Rating: 
Summary: A fast-paced easy to read page turner
Review: Benilde Little is becoming the spokeperson on Buppydom and the people who live in it's exciting and complex world. I think The Itch shows Ms. Little's progress as a writer. Good Hair was a good, soft touch of a book. I think The Itch shows a maturity more in Ms. Little's writing than in the two main characters in this novel. I am sorry that the women in this story did not find as much happiness in their personal lives as in their careers, but so goes life. I did notice that the model Cynthia who expressed herself emotionally more like a man, was the only woman character to do the dumping in a relationship. Maybe Ms. Little's next novel could focus more on women as victors instead of victims. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Really got into it
Review: I am always glad to read about the once thought 'non-existent' black middle class and Benilde Little has done a good job of portraying this segment of society with Good Hair and The Itch.But, I found the story especially appealing because I could relate to the characters and the similarities they have to my own life and that of some of my friends ... particularly dating, deciding to marry ... what to do when things go awry. I was reading this book on the train when a brother stepped on who looked just as I had pictured Cullen ... I had to catch myself to keep from snarling at him for in that instant was thought 'There his behind is now ! ' So, the ability to give such great descriptions is another mark of a good writer. Good, quick, entertaining read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very good
Review: I just finished listening to this book on tape, and I wasn't all that impressed. I expected something more. I think the end could have been a little better, but it ended really soft, not leaving you looking forward to her next book.
Rating: 
Summary: This is why Johnny can't and shouldn't read!
Review: This pablum is so disappointing! The characters are sophmoric and one-dimensional at their strongest, the plot is a little too "Jackie Collins" with a hip hop soundtrack and all of the insights into Black bougie culture are missed. It was quite apparent from reading this drivel that the writer doesn't know the true bourgeois and the way the rules are set-up. This book promised an insight into African American wealth and rituals, instead it plays out like Generations, the defunct interracial NBC soap and a poor imitation of a bad Danielle Steele novel. Cullen and Abra are so wooden that I thought they'd burst into flames if I rubbed the pages too quickly and Natasha is simply drawn as an extreme opposite to Abra so I'm not even sure if she even had a character. The saddest thing I have found in reading and teaching African-American literature is that there are only a handful of writers that strive for true depth of character and meaningful plot. Benilde does have a few salient points in her prose but when she has to drift back to her characters there is a malaise and hints of disinterest. There is a fictional story about this world to be told and Benilde has made some pointed insights but her characters and their situations are neither strong enough nor evolved enough to bring one or two good lines to novel proportions. To have come so far and arrive at being bad writers is doubly disappointing because it is so important that multicultural voices be heard. Read Tar Baby by Morrison or Terry McMillan's only truly good book Disappearing Acts but please don't support bad fiction simply because it's Black fiction. Don't get me wrong, I will keep purchasing authors and I'm even going to get Good Hair but I won't pay full price for it, I'll get it at a library sale for a dollar, as I did this one, just in case.
Rating:
Summary: Cardboard Cutouts
Review: This book is a dressed up version of what has become the sterotypical black turn of the century saga--the STW (Strong Black Woman) versus the (NGBM) No Good Black Man. It's almost insulting-- when will our black female authors get off this tired theme? Do any Black women in their thirties KNOW any happily married couples? You wouldn't think so, according to Ms. Little. Even poor Natasha, the only one with a well adjusted family life, is doomed. Her life was just TOO darned PERFECT. The characters in this book are thinly written, shallow, self serving, self pitying, detestable, nouveau riche BORES. One interesting omission: In The Itch, Ms. Little completely ignores the true Black upper-class: a group which has quietly existed since Reconstruction (and before), and began pursuing college education and upward mobility in the 19th century. She deals only with the Cristal swigging, label hound arrivistes, one or two generations removed from the ghetto. Uh uh. Rareified circles? NOT!!! Where are Miles and Cullen NOW that the bubble has burst? As for Abra and Natasha? Why, it's just Shug and Celie zoomin' down Rodeo Drive in a Silver Porsche.
Rating:
Summary: Not exactly a message of hope
Review: Benilde Little returns in The Itch with a cast of bicoastal buppies whose lives are bankrupt in spite of stellar educations, turbo-power careers, great looks, and a lack for nothing material. They have all bought into the lie "what you have is who you are" or my favorite rendering, "what you got is who you is." They have all the trappings that we're brainwashed to believe will make us happy, but they all have holes in their souls because they live for nothing greater than glorifying self, a sure path to abysmal disappointment. The women in Little's story appear a little better than the men, but they're still after self-gratification, they merely choose procreation to achieve their ends while the men choose the traditional routes of sex, money, and power. No one seems to have a moral compass; one character in the story chants to himself "[think] only good thoughts" when he thinks he's on the verge of making partner at the firm, even though he just dumped his wife of 10 years for a model who's incapable of loving anyone other than herself (he just doesn't know it yet). The men are all womanizers ("dogs" and "players"). Through processing their failed relationships, the women emerge somewhat healthier for the moment, but the men remain lost and continue chasing their tails (and everyone else's). The Itch made me grateful not to be a part of the MBA buppie world with its insatiable appetite for material consumption and never-ending quest for self-glorification. If your life resembles that of anyone in The Itch, I feel sorry for you. It takes hope to scratch the itch; unfortunately this book does not provide any.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: This is one of the most boring books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is the follow-up to Good Hair. Benilde is a terrific writer and keeps you wanting more. Another fast read if you are looking for a book that will keep your interest.
Rating:
Summary: PURE ESCAPISM
Review: "The Itch" is not a book that will change your life or give you profound depth of thought. It will, however, amuse you with it's enjoyable story line about upper class blacks grappling with romance, finance, and guilt. Moving at a clip pace, it only briefly offers insights into the psyche of each character. Other than "Waiting to Exhale" I have not read many books based on African American success stories, so I found this very refreshing. I read it in two sittings and really enjoyed myself. As good of reason as any for reading a book.
Rating:
Summary: I wanted more!
Review: This was a good novel, but toward the end you want more out of it. I haven't read "Good Hair", so maybe that is what I'm missing, but I still feel the ending should have been written a little fuller. Don't get me wrong Benilde Little is a great writer and her characters in this book had full description, which made it a great read. Please take my advice and read "Good Hair" first and you probably get more out of it then I did. If you don't I would borrow this book from a friend.
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