Rating: 
Summary: Another charming novel from the talented Jeanne Ray.
Review: "Step Ball Change," the new novel by Jeanne Ray, is a lighthearted look at family relationships, including those between parents and children, siblings, and most of all, husbands and wives. Without preaching, Ray manages with gentle humor to say quite a bit about what makes a relationship work and how difficult it is to keep a relationship viable. Caroline and Tom McSwain have been married for forty-two years, and they are still very much in love. They have four grown children, one of whom has just become engaged to a very wealthy man. Kay, the newly engaged daughter, is so caught up in the excitement of her engagement that she has forgotten to mention one small detail to her mother. Kay may still be in love with a lawyer named Jack, with whom she has had a passionate love affair. Into the mix comes Taffy, Caroline's younger sister, who has been dumped by her husband, Neddy. Taffy is a beautiful but egocentric woman, who has never been particularly close to Caroline. However, during this time of crisis, she turns to Caroline for comfort and emotional support. Taffy manages to throw the McSwain household into an uproar with her theatrical manner and her excitable dog, Stamp. Stamp loves to bark loudly and bite painfully, not necessarily in that order. Jeanne Ray's characters are lively and amusing. I enjoyed Woodrow, the contractor who is helping to rebuild part of the McSwain's crumbling house. During his long association with Caroline and Tom, Woodrow has practically become a member of the family. Not only does Woodrow train the dog, Stamp, to curb his violent impulses, but he also dispenses wise advice and helps Taffy come out of her funk. The title "Step Ball Change" comes from the world of tap dance. Both Caroline and Taffy know how to dance well, and Caroline teaches tap in her own studio. She considers tap-dancing therapeutic and a great way to express one?s feelings. Ray implies that if people lived their lives with the same self-discipline yet freedom of expression that tap dancing generates, their lives would be much more fulfilled. When the author writes about dancing, her prose sings. Like Elinor Lipman, who also writes light romantic comedies, Jeanne Ray whimsically mixes and matches characters romantically, until all of the many complications finally sort themselves out. Ray accomplishes this with grace, style and much merriment. For a wonderfully entertaining and diverting novel, read "Step Ball Change."
Rating:
Summary: Warm, Funny, and Clever
Review: "Julie and Romeo" was a terrific book and a tough act for the author to follow, but she turned out another terrific story full of charming but real characters. I swear she had Morgan Freeman in mind while writing the Woodrow character. I took the kids to a movie today and brought my booklight along so I could have an hour and a half of reading time, I was enjoying this book so much. It all lead up to a wonderful ending that made me nod with satisfaction. I hope Jeanne Ray is at work on her third; I'll be among the first to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!!!
Review: A wonderful easy fun book to read! Perfect book to make you smile and think about all the wonderful things in your own life. I loved these characters and the visit was too short!!! You won't be sorry to pick this book up and add it to your library and I will be making sure to pick up her other books!!
Rating:
Summary: Tap Dancing Through Life
Review: After reading several less than satisfying books this summer, I finally hit upon a winner. Step-Ball Change by Jeanne Ray is one of the most delightful books I've read in a long time and I highly recommend it to one and all. In the tradition of authors like Susan Isaacs and Elinor Lipman, Jeanne Ray approaches family life with both tears of joy and sorrow. And we as readers can't help falling in love with both her characters and writing. Mimi and Tom McSwain have raised four children over the course of their marriage while Mimi owns and runs a dance school while Tom, a lawyer, works for the prosecutor's office in their town. During a rare and tranquil evening come almost two simultaneous phone calls. On one line comes the voice of their third born child announcing her engagement to a most eligible bachelor, while on the other line comes a sobbing phone call from Mimi's sister, Taffy, announcing that her husband has left her for a much younger woman. While their house is undergoing what was supposed to be a minor renovation, Tom and Mimi are beset by a host of problems with Ray treats with great wit and pathos. While Mimi worries if they have enough money to host a wedding of nearly 800 people, she must also contend with her sister's arrival and her poorly trained dog who bites everyone, her daughter's future mother-in-law who is busy choosing colors for bridesmaid's dresses and making appointments with a wedding party planner, her dance studio and a contractor and workmen who are now making the McSwain residence their second homes. As you can imagine this book is filled with wonderful characters and some of the funniest scenes I've read recently. Mimi who at 62 dreams of retiring although she still likes to do a step dance number or two, her husband Tom a calming influence for all who insisted that he and Mimi elope many years before, their youngest son, a law student, who also teaches at the dance school and everyone thinks is gay, Taffy, Mimi's younger sister who typifies a high maintenance woman and who also has a few dancing surprises in store for Mimi and finally George, the black man hired to build a sun porch who winds up teaching the McSwain family a thing or two about life and love. This is the perfect book for a hot day in the summer or come of think of it at any time. If you liked Jeanne Ray's first book Julie and Romeo, you're bound to love Step-Ball Change. And let's see if you don't consider taking tap dancing lessons the way I am doing now once you've finished this book.
