Rating: 
Summary: Tells the story
Review: Two books BLACK AND BLUE and NIGHTMARES ECHO tell the story of me...my life, the way I had to live. I am so grateful to these authors for the courage to write about abuse, all the forms of abuse and the courage and determination to survive.
Nicole Eckard
Rating:
Summary: A dark tale, full of sound and fury
Review: This book packs quite a punch. I picked it up, not knowing what it was about, and was totally blown away! Great writing, explosive scenes, well-developed characters, and just enough graphic content to ensure that this is believable, make this one of the best reads out there. Like McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" or Conroy's "Prince of Tides" this is one book you'll remember.Also recommended: Prince of Tides and Bark of the Dogwood by McCrae
Rating:
Summary: Gripping novel
Review: Heard BLACK AND BLUE by Anna Quindlen, a gripping
novel about a woman whose passionate marriage became a
nightmare . . . the main character, Fran Benedetto, then decided
to run away with her son and start a new life . . . I found myself
really caring for Fran, and that to me is what fine writing is all
about . . . if you read or listen to this book, make sure you
have tissues with you when you do; the ending will is
virtually heartbreaking . . . adding to my enjoyment was
Lili Taylor's outstanding job of narration . . . it was perhaps
the finest I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
Rating:
Summary: I Lived this
Review: I Lived this...saw this, and nearly destroyed my own world because of it. This book helped me more than the author will ever know. I also read Nightmares Echo by Katlyn Stewart along with this book. Together I am able to understand so much about myself. These are must reads
Rating: 
Summary: Who was abusing whom?
Review: This is quite possibly the most depressing book I've ever read, mostly because I know that it's written about a life that many women lead. I am disturbed by the fact that Fran seems to calmly accept her beatings, all the while dreaming about Bobby's wonderfully buff "bod". She cannot seem to accept, even at the end, that Bobby is evil incarnate and he would be very likely to kill her just to punish her for not opening his beer. The person I feel the most sorry for in the book is Fran/Beth's second husband, Mike. I wonder just how often, when she is making love to Mike, she is fantasizing about Bobby. The part of the book that really got to me was how Fran/Beth tries to save her son from his father because she thinks he needs saving. Robert never really accepted what was going on with his mother and always wanted to be with his Dad more. The book never tells us what happens between Bobby and Robert, but we can only hope that Bobby doesn't use Robert as a substitute for Fran.
Rating:
Summary: Black and Blue is empowering!
Review: Anna Quindlen is able to spin a captivating tale of a battered woman who runs away from her abuser. Quindlen is talented and entrances the reader in this novel by using elegant descriptions and suspense. I recommend this book to all.
Rating:
Summary: A story that stays with you even after you close the book.
Review: What an amazing read! Frannie is abused by her husband, Bobby, who is a cop. They have a 10yr old son, Robert. Frannie meets Patty Bancroft who helps women in her situation - finds them new homes, new identities, new lives. Frannie decides she has finally had enough and leaves Bobby. They move to FL and begin a new life. The story weaves past and present which gives the reader more insight on how awful a marriage it was. This is a fast read and one you won't forget. My first Quindlen read and certainly not my last.
Rating:
Summary: Black and Blue Review
Review: Frances Benedetto has just escaped from a brutal marriage. She didn't escape for herself but for her 10-year-old son Robert Benedetto. She was once a life-loving nursing student, but once she married Bobby Benedetto, her world changed for the worse. She feared leaving because of the sense of "normalcy" that home meant, but she fears more for her son who seems to be bearing a great burden for his age. So, she runs with the help of an organization run by a woman named Patty Bancroft's, who can make women "disappear" in the great expanse we know as America. Fran Benedetto becomes Elizabeth Crenshaw, recently divorced mother of Robert Crenshaw, but she knows that Bobby will find her. It's only a matter of time. When I started reading this book, I realized that the plot sounded similiar, and I was suddenly able to conjure up faces to go with the names. Then, I realized that I had seen this movie on Lifetime, but I hadn't correlated movie to book. I'm glad that I had a chance to experience the book. By reading the book, more of Fran's life was exposed to me -- more so than what was shown in the movie. This was a chillingly beautiful story of a heroine broken inside and out by the years of abuse that she suffered at the hands of her husband. It started with him grabbing her arms, leaving behind bruises. She thought it was just "love". He wouldn't hurt her if he didn't love her, right? It then escalated to punches, slaps, and even rape. The story starts the day Fran had decided to run, and we're only shown fragments of Fran's former life through flashbacks. In the present, Fran is trying to cope with her situation, trying to provide for her son when she's worse off than before, trying to cope with the fact that she may not be able to hide forever from her husband (who is a cop). She's trying to make life for her son and herself as normal as possible. She forms new relationships, even a new love interest peeks over the horizon, but her initial interest in is spawned by the need to feel safe. This story is touching an terrifying all at the same time. I really admire Quindlen's ability to write a scene. She doesn't come right out and tell you that he raped her or he caused her to miscarry. Instead, she paints a portrait of words for you that allows you to see the terror as it happens, and only when it's over do you realize what she's trying to say. Like King's Rose Madder, it's a very realistic view of spousal abuse, but unlike King's books, there are no fantastical elements to aid the heroine, and there are no false promises of a happily ever after in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Suspense Filled
Review: Excellent read - Anna Quindlen did a great job writing this book! This book will make the hairs on your arms stand up as you read about the life of Fran and her husband Bobby Benedetto. To the outside world, Bobby and Frances seem like the couple that everyone wants to be - a husband that is a New York cop, a wife that is a nurse, and the perfect son, Robert, all living in their nice little house surrounded by friends and family. As you might have guessed, Fran's life was anything but normal with a husband that beats her. Fran's life is anything but perfect and she is too afraid of her own husband to get a divorce with the beatings that she has received in the past - - so she sees her only way out is to leave and start a new life with her son - changing their names and forgetting the other life as much as possible. BUT can you stay hidden forever from your past or will it catch up with you? Pick up the book and see - I promise you will love it and not want to put it down!
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT
Review: This is a wonderful book, touching and sad. Very real and likeable character's. There was a recent cable movie on TNT that came out last year, different ending yet as compelling, but decent enough. This novel is one you'll not forget, nor is it boring at all. Recommend highly! One note, if you deside to read this novel, have the tissue's out and take off your make-up.
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