Rating: 
Summary: I Really, Really Enjoyed the Book from Cover to Cover!!!!!
Review: I enjoyed reading Tryin to Sleep. I found it to be Excellent writing (An Outstanding Story). I enjoyed it so much I bought three copies, for my friends and mother. TTS was recommended to me by my good friend Rod. We both agree that it was an outstanding novel. I appreciated all three characters. I believe that the friendship Pat, Gayle and Marcus had was one in which if everyone had or experienced, this world would be a better place. In closing I would like to say, This is one of the best books I've read thus far. It was so had to put the book down. I'm sure you ladies are writing your next book as we speak. Do you think there could be a sequel? I look forward to and can't wait to read it. Tryin to Sleep is a novel that felt very real. If the second book is anything like TTS, I know it will also be a best seller. Congratulations on an Excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: An Exquisite Novel
Review: Psst...Psst! Listen up, my fellow readers you ain't read nothin' 'till you've read "Trying To Sleep In the Bed you Made" an exquisite novel by Virginia DeBerry & Donna Grant. I didn't have to read anybody's review in order to read this book. I was simply capitivated by the title, and instantaneously I knew that this was one novel that this was one novel worth reading. I had the sheer pleasure of reading this book back in the summer of '98, and let's just say that this is one summer that I'll never forget. This is one of my favorite books along with "Dissapearing Acts & Big Girls Don't Cry". I had the privilege of owning this novel in hardcover (wouldn't have it any other way). Today this novel proudly stands tall and graces my exquisite book collection. I consider this book near and dear to my heart, I treasure it as if it were part of a Brittanica Encyclodpedia Collection. I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it, it was as if I saw bits and pieces of my life and my friends lives unfolding right before the very pages. Pat, Marcus and Gayle are characters that each and every one of us can identify with. In this book we experience their joys, pains and struggles of life. It took me a week to finish reading this novel and I have to admit, it simply took my breath away. I was overwhelmed with emotion after having completed reading this book. I just had to write to the authors to congratulate them on this well written treasure. I still have their response letter I received back tucked away neatly between the pages of my book. Personally, I think that this is one of the best books every written. This book left an impact on my life in so many ways than one. It taught me not to take life for granted, the way so many of us do. After reading this "I definetly try to make my bed carefully". There's definetly not enough stars to rate this novel; I give this book a perfect ten just for the way it's touched my life. If you don't already own a copy of this book go out and get one, and if you do write a review or recommend it to someone. It's worth every penny and every minute of your time. Keep up the good work, they've definetly inspired me to write.
Rating:
Summary: Best book by a black author ever
Review: Although it's been some time since I read this book, I haven't been able to forget the powerful impact it had on me. All I will say is, you never know how someone will turn out so you are better off not prejudging people. Negative situations can yield positive results; and having all the advantages in life is no guarantee that a person will benefit or even appreciate what they've been given.
Rating:
Summary: True Friendship
Review: Tryin' to Sleep in The Bed You Made written by friends, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant is one of most beautiful and memorable novels I've read. This novel was originally published in 1997 but republished this year. This edition includes an all-new chapter that has not been published before. Now lets get to the story.Gayle Saunders and Patricia Reid have been friends since childhood. They chose each other for their best friend. They are completely opposite. Gayle is beautiful and well loved by her parents. Her only ambition is to marry a man who has money and is someone with high standing in the community. Pat on the other hand comes from an unstable home. She is smart and determined to work her way to the top. Circumstances change for Pat and Gayle's parents adopt her. They grow up together like sisters. Pat is accepted into a prep school and their lives take different paths. Gayle marries Ramsey, a gambler who almost destroys her life. She does not have a clue about her husband's secret life. He is very controlling and Gayle lives to be the dutiful wife. Needless to say Pat graduated from college with honors. Her determination and hard work took her to top of her career in Advertising. After reaching the top Pat was not satisfied. She was still trying to find a place that she could call home. After years of separation and many trials and tribulations Pat and Gayle find the meaning of true friendship. Marcus Carter who is a childhood friend of Pat and Gayle is troubled. He is being haunted by a tragic accident that occurred during his childhood. The details of the accident are a well-kept secret. Pat and Gayle share this secret with him. The new chapter is an expansion of the original storyline and is well written. There is more about how you sleep in that bed you made. You are in for a surprise. DeBerry and Grant have written a novel that is filled with so much honesty in their characterizations. The writing is clear and easy to follow. They have succeeded in making the characters feel like real people. I was really touched by this book. It made me think about my friendships with other women. There is many twist and turns in this book but you are never confused about what really happens. This is a good book one that I could not put down until I finished.