Rating:
Summary: very very good!!!!
Review: After the glut of novels about 20-somethings in New York and London who just can't get it together, this novel about a 60-year-old woman hit with the double-whammy of her daughter getting engaged to the town's richest man (while apparently still in love with someone else) and her competitive younger sister wanting to come stay with her when her husband runs off with a younger woman is a welcome change. Caroline is being hit with love and romance from every angle -- both the rise and decline. Through it all, her own husband is a rock. Her sister Taffy arrives with tons of suitcases and a badly-behaved dog named Stamp, and Caroline discovers that Taffy can dance too (Caroline runs a dance studio.) Taffy wants to work at the studio as a means of working through her pain and suddenly the sisters are actually bonding in their old age. which is good as both their families go through emotional turmoil --- Caroline's son falls in love, Taffy can't locate her only daughter Holden who is a glamorous movie agent, the house needs constant repair and it looks like the daughter's wedding is going to have a guest list of 1000 -- how will they pay for it??? This is a great book and I look forward to reading the rest of the author's works.
Rating:
Summary: Light entertaining read!
Review: Caroline gets two phone calls within moments of each other. The first one is from her daughter with the joyful news that she is getting married. The second call is Caroline's sister, Taffy saying she's coming to stay, because her husband is having an affair. Caroline and Taffy are far from close, and as the tale unfolds, we see them learn things they never knew about each other. Ray introduces us to some intersting characters, from Taffy's saucy dog, to the construction worker Woodrow who is trying to save Caroline's house from falling down. This is a very light read, with a comic flair. Well written and enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: excellent read!
Review: Every time I read a Jeanne Ray book, I'm convinced it's the best book I've read until I read another by her. I didn't want to read Step Ball Change because it was the last book of Ray's that I hadn't read. Unfortunately, I finished it and now have to wait for more by her. This book is such a wonderful book. It made me feel good about people and life. It made me smile. It made me wish for more. I love Jeanne Ray's writing and hope she has many more stories up her sleeve. It's not a sappy, unrealistic book but is more of a collection of stories about life that have a happy ending. Keep writing Ms. Ray!
Rating:
Summary: excellent read!
Review: Every time I read a Jeanne Ray book, I'm convinced it's the best book I've read until I read another by her. I didn't want to read Step Ball Change because it was the last book of Ray's that I hadn't read. Unfortunately, I finished it and now have to wait for more by her. This book is such a wonderful book. It made me feel good about people and life. It made me smile. It made me wish for more. I love Jeanne Ray's writing and hope she has many more stories up her sleeve. It's not a sappy, unrealistic book but is more of a collection of stories about life that have a happy ending. Keep writing Ms. Ray!
Rating:
Summary: What a delight!
Review: I could not wait to buy Jeanne Ray's new book. I found "Julie and Romeo" so delightful and hoped she would follow it with another winner. I was not disappointed. In "Step Ball Change", Ray portrays a family that seems to be constantly in the throes of change. Caroline and John, long- married, seem to always be facing complicated situations that keep them from the comfortable and event-free life they had envisioned in their later years. Their Raleigh home, despite its collapsing foundation and a contractor who seems to have taken up residence, is a haven for their children and others. The book opens with the latest twin complications. Their daughter has become engaged to the most prominent/richest bachelor in town (although she maybe involved with someone else) and is planning a wedding for 1,000. In addition, Caroline's sister Taffy calls to announce that she is on her way to them, having run away from her philandering husband, the richest man in Atlanta. Ray writes in a way that makes the reader feel that s/he KNOWS these people and is glad to have their acquaintance - and misses them when the book is closed. They are wonderful folks without being sappy and I enjoyed every minute I spent with them.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I had heard about this book from other book club friends and I have to say they were all right, it's a wonderful story. I found myself wishing by the end of the book that I was one of those magical and talented people that had dance in their blood. Caroline and Tom have a home that at times appears to be a three ring circus. Caroline's sister invades their home after her husband leaves her, daughter Kay arrives engaged to one perfect man but in love with another and son George falls for the contractors daughter, who just happens to practically live there as well. Throw in one small yappy dog and numerous other colourful characters and you have total chaos. Through out the story the one constant that Caroline and her sister have in their lives is their love for dance. No matter how difficult times seem once those dancing shoes are strapped on all is right with the world. Is it any wonder this reader wishes to be a dancer?
This is a truly heart warming story and I certainly hope to read more of Jeanne Ray in the future.
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