Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating
Review: This book is about two people who fall in love. Even though race is a predominant subject throught the story, essentially, it is about Milo and Charlotte. When we first meet Charlotte, she is a young girl, wanting to break free from her parents rigid religious fundamentalism. She goes to college and meets her 'expected' all-American boyfriend, Jack. Jack is on the ski team along with another member of the team, Milo. Milo of course is black. Fast forward to years later and Charlotte is super-model. She seems to give people the impression that she is an air-head, but because the book is written from her perspective, I felt that it was just an act. Milo is an extremely famous Olympiad gold medalist who is more famous than Charlotte. For the sake of space, I'll just say they date, they fall in love, they have incidents with other people who make race an issue. What I like about this book is that the race issues are all external to their relationship. While they see one another as Milo & Charlotte, everyone else, sees them as the black and white people. When Charlotte tells her best friend about problems in her marriage, her best friend blames it on race. The blacks are no better, Milo's agent calls Charlotte, Pink, and makes jokes at her expense. I wonder where the writer did her research because I know what it is like to date interracially and the nightclub scene where they go to a club and are harrassed by two women smacks of reality.
The end of this book is what makes it go from good to great. I raced to see who had tried to kill Charlotte. The ending didn't disappoint me, and allows the reader to form their own opinions. In fact, depending on your opinions, it gives food for thought.
Rating: 
Summary: The Musings of a White Girl
Review: White Girl is penned as a "whodunit" but Kate Manning manages to take the reader into the heart and soul of Charlotte Halsey Robicheaux. Charlotte is a Caucasian woman and former model married to African-American, former superstar skier, turned sports commentator, Milo Robicheaux. They are wealthy, well known and a target for anyone and everyone seeking fame, fortune and revenge.Meeting at a New England college as the girlfriend of another skier, Charlotte and Milo meet up again five years later in New York City. White Girl is a copulation of Charlotte's reflections of her life with Milo. Unaware or seemingly uncaring of what others think, Charlotte and Milo marry, have a child and move to California. Charlotte takes the reader through her childhood in California, her time spent in college, her move to New York City and right up to the tragic assault that leaves her speechless. Charlotte's reflections are drawn out and tiresome for Charlotte does not see Milo as black; she sees him as just, Milo. She cannot understand what all the hoopla is about. The characterizations of Charlotte and Milo are excellently developed; I went from pitying Charlotte to thinking "wake up, get a life". The addition of the secondary characters: the friends, the siblings, the parents and the agent all provide some understanding into the personalities of Charlotte and Milo. These characters are just as complicated as Charlotte and Milo and they are characters that you will love to hate. What part, if any, do they play in Charlotte's tragic assault? This is a complicated and tragic story of interracial attraction and love and the inability to see beyond the facade. Did Charlotte and Milo actually get together out of spite or out of their desire to fulfill a fantasy? Manning utilizes a skillful blend of every literary technique imaginable. While the plot was interesting at best, too much time was spent on Charlotte's musings and it would have been helpful to get Milo's perspective on their lives as opposed to what Charlotte thought were Milo's feelings, thus the average rating.....Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves, APOOO BookClub.
Rating: 
Summary: What if the world were truly color-blind?
Review: White Girl tells the story of Charlotte and Milo: their romance, love and downfall. Charlotte and Milo meet up initially at a college on the East Coast. What is special about Charlotte and Milo, depending on how one looks at it, is that Charlotte is a "white girl" and Milo is an African-American male. Milo has grown up in a "white world". He grows up in New Hampshire to parents that are highly educated and "refined" in every sense of the word. Milo is a ski buff and goes on to win gold medals at two Olympics in skiing. Milo has always been around predominately
whites and was once told by an African-American woman that he wasn't "black" enough. Charlotte is the antithesis to Milo. She grew up in a family that was dysfunctional in every sense of the word. While Milo has lived a charmed life, Charlotte has always struggled with having goals and being accepted. Charlotte is a "raving" beauty that eventually finds her calling in modeling. Eventually Charlotte and Milo meet up after college and fall in love. They marry and have a daughter and appear to live a "perfect" life. However, on top of the usual struggles inherent in any relationship, Charlotte and Milo have to deal with prejudices and paradigms that American society has created for not only African-Americans, but for beautiful, white blonds as well. I found this book interesting. My immediate question was about the ethnicity of the author. Was she writing from personal experience as a Black woman or white? Ms. Manning wrote from Charlotte's point of view a lot and didn't allow the reader to "see" a lot of Milo's thoughts and give him an opportunity to explain his actions. The ending leaves the reader wondering how it all ends. But still, the book did bring to surface a lot of issues that should be addressed in our society. Leanna
R.E.A.L. Reviewers
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