Blessings : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Couldnt put it down!
Review: I read this book in 2 days, and i truely did not want it to end. I felt like i knew these 4 ladies, and found myself flipping through the pages, trying to pick up with the same character i just read about at the end of each chapter. Ms Jackson's novels always keep my interest up until the very last page. Cant wait for the next book, keep it up!

Rating:
Summary: These four women had majors problems but still overcame!
Review: Blessings, set in a salon by the same name, was a wonderful and emotional book. The more I read, the more I became involved in these women,s lives. If you are a lover of contemporary fiction this book takes the cake. You have 3 african-american women all working at Blessings. It's a typical salon, but Pat, Zuma, and Faye have so many problems and secrets; it's hard to figure out how they manage to do so many heads and keep upthe salon. Then enters Tracey, a white girl whose hatred for her kids eventually leads to death, and neither her nor Zuma realize that they are truly friends. This book was great and Sheneka's writing gets better with age. We at Sister With Soul bookclub in Indianapolis are lokking forward to her next book. You go Sheneska.

Rating:
Summary: This is my Favorite out of all her books!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. You can definitely see Ms. Jackson's growth as a writer with this work. However, I would have loved to know what happened with Zuma. Did she get pregnant? Did she get back with Taj? Also, I wanted to know if Faye and Mr. Watson get together. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to Ms. Jackson's next release.

Rating:
Summary: BLESSINGS IS FILLED WITH "BLESSINGS"
Review: Sheneka has done it again by writing a very interesting and "can't put down" novel. The story takes place in the salon, so appropiately named "Blessings" and we (the readers) are welcomed into the lives of these four women. All of their lives revolved around "children"...either the problems with them, or the burden and heartache of being without them. I give Sheneska a "hats off" for doing such a wonderful job with the character development. Each character was developed so well, it left no room for doubt who was who! I enjoyed the book a lot and have since recommended it to all 150 of my book club sistahs here in Atlanta. Sheneska.....YOU GO GIRL! WE LOVE YOU HERE IN ATLANTA! CIRCLE OF FRIENDS BOOK CLUB II

Rating:
Summary: The lives of 4 hairstylists in Ca, centering around children
Review: This book had such terrific potential. It was a fast and fun read and I really found myself connecting with most of the characters. I feel however, that the ending was a BIG letdown. There could've been a little more detail, or followup to the events that happened in the last chapters. Hopefully, there will be a sequel. :-)

Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it.
Review: I am a great fan of Shaneska Jackson. Her writing style catches your interest right away. I knew from the introduction on the book jacket that this would be a good book. I couldn't put it down. The stories about the 4 women really make you think that you actually know them.

Rating:
Summary: SOOO FUNNY, YET HEART WARMING!
Review: THIS VOOK WAS SOO GOOD! I DID NOT WANT I TO END! THE CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK WERE OFF THE HOOK!(WELL JUST ZUMA) ALL THE WOMEN WERE ALL GOING THROUGH, BUT THANKS TO FAITH, PRAYER AND A LITTLE BIT OF SENSE, THEY ALL MADE IT OUT OK. I THOUGHT THIS BOOK WAS REALLY GOOD. CAN'T WAIT TIL THE NEXT. SHENESKA, YOU GO GIRL!

Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Book!
Review: Blessings is one of my all-time favorites and it's a book that I'm always telling my friends (and even strangers in the black bookstores) to read when someone wants to read a "good" book. I loved reading this book and sharing in the lives of Pat, Faye, Zuma, and Sandy. For me, this book had me feeling the full range of "happy" to "angry" depending on the circumstances, but, from the beginning to the end, this book really touched my heart. At least one character is practically guaranteed to make you "hate" her by the end of the book but it's a great book that makes you FEEL something, in my opinion. An excellent book that is very highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but...
Review: Sometimes, an unrealistic ending can dim the entire enjoyment of a book.

That is how I felt about this book.

The storylines were engaging and held my interest. However, the ending about Sandy was so unrealistic that it turned me off. There is no way in heaven or hell that Sandy would not have been prosecuted -- at the very least, her story would have a very different ending than what we were given in the book.

(I'm trying hard not to give it away, but I really want to go on a rant!!!!).

I wish the ending had been more realistic. Had it been, I would have given this book 5 stars...

Rating:
Summary: Blessings is a wonderful book
Review: I really enjoyed this book. What a blessing the gift of motherhood is, or can be.
This book introduces you to four women: Pat, Zuma, Faye, and Sandy. All of these women work in Blessings a beauty salon owned by Pat. Pat has everything, wonderful loving husband, a great career, and a beautiful home. The one thing that she wants is a child. This obsession to have a child is the one thing that could tear her marriage apart. When Pat finds out she can?t have children, she not only goes into a deep depression, but she shuts her husband out. Her wonderful husband knowing how much they both want a family is willing to work things out, and has found a way for them to adopt a child. They have to deal with the anguish of adopting as well. Will Pat ever have the child she desires so much?

Faye works in the salon as the braider and weave mistress. She has two children, and she is a widower. She is also overweight. She is still dealing with the pain of losing her husband, and to deal with her loneliness and stress she eats, and eats, and eats some more. She is raising a problematic teenager who really needs some motherly attention (and a good spanking would not hurt), and a young son. Faye was a character who if I could I wanted to reach into the pages of the book, and shake her. Her emotional eating just made me so angry with her. She was eating instead of facing her problems, and coming to grips with what her emotions were doing to her children.

Zuma was a trip. Zuma is a no nonsense type of woman, who does not take any lip from anyone. After being in a relationship that did not work out, she had a Master Plan to have a child on her own without a man, especially her sorry ex. Nothing or no one was going to interfere with her Master Plan. What Zuma did not do was have a back up Master Plan, and she pretty much expected everything to go as she planned. The rest of her Master Plan included owning her own shop, and she had the money saved to have one.

Sandy is a mother of two, and she hates being a mother. While the other women embraced the blessing of being a mother or had a strong desire to be a parent, if Sandy had her way she would not have had children. She only had them because the man she is in love with wanted children. Sandy is was an exotic dancer (White Chocolate), but when she started dating Cerwin, the owner of the bar she worked at, he did not want her to be a dancer anymore. If her children so much as whimpered, she would lash out at them, but let someone try to step in and say something about how she is raising her children, and she will pretty much go off on you. When tragedy strikes she makes the ultimate sacrifice. One that will be a blessing to someone who truly deserved it. This book is very descriptive, but flows well. This book will take you on an emotional roller coaster. You will laugh, you will cry, you will get angry, then you will cry again. You will feel sorry for some of the characters, but get disgusted, and angry at another.

There is a description about a guys rusty crusty feet that will leave you laughing long after you read it. The ending of the book will have you reaching for some tissue. I would love to see a follow up to this book. When you read the book you will understand why I would like to see a sequel to this book. This is a wonderful book.