Rating: 
Summary: Humourous & entertaining - your typical disfunctional family
Review: "A Day Late and a Dollar Short" - at first, I thoughtsomeone was describing the striving, hungry days of my youth, tryingto exist and obtain a university education on a shoestring. ....However, this book takes on an entirely different meaning. As youread through the pages, and if you are completely honest, you will bereminded of characters found in most families that you would prefer toleave well buried in the closet. Well, this family has "oodlesof noodles" in their closet, and somehow they all seem to emergein "A Day Late and A Dollar Short." There is Viola, acontrolling woman completely absorbed with the lives of her children;Cecil, the husband who made a lofty exit to the arms of a much youngerwoman; Paris, the judgemental child; Charlotte, emotionally unstableand deeply disturbed; Janelle, insecure and lacking in self-esteem;Lewis, brilliant but without an ounce of common sense. The list goeson, and the only downside of the book is the somewhat difficult taskof keeping track of all these characters, how they relate to oneanother and remembering "who is who, and who didwhat." You will be attracted to the author's writing style andentertained by the bizzare but strong, well-developed characters foundin this book. Talk about your typical disfunctional family - this oneis as hilarious as a ... movie.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry Terry, not "A DAY LATE"-try right on time!
Review: A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT introduces us to Viola and Cecil, an older, married couple on their way out. She is demanding and hard, while he is with a younger woman with three kids of her own. The children are just as wacked out. Paris can see nothing but her own success in front of her, while Charlotte resent her older sister's accomplishment. Lewis is book smart, but dumb in his choices concerning his life. Janelle is the baby of the family, and unfortunately, conducts her life as such. Not a wise thing to do while raising a pre-teen. The drama level is played to the hilt and the tensions run fast and furious, yet they sincerely care and love each other. Even if you can't relate to the situations they experience, there is still a factor there that you know someone that conducts themselves the same way these characters do! Sounds like the mark of a great book to me. Bravo, Terry!
Rating:
Summary: Family Drama
Review: I enjoyed this sequel to her first book, MAMA. In my arguable opinion, Terry McMillan is the Queen of Family Drama but I believe unarguably, she's dubbed as the Queen of "Sistergirl" drama. This was a really great read.
Author Beverly Rolyat in her novel LUST OF THE FLESH, in my opinion, is the Queen of family/church drama. This is one HOT pageturning novel. If you haven't read it, you're missing a great read. I'd love to see her and Terry McMillan write a novel together on family/church drama.
Rating:
Summary: Simply must read
Review: I gave this book five stars although I found it difficult to read. I had to digest each character's situation before moving on to the next chapter. This is one good book but it took me longer to read than usually.
Rating:
Summary: It was about time!
Review: I love Terry McMillan! I have read Disappearing Acts, Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. However, A Day Late and a Dollar Short, her new novel, is my favorite! McMillan is known for her great characterization -- the narrators' voices literally come out of the pages! She takes this to the next level with this new novel. McMillan takes us on a journey in the lives of the Price family. Viola's struggle to keep her four children in order. Of course, they are all adults, but she can't help but worry. There's Paris, a divorcee who is always helping others. There's also Charlotte, the one with the teenage daughter from hell. And who can forget Lewis? He can never stay out of jail. I was introduced to each character as though I was having an actual conversation with them. I cannot recommend this great novel enough. Terry McMillan is not just a great voice for African American women, but for women in general. I don't think I have to mention the legacy that Waiting to Exhale has left us! It was about time you wrote a new novel, Terry!
Rating:
Summary: Family
Review: I loved this book because it reminded me of my family. Almost ever character reminded me of somebody in my family. I loved the book. It was like a real African American Family. She kept it real. And I loved the grandma.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Put Off Til Tomorrow What You Can Do Today...
Review: Terry McMillan has continued in her down-to-earth style to which every African-American family can relate. She incorporates themes of the good, the bad, and the stressful. And, of course, she continues to explore the close, and often painful, relationships between mothers and daughters. She also issues a reminder that we should live for today. Enjoy life and take pleasure in our familial ties while our loved ones are still with us. To say we're sorry when we're wrong and to forgive each other rather than bear long, hurtful grudges. All in all, it was a fast read. Always interesting. Great book, if you like her other novels.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining As Always
Review: Terry McMillan has managed to write another great entertaining read for all to enjoy. Terry has the skills! I really enjoyed this novel written from the 6 different viewpoints of Viola - the tell-it-like-it-is mother of the family; Cecil - the distant father of the family, who Viola pushed away a long time ago; Charlotte - the middle child who wants attention so bad, she chooses to act hateful and selfish toward everyone in her family to get it; Paris - the oldest and only child in the family to go to college who has money, but lacks other things in life and longs to be perfect; Janelle - the baby of the family who can be downright loony at times; and Lewis - the only son who is the typical "black sheep" of the family. Although noone in the Price family is perfect, these characters eventually learn to put family first, and put aside their own selfish needs. What I enjoyed most about this story is that these characters grew throughout the story, and by the end, they all were much better people than they were at the beginning. Even though it takes a tragedy to bring this family together, they realized that family is always first. Although there are many characters in this book, I can still see this becoming a movie. I am sure you will enjoy every bit of it as I did. There is quite a bit of blunt vulgarity (and the story would have been just as good without it), but if you manage to make it through that, you will have enjoyed another great read by Ms. Terry Mac.
Rating:
Summary: extremely emotional and understanding
Review: this book has a family like no other! actually this family is just like yours, or your friends. it's so understandable and very easy to relate to. i relate mostly to the little girl who was getting sexually abused by her stepfather. and the dumb ass mother who couldn't see signs of it. but this book is a definite reccommendation!
Rating: 
Summary: okay but old story
Review: This book was enjoyable enough, but it's basically a retelling of the movie Soul Food. Siblings have problems, the matriarch dies, and then they all get their lives back on track and become a family again. *yawn*
But the book is funny in parts and Viola is a great character. All of the characters are well-written and their individual stories are very familiar in today's world. The chapters are hard to get into sometimes because the point of view changes each time and each person telling it is different. I would have liked their names in the chapter titles to make the transitions easier.
Good enough book but it's been done before.
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