Rating: 
Summary: Could have been a "5" but for the slap-happy ending
Review: This is an amazing soap opera - and I mean the genre at
its best. If you liked "Tara Road," another working-class-to-
yuppie novel, you'll like this book. What's so amazing about it is the breadth and scope of the book. It also reminded me
(please forgive me, Ms. Campbell) of "Gone With the Wind" in that it just went on and on and on, with one fascinating character after another. It's an epic soap opera! In fact, some Hollywood movie or TV producer is going to get smart and realize that it would make incredibly entertaining viewing.The only problem is the ending. ... I [feel] it just got tied up too sweetly and conveniently - a sort of rush job to get it over with, perhaps.
It also gushed too much at the end. Most of the way through, the characters were marvelously dark and dysfunctional, but all of a sudden, everybody got spiritualized and therapized and a good time was had by all. Excuse me, but life just ain't that simple. And we had all that "sermonizing" by a fading Hosannah at the end. Urp. Also: I gotta say this, and I am sure many will disagree with me. The final "business deal" between Gilda Cosmetics and Mooney, Big Monty and Matriece buying "Brown Sugar" -
ah - it just didn't cut it. Anything based on the foundation of blackmail just is not the spiritual way of doing things. You can say that an African American has to "build a callous around the heart" as Mooney taught Hosannah to do, but I thought Matriece might just be strong enough and centered enough not to need to play that game. I thought there was going to be more of a focus on forgiveness leading to true freedom. And tell me this: if Matriece was such a dynamo, and those men had so much money to invest, why the heck did they have any need at all to pay Gilda ANYTHING for what they wanted to do? They didn't need "Brown Sugar." Matriece, being the creative woman she was, easily could have come up with a whole new line and whole new way of doin' it.
Frankly, this last bit of hooey proved to me that most novelists are not business people themselves (although I happen to be one). It just didn't make sense. I think if Ms. Campbell had consulted a businesswoman on this point, she would have had a different ending. Here's what I think is a more likely one: Matriece finds out from Mooney and/or Kent about the business contract between her mother and Gilda. Being a highly ethical woman who doesn't need men to back her up in her career moves, she rejects their proposition of a "triumverate." She tells them she will not stand for blackmail in any form. Instead, she takes her chances and approaches Gilda herself with the information. She does not blackmail her - she merely demands her due. However, she is prepared to SUE Gilda if necessary. Gilda, feeling so guilty (hmm - good name play, Bebe) is only too happy to give Matriece just about whatever she wants. Does she want to be co-president, owning half of Gilda Cosmetics, along with Daniel? Does she want financial reparations so that she can start her own company? I'd be willing to bet that a smartie like Matriece would choose the latter - she wouldn't want to be draggin' around with Gilda's son - the Prince. So she takes the three or four million dollars (or more) that Gilda offers, and starts a totally new company, offering Internet access and a host of African American divas, from Asia Pace to Naomi Campbell, the author's long-lost relative. But maybe I, too, am straining your credulity...
Rating: 
Summary: Brothers and Sisters rehash
Review: If you are a Bebe Mooore Campbell fan, you are familiar with her epic Brothers & Sisters. I found What You Owe Me very similar. Though well written with very developed characters, this novels has many of the same "types": a snotty black family, a sister who came from the 'hood, but has done well for herself, the white girlfriend, the blue-collar brother, etc. Also, I found the ending too convenient, too happy, and too quick. After 500+ pages, all of the stories were wrapped up in several paragraphs. Still, I remain a fan and look forward to something different from this talented black author.
Rating: 
Summary: We Owe You, BeBe!!
Review: BeBe Moore Campbell continues to write in a manner that delves into our literary souls. She is fast becoming to me a writer of TRUE literature. Ms. Campbell uses What You Owe Me to take us on a journey. What a ride! This is nothing but a rich, developed and useful story with characters alongside a storyline that overlaps seamlessly into another. This seems to be a gift of her's. She does this with all her books. Her style is easy, yet thought-provoking. The only other author I know who can take the tiniest most mundane instance or action and turn it into an unforgettable story is Toni Morrison. I think Ms. Campbell is the future of good, black literature. What You Owe Me has solidified that position for her.
Rating:
Summary: They Just kept coming.....
Review: I was shocked to see there were so many charactors involved in this novel. I liked the book overall but I found it very hard to believe some of the things Mrs.Campbell described....Not only did Hosanna befriend a Jewish woman back in the 1930's her daughter has a white woman for a best friend and her sister is married to a mexican. The rich white man and the dude that washes his car are all "buddy buddy" and confide in one another, and let's not forget the ghost of the mother just pops up and controls her daughters every move from the grave. Like I said I liked the novel overall but there were some things that could've stayed buried with Hosanna....
Rating:
Summary: Another wonderful novel by Bebe Moore Campbell
Review: I'm a big fan of Bