Rating: 
Summary: Predictable but well-written
Review: I'm a fan of Anna Quindlen's style, loved One True Thing and many non-fiction pieces she's written. I enjoyed this book stylistically though I felt throughout that I knew what was about to happen at every juncture. As someone who is personally familiar with victims of domestic abuse I also felt that Quindlen was trying a little too hard to be politically correct-i.e. portraying Fran as too smart, independent and strong- willed in order to say that anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse; to be very general most victims of continued domestic abuse that I've come into contact with do not have even close to the amount of self-esteem that Fran seems to have. That made the story ring a little less than true for me. It would have been interesting had Quindlen chosen to explore the true nature of co-dependency that usually leads to abuse. In any case I was favorably surprised at the less than neatly wrapped up ending. A lesser writer might have been tempted to leave everyone with a big happy walk off into the sunset. Not my favorite Quindlen book but not bad either.
Rating: 
Summary: Not my cup of tea
Review: Unless you are a victim of abuse or expect to be (and who does?) I don't think would be a book you'd like to read. It was informative but I'd call it 'a how to' book not something you'd pick up to read. I wish I had read the reviews first, I wouldn't have bought the book. Just because Oprah selects doesn't mean it will be wonderful, this one wasn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Non-stop Page Turner
Review: What a great book. I could not put it down. As an advocate for victims of domestic violence, I felt it very factual. I could feel the fear for the main character, keeping me on edge. I was a little disappointed toward the end. All the anxiety caused for three quarters of the book only to have the explosion in one page. Otherwise, I would absolutely recommend this book to all women!
Rating:
Summary: it's good, but not great
Review: I think this novel was lacking character development, and depth. I usually can't say outright that I didn't like a book when I just finish reading it. For me to say a book really was bad it takes me a week to have all of it sink in. With that said, let me continue. This is the story of Fran (who is later known as Beth) Fran is being severly abused by her husband, Bobby. Bobby breaks bones, leaves bruises and rapes Fran. One day Fran decides she's going to leave with her son Robert with the help of a woman who helps to hide battered wives and their children. Fran must move a thousand miles away, assume a different life and name. No one can speak of Bobby unless it is between Mother and son. This is a story of trying to make peace with leaving everything you loved behind, and wondering if leaving was the best thing for Fran and her son. It also deals with Fran's struggles to start a new life under a new name and job. She meets new people and feels as though everything about her is a lie. I found that this novel was repetitive. The same issues were constatly being talked about. It seemed as though some chapters were the same, and could have been taken out. Fran was always saying the same thing. I can understand that Quindlen was trying to portray a lost and battered woman who was not sure of herself and the choices she made, but they could have been said differently instead of repeating the same thing again. Black & Blue was a quick read, but not because it was a page turner. The book was just short. I'm happy I read this novel, but still feel that it is not one of the best i've read. I would have to say it was alright. I wouldn't skip over this one, but I also would not brag to everyone what a wonderful book it was.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the time, but still disappointing
Review: Anna Quindlen's Black and Blue has a dramatic, often quoted beginning that pulls you rapidly into the story line---which is dramatic by the nature of the subject matter. It is compelling to experience the fear of domestic abuse (which Quindlen describes well) but the rest of the story line, character development and the ending are disappointing. Oprah's selections are generally excellent at character development and the best have the supporting characters who help the protagonsits's development; this one doesn't. It's still an important read, compelling in it's sujbect matter, but as a total work, it is lacking.
Rating:
Summary: Strong protagonist voice, but not much else
Review: "The first time my husband hit me I was nineteen years old. One sentence and I'm lost. One sentence and I can hear his voice in my head, that butterscotch-syrup voice that make goose bumps rise on my arms when I was young...." So begins the journey of Fran Benedetto, the wife of a New York cop who solves his problems by hitting instead of talking. "Frannie, Frannie, Fran," says Bobby Benedetto right before he breaks her nose or collarbone or spirit. One day Fran realizes she has to escape when, after a particularly bad beating, her husband laughs at her and says, "Who are you going to call, the cops?" She turns to a woman by the name of Patty Bancroft who comes to talk at the hospital where Fran is a nurse. Patty says that her program and people are better than the Witness Protection Program. Soon Fran realizes that she may be able to escape the abuse, but never the fear. She and her son relocate to Florida where they become Beth and Robert Crenshaw. They try to build a new life for themselves, but Beth is always looking over her shoulder for Bobby. The story is told from her point of view and is very realistic. The memories of the abuse come flowing back in vivid detail when she least expects it. It's a good book if you like suspense and stories with strong character. However, there's a reason this book is so short (194 pages in the hardback edition), the author didn't put much thought into the predictable ending.
Rating:
Summary: It Pains Me
Review: Anna Quindlen¡¯s highly overrated book, Black and Blue, aims at depicting the heart wrenching struggle between the past, present, and future of a battered woman. Perfect for the one sitting Saturday afternoon reader, this book is entertaining in nature but does not excel to the level of a mature mind. Although often acclaimed for its unexpected sequence of events and its interesting use of description, the plot structure and writing techniques employed throughout the course of this novel prove themselves flimsy and superficial, provoking not a single shred of doubt or astonishment but only a quick, mindless read through. Quindlen piles event upon event in a way that has no pertinence to the story¡¯s core, creating a novel in which most of the plot can be omitted while leaving the same impressions on the reader. Furthermore, while the problem of battered wives and battering husbands is genuine, Anna Quindlen¡¯s approach seems to have been written with one eye on the computer and one eye on the cash register. The absence of developed substance and characters that go beyond caricatures, in addition to the simplistic writing, make this novel more trite than true. The heroine may be pathetically blue but Quindlen obviously wrote it to stay in the black.
Rating: 
Summary: black and blue
Review: this book is a very good book. It talks about reality in the lives of the people in the book. It talks about over coming struggles.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding Abuse
Review: This book was a real eye opener for me. I never really understood the kinds of things people go through when they're abused because I've never personally been through it. Reading this book helped me understand the kinds of things that people think about, the kinds of things they do, and the kind of fear they feel. While reading this book I felt like I was going through what she was going through and it was really scary. This book was very well written and was able to keep my attention. Although I didn't really like the ending I know that that is how these types of situations end so I knew that it was realistic. This book was very good and well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: gripping!
Review: I have enjoyed Anna Quindlen's non-fiction for years, but prior to this I had not read any of her novels. I was not disappointed. This is the story of Fran, a woman who is escaping her abusive marriage with her young son. Fran, a nurse, feels that her husband's violence has escalated to the point where her life is in danger and because he is a police officer the justice system cannot help her. So instead she changes her name and with the assistance of an underground group, creates a new identity. The book is the best when taking about Fran's old life, her new best friend and new boyfriend, do not have the same feel of reality that the characters from her old life, such as the husband, the mother-in-law, and her sister, do. The back of the paperback edition also gave the reader strong hints as to what the ending would be, taking away some of the novel's supsense. On the whole, I like the book and it is my favorite so far of all of Oprah's selections.
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