Rating: 
Summary: Beyond the fairy tale
Review: As always, Benilde Little did a superb job of telling the story of one woman's struggle to fulfill her mission in life. In "Acting Out," the main character Ina is faced with moving on when her husband leaves her and their three children after 12 years of marriage. Unlike many characters in contemporary fiction, Ina doesn't sing the "my man done me wrong" song. She looks within and tries to examine how she contributed to the demise of the marriage. She comes to the realization that she focused so much on carrying out the roles of perfect wife and mother that she abandoned her own dreams and ambitions. Instead of focusing solely on the shortcomings of her "no-good husband," Ina decides to focus on reclaiming her dreams. There isn't a lot of over-the-top drama and in-your-face biting commentary. This book is more of an exploration of life beyond the fairy tale and what happens after you say "I do." "Acting Out" is a must-read for anyone who's aching for a smart read. If you're tired of ridiculously graphic sexual escapades, constant profanity and page after page listings of designer/bling-bling references that fill pages of many contemporary black fiction novels, then you owe it to yourself to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond the fairy tale
Review: As always, Benilde Little did a superb job of telling the story of one woman's struggle to fulfill her mission in life. In "Acting Out," the main character Ina is faced with moving on when her husband leaves her and their three children after 12 years of marriage. Unlike many characters in contemporary fiction, Ina doesn't sing the "my man done me wrong" song. She looks within and tries to examine how she contributed to the demise of the marriage. She comes to the realization that she focused so much on carrying out the roles of perfect wife and mother that she abandoned her own dreams and ambitions. Instead of focusing solely on the shortcomings of her "no-good husband," Ina decides to focus on reclaiming her dreams. There isn't a lot of over-the-top drama and in-your-face biting commentary. This book is more of an exploration of life beyond the fairy tale and what happens after you say "I do." "Acting Out" is a must-read for anyone who's aching for a smart read. If you're tired of ridiculously graphic sexual escapades, constant profanity and page after page listings of designer/bling-bling references that fill pages of many contemporary black fiction novels, then you owe it to yourself to read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: I FORGOT I READ THIS BOOK
Review: I DID READ GOOD HAIR AND LIKE MANY OTHERS ENJOYED THE STORY. HOWEVER,I LOVE MY HUSBAND AND WOULD BE SAD IF HE LEFT, BUT LIKE INDIA AIRE SAYS I AM HAPPY JUST TO HAVE KNOWN HIM, SO NO TEARS, OR ALMOST GOING CRAZY OVER HIM. COME ON GET A GRIP. IT WAS AN OKAY READ.
Rating: 
Summary: And the Academy Award Goes To...
Review: I have always enjoyed Benilde Little's writing. I remeber when I first read Good Hair. I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait to tell friends about this wonderful new author. And now two books later, I still feel the same way. Ms. Little is truly gifted. She has departed a bit from her original formula, but manages to deliver an engrossing story. At times, the story ambled and stumbled a bit, but it was very well crafted. The plot was an old one, but she went into a new direction and let us look at things at a different angle. The characters had depth, and made it easy for me to get to know them. Moreover, I wanted to know them. I'm looking forward to Ms. Little becoming quite a bright star in the literary world. If nothing else, this story drives home what all Sisters should know by now: You cannot lose yourself IN someone without losing yourself TO them. We can love our brothers strongly and not forget to continue loving ourselves. Wonderful book.
Rating: 
Summary: Tempted to give 5 but...
Review: I held back on the 5 stars because I guess this book does lack something. What that is...I don't exactly know. What I do know is that I love Benilde Little's talents and skills at writing. She is smart and thoroughly entertaining with her craft. Her writing takes you to another intellectual level as you read her works. I have read other books that I literally couldn't put down but his one, I can more or less take it or leave it. That's really why it didn't get the extra star. But, it definitely is still a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Tempted to give 5 but...
Review: I held back on the 5 stars because I guess this book does lack something. What that is...I don't exactly know. What I do know is that I love Benilde Little's talents and skills at writing. She is smart and thoroughly entertaining with her craft. Her writing takes you to another intellectual level as you read her works. I have read other books that I literally couldn't put down but his one, I can more or less take it or leave it. That's really why it didn't get the extra star. But, it definitely is still a good book.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book this year
Review: I really enjoyed this book and the way the character was able to connect her childhood, college days, initial motherhood, and the current situation to see how she got where she was, inside. I liked the fact that Ina admitted that she wasn't the woman her husband had married. I appreciated the storyline that explained how a woman goes from a college graduate ready to conquer the world to someone who has a full day everyday caring for the people in her home, but one that does not have the respect of most people. I enjoyed the ending as well. It didn't matter if she and her husband reconciled. She was complete in herself. I was also grateful that Ms. Little left-out any explicit sex scenes. Sex has been all to described in modern literature. Its time to go beyond that and explore why we do or don't do something. Don't miss out on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Fine writing, weak story.
Review: I was very disappointed in this book and am very grateful that I checked it out at the library. The lead character is only a little bit interesting and the supporting characters are dull. In fact, the storyline is dull, predictable and I could not muster any support for the lead. I mean, by the fifth chapter, I was not interested in her plight anymore. Moreover, there are sequences in the book that come out of nowhere and some characters end up having a complete personality change by the end of the book (i.e., David)...I just did not get the sense that Ms. Little's heart was in this one.
Rating:
Summary: This is no fairytale
Review: Like some other reviewers, I didn't intially like Ina because she does seem a bit whiny and spoiled, but by the second half I was rooting for her to get it together. This book is about an upper middle class family mired in the drudgery of daily life. Ina's day is filled with running the household and caring for her three children while hubby Jay is out trying to become a real estate mogul. Ina felt stifled and the two drifted apart as unspoken resentment crept into the relationship. Ina did what a lot of us do while trying to figure out what to do with ourselves -- she settled. She went for predictability and security and wound up miserable. I was nearly in that situation myself. We think that trying to be what someone else wants is the easy way out, but suppressing your true self only leads to more problems down the road. Beset by financial difficulties and in the midst of an extramarital affair, Jay leaves Ina, and she is forced to contemplate her life. She has to somehow reconnect with the person who existed before she became the matriarch and Martha Stewart wannabe. This book offers no tidy conclusion, but in the end, the couple somehow manage to reconcile after a period of instability. Though Jay hurt and betrayed her, Ina grew from the experience and they were able to start over -- as equals this time. Little touches on the ambiguities of motherhood and life in suburbia, but the big story is about Ina and how she copes with the life she created but doesn't want, and how she has to start over and become her own person. This book was a nice slice of reality.
Rating:
Summary: MOVING AND REALISTIC....................
Review: Moving tale of wife and mother Ina who seems to have it all--beautiful family, hardworking husband, million-dollar house in the 'burbs...until one day her husband Jay announces he is leaving..and walks out, leaving her to care for and raise their three children. Her husband has left her for another woman, and Ina is left to "find herself." Having devoted years to her familial role, Ina soon realizes the her entire identity is intricately tied to those roles of wife and mother. When the realtor arrives at their home and Ina discovers that the money is also gone, she also recognizes that there will be a significant financial adjustment to make. Soon, their house is sold and she and her children move into a much smaller home in a different part of town---and Ina realizes that she is about to start her entire life over. Readers will appreciate the realism that Ms. Little brings to her stories and her characters..; although not as intriguing as Good Hair and The Itch, this is a serviceable story made even more so by the author's gift with the pen. DYB
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