Rating: 
Summary: Carpool
Review: Carpool was disappointing. I am not thrilled with Ms. Kallmaker's character choices. Why? They offer no ethnic diversity. Why, what do you mean? One of the main characters is Asian...surely this is an effort at diversity in Karin's writing? True, but, frankly, she could just as well have been a Black lesbian...perhaps the HARDER choice for Ms. Kallmaker who is probably aware that a large percentage of her audience consists of white lesbians. It seems that the lives and the presences of black lesbians are never treated in any of Ms. Kallmaker's writings...except for a minor appearance by some big breasted, Mammie-type,women's shelter worker in Touchwood...whom the lead character, Rayanne Germaine, promptly wanted suckling or something from...okay? Plantation flash-back... Anyhoos, Carpool was a let-down.
Rating:
Summary: The Book Was Boring.....Period.
Review: I agree with reviewer Jane's ire concerning Ms. Kallmaker'sliterary focus. Personally, I read Ms. Kallmaker's work because shedoes have a gift for prose. In Car Pool, she makes her characterstotally believable and their situations plausible. I have given herthe benefit of the doubt in the past; reading her stories voraciously;hoping her genre would become a bit more ethnically inclusive. Thelesbian character in Car Pool who is an Asian American is a fairstart. Unfortunately, black lesbians have (at worst) been absentor... at best, been marginalized in Ms.Kallmaker's writings. It isbeyond belief how such an obvious talent can also be so narrow andbackward in her thinking. I wonder if she has any black friends (gayor otherwise).
Rating: 
Summary: Beyond Belief
Review: I agree with reviewer Jane's ire concerning Ms. Kallmaker'sliterary focus. Personally, I read Ms. Kallmaker's work because shedoes have a gift for prose. In Car Pool, she makes her characterstotally believable and their situations plausible. I have given herthe benefit of the doubt in the past; reading her stories voraciously;hoping her genre would become a bit more ethnically inclusive. Thelesbian character in Car Pool who is an Asian American is a fairstart. Unfortunately, black lesbians have (at worst) been absentor... at best, been marginalized in Ms.Kallmaker's writings. It isbeyond belief how such an obvious talent can also be so narrow andbackward in her thinking. I wonder if she has any black friends (gayor otherwise).
Rating: 
Summary: What you see is what you get
Review: I do wonder why people read books by writers they don't like. I enjoy all of Ms. Kallmaker's books. They are heartfelt romance novels, not Lesbian American studies. Car Pool was first and foremost a romance with a closeup focus on racism that one woman experiences on the job. They also have class differences. There's a little mystery thrown in and as always in a Kallmaker book, great sex. I was pulling for Shay and Anthea every step of the way, and for their gay male friends, Adrian and Harold. The scene in the bar where "the difference between gay men and lesbians" is discussed had me howling with laughter.
Rating:
Summary: Realistic Slice of Lesbian Lives
Review: I enjoyed this book beginning toend. The author does a great job at bringing us right inside the characters' jobs and their hopes and dreams. They have whole lives. Friends to worry about, bills to pay and pasts that are painful to simply live with. Lovers have treated them badly, bosses are sometimes racist jerks and it's hard to quit smoking when you're commuting 3 hours a day. It was like I'd been there and both Anthea and Shay were friends I knew. I only wish I had their happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: The Book Was Boring.....Period.
Review: I have to admit that I didn't finish Car Pool... Every time I would try to, I'd start to nod off to sleep. The characters were blah and predictable. The description of Shay and the details of her occupation as an engineer were especially uninteresting... it was comparable to reading a phone book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I read the author's Frosting on the Cake and found that a character in this book was an Asian American lesbian. It is so rare that I had to read the novel that inspired that short story. This was a great read and I think thatthe author, who I assume is white, did a good job portraying the struggles of an Asian American lesbian. I would love to meet this character sometime! But based on the short story it seems she's in a happy relationship. (grin) Some people might wish that the character was not Asian but I for one am glad that the author choose to do it.
Rating:
Summary: A rare look at interracial lesbian romance
Review: I think I can count on one hand the number of lesbian romances that deal with an interracial relationship, and this is one of them. I think the writer should be congratulated for an excellent depiction of the casual racism that Asians receive. Shay, who was born in the US, is told her English is excellent, for example. I have always thought that when reviewing a book, it's best to review the book you read, not the book you wished the author had written, and to rank that book for itself. I loved this book for what it delivered: a solid, intriguing romance between a closeted white accountant and a Japanese-American environmental biologist.Even rarer, this book deals with class differences. Shay is near penniless, though well-educated, and digs sampling wells on an oil refinery. Anthea is rolling in dough she inherited from distant parents. Each woman has real issues about money and it's dealt with in a complex way -- no easy fixes here. Last, I'd add that anyone wanting to see the totality of Kallmaker's ethnic diversity needs to read *all* of her books, including those written as Laura Adams. Night Vision and The Dawning have both black and native American characters who contribute vitally to the action. The Dawning's immersion in the Navajo culture was illuminating.
Rating:
Summary: Long and with depth
Review: It seems like some people's problems with this book is that the author choose -- in their opinion -- the wrong minority when developing this interracial romance. How about reading what is actually written rather than injecting some sort of political correctness? Like others have said, these two women could live next door. If they did you'd want to know them, you'd want to learn from them how to talk about tough issues and still laugh like children. The love scenes are steamy and the light mystery behind the story quite engrossing. I for one like detail when people have careers I know nothing about. There's an oil refinery not far from where I live and now I know lots more about it than I did before. A great read!
Rating:
Summary: Buy It!
Review: Karin Kallmaker is one of the best lesbian authors on the market. Car Pool did not disappoint me at all. The first time I read it I didn't put it down until I had finished it. I have now read it three times. Kallmaker has a great knack for drawing you in and having a story line that most people can relate to in some aspect. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a can't put down book with good love scenes.
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