Rating: 
Summary: What a page turner
Review: What a page turner. I stayed up late reading like I haven't done in a while. Anne Quindlen knows how to tell a story.
Fran, the main character, is a battered woman. This is a term she hates, we learn later on. The story begins with her escape. She's had it, the last beating was too much, and she is escaping her husband with the help of a group that places women undercover. She is taking her son, and ends up in Central Florida. Fran's feelings are perfectly articulated. She writes about her ambivalence for her husband, who happens to be a NYC cop. She also writes about the dingy apartment, her sense of loss, the daily details that made (and make) her life miserable. Piece by piece she starts rebuilding her life in Florida. She makes friends, gets a job as a nurse's aide (she was an RN before), and takes it one day at a time. In the process, even though there is no complete healing, she learns a few things about herself and her son.
The cast of characters is terrific. There's Cindy, Fran's first friend in Florida. Although she is a Floridian, she is the archetype of a Californian bimbette. But there's tremendous depth to Cindy, and I love the way this is revealed to the reader, little by little. Mrs. Leavitt is a key character, providing perspective and resignation achieved not just by her old age, but also by her terrible past. I did not fall for Mike, the same way Fran didn't. Above all, I enjoyed Fran, with her beautiful imperfections.
I couldn't wait to get to the ending of the book. There is a thriller-like feel to the story, because you know the cop husband is looking for them, and it's not going to be pretty once he finds Fran. The end surprised me and left me a little sad, but hopeful. Time goes by, and children grow up.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting story
Review: What!I will never allow my husband to beat me up.
Frances benedetto, thirthy-six years old woman, ran away just to avoid her husband.She forgets about her nursing diploma to work as a home health aid.This is terrible!she even changes her name, her son name.Beth, the new person, thinks she could have her peace of mind,start her new life.However she has to face her son who asking her for his dad.
I am so happy to read sarah Quindlen's book and it will not be the last time.
Rating:
Summary: You can run. But can you hide?
Review: [Warning: a review below by "Drea248" unwittingly divulges a crucial element in the story line. Though a positive review, if you plan on reading this book, avoid the review.]Anna Quindlan's latest work of fiction "Black and Blue" has the potential to do what few so called "women's books" are able to accomplish, have an intrinsic appeal which serves both genders. This is a story with the ability to be accessible on many levels and that is one of its strengths. This is a book about women, about children, about men, about the building up and breaking down of relationships, about strength and weakness, about truth, about secrets, about courage, and about trust. It is enlightening, entertaining, and exciting; once started it will be difficult to put down. This is not an easy book to read or forget. The issues raised, some resolved some not, remind us of the frailties and shortcomings we experience in our own lives. Hopefully the main topic is one with which many are personally unfamiliar. The description of the effort involved to achieve escape velocity from the gravitational pull of an old life is simultaneously interesting and frightening. But can you really escape? This is the focal point of the story. The day-to-day events of the principal characters as they establish their new lives is beautifully and touchingly developed in every way, you almost forget how the main characters arrived where they are. Present experiences are cleverly woven with past memories throughout the narrative. However, this is a story that also has all of the underlying tension and menace of a good suspense novel, neither of which are ever very far from the surface.
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