Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing, depressing and hopeless
Review: I found it horrible to have to read of a struggle, all too real for hundreds of American women alone, and have it turn out so disappointing. You stay with this woman and her son and watch them strive and struggle, and at the end it all seemed fruitless. I was sorry to ever have begun this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbingly Real
Review: A powerful novel that left me understanding the more subtle impacts of abuse. Bravo (again) Ms. Quindlen!
Rating: 
Summary: I couldn't put this book down
Review: Although I don't rate this book as highly as Quindlen's "One True Thing," I found it impossible to put down, and it haunted me between reading sessions. The whole time I was reading it, I was tense with the inevitability of Bobby's discovery of Fran, and almost sick with fear for her. I found the ending inexorably sad but hopeful. I was, however, troubled by all the typos in the paperback, especially since Quindlen is a former journalist. I'm sure she must have been disappointed in her editors. I also thought she could have done more to explain Bobby's motivation, rather than just making him a sexy but evil character. Still, I recommend the book highly, and look forward to Quindlen's next effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Oprah missed the boat!!!
Review: This was a fairly good book, but it leads me to ask the question.... Why wouldn't Oprah jump on "The Company She Keeps" by Georgia Durante???? That is a TRUE story of abuse, and unlike Black and Blue, I read it like I was taking speed. It was the most descriptive account of life in the horrible world of abuse I have ever read--and it kept me on the edge the entire time! For those who believe Oprah knows it all, try "The Company She Keeps" and ask your why? There are so many GOOD books out there that get passed up because Oprah does not wave her magic wand.
Rating:
Summary: Heart-breaking, a tear-jerking book
Review: This story about a woman absconding with her son from her husband who was ever so brutal and would cruelly beat her until she was battered and mentally broken, portrayed a sense of family life of a different kind, something that we not see every day. Especially till the end, you would find the pain of her living without her son, Robert, who was later unfairly taken away from her for the first time, when she had just finally settled a new life, really shattering and devastating to a woman's life. The story ended off with a rhetorical "I don't know", that was ever so distant and you could hear the echoes and reverberations in your heart, haunting you.. A must read for all, a credible Oprah book!
Rating: 
Summary: Predictable
Review: Once again I have fallen prey to a book recommended by Oprah. This book was a good case for practicing speed reading. Hardley any tension, very predicable. On this subject "Burning Bed" was a vastly better book. This is a situation I have been in and never would bemoan the lack of my house and it's so called "safe" surronding for another life away from the pain and torment. Just a silly book to waste time with.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed by poor editing
Review: Perhaps I would have appreciated BLACK AND BLUE by Anna Quindlen had I not been so distracted throughout the reading by grammatical errors and poor spelling. (There are some errors that Spell Check does not catch!) Is this what happens when the publisher has to rush to reach an Oprah deadline?
Rating:
Summary: honest and heartbreaking look at domestic abuse
Review: I was a bit leery about this book at first. Issues like domestic abuse are (many times) either trivialized or exploited for plot development (remember "Sleeping With The Enemy..?) The main character (Beth) and her plight are written so believably that one can easily imagine a friend or relative going through the same ordeal and reacting the same way. More importantly, the ending is (unfortunately) more plausible and realistic than the contrived ones that we've been force fed for too long. Although I take issue with the term "chick book" (or "chick flick"), I do feel that women will take away more from this story than men.
Rating:
Summary: Rose Madder Sans Supernatural
Review: A disappointing introspective from an abused spouse. Skimmed too much of the surface.
Rating:
Summary: Too predictable -- little suspense
Review: The characters are very predictable. The good guys are nice and the bad ones, nice on outside but mean underneath. Not enough depth of character for Robert the son caught in the middle. I read a book a week mostly best sellers but found this one unexciting compared to most others.
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