading to smaller "hometowns" across America. Ms. Cleage's book "What looks like CRAZY..." chronicles the story of two sisters: Ava, who couldn't get away from her hometown fast enough - seeking the fast life in Atlanta, and Joyce, who chose to remain in her sleepy little hometown of Idlewild in Northern Michigan - trying her hardest to make a difference against increasing odds. The reality of life in the fast-lane soon catches up with Ava, and she heads back to her sister and her hometown to heal her spirits and make some major decisions about the rest of her life. However, upon arrival back home in Idlewild, Ava soon realizes that it is no longer a sleepy town. Many of the problems associated with urban living have found their way home to Idlewild. How Joyce helps resolve some of Idlewild's problems, and how Ava resolves her own problems, makes for a warm, often funny, poignant story. I've found that so many of the books on Oprah's reading list are depressing and dark - yes they do deal with "real-life" and people overcoming terrible obstacles - but you come away from reading the books feeling like someone just punched you in the stomach. Ms. Cleage's refreshing book is a story of LIFE & OPTIMISM: "what looks like CRAZY on an ordinary day looks a lot like LOVE if you catch it in the moonlight." How true that is. This book is a MUST read for everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Lush and sensual - simply beautiful!
Review: I loved this book from the moment I started reading it. The story is about Ava, an African American woman who moves from Atlanta back to her hometown of Idlewild, Michigan after finding out that she is HIV positive. Her visit to Idlewild is supposed to be just a stopover on her trip to San Francisco, where she expects to find a female lover (for the first time) and acceptance of her HIV status. Instead, she finds comfort in the warm, snuggly love of her big sister Joyce. She finds hope and purpose in the work that Joyce is doing to save the youth in Idlewild from the spiraling existence of drugs, pregnancy, welfare, and violence. But best of all, she finds true love. Pearl Cleage writes in a very efficient, yet effective style, conveying in a few words what lesser writers struggle to convey in whole paragraphs. Her ability to create an atmosphere of comfort, lush sensuality, or stark horror is remarkable. She writes with wit and honesty, even when describing the pain so often found in life. She perfectly captures the essence of her characters and the roller-coaster of emotion that they experience in the story. I truly cared about these people, so that in the end I cried tears of sadness, outrage, and happiness, all in the space of an hour! I can't wait to tell my friends about this gift of a book.
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