I would recommend this book to all women. Reviewed by Dorothy Cooperwood
Rating:
Summary: Now These Women Know How to Tell A Story!
Review: I finished reading this book yesterday, and I'm still in awe! DeBerry and Grant did a superb job of telling a beautiful story of frienship, betrayal, love, forgiveness, and letting go of the pain of the past. I wonder how the authors went about writing the book together, because it reads as though it was written by one person. One person with a profound voice, and a way with words that had me laughing out loud at some points, pissed off at some points, and crying like a baby at other points. And the way they wrote that Ramsey character! I fell in love with him right along with Gayle in the scene where she lost her virginity to him! And I was ready to take him back for Gayle in that scene in the cemetary! I think I identify more with Gayle than with any of the other characters in the book, but I loved them all! This was definitely one of the best books I've read this summer, and I would even read it again. And I don't usually read books more than once, no matter how much I like them! I would also love to see this book made into a movie. For some reason, I see Vanessa L. Williams as the perfect Gayle. But enough of my raving about the book. If you haven't read it, you should! Believe me, you'll be glad you did!
Rating:
Summary: What a Great Story
Review: I checked this book out 4 Aug 03 and finished it (reading almost all day Sunday)!! I started crying on page 22 and knew I was hooked on the book until I finished it. What a great story with so many issues, changes of the characters lives and status!!
The only negative thing for me was that Detective Stuckey was on the take. I had no sympathy for Ramsey at all (what a great twist in the story). What was funny was my best girlfriend recommended this book along with a list of 10 other Black authors she met at a retreat in June 03, in NY. This was the only one I found in the library on Fort Leonard Wood. When I was halfway through the book I looked in my library and was surprised I owned my own copy of it. I'm waiting for their next book to come out!!
Rating:
Summary: Forever binding friendship
Review: I read this book so long ago, yet it is still amongst my favorite. This book was well written and captivates what friendships are truly made of. We all grow and sometimes we part from those we thought we couldn't live without. Gayle, and Pat who are totally different become like sisters when Pat is left on her own. They are forever binded with a terrible memory. As they loose one another and fully run into their lives it seems that they reunite unexpectingly and with a twist of things that have changed all of their lives. This was a great collaboration and I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A defiant moment changed the lives of four childhood friends
Review: Imagine stopping at a friends house on your way home from school because you need to use the restroom. The stop results in murder, an excuse for love and living in a shelter? This is what happened to Marcus, Patricia and Gayle one stop one murder, one life. Each character created a bed that was uncomfortable to sleep in. All situations in our life can be managable, it is how you handle the crisis that determines whether you will have a good nights sleep. Deberry and Grant displayed in each character a friendship so real I felt as though it was mine. I read Tryin' many years ago and loved it. As time has passed I was able to appreciate it more the second time around.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome Book!!!
Review: This is one of the best book that I have ever read. I read this book when I was in high school, but the second time I read it, it was better than the first. Most authors use sex to keep a book flowing and keep the reader interested in reading it, but this book was totally different. It makes you laugh, cry, and feel compation for the characters. In this book, everyone can relate to at least one of the characters. Once you pick this book up, you will not be able to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: drawn into their world....
Review: This book was EXCELLENT!! I was not able to put it down. Well written as each chapter smoothly transitions from one character to the other.
| 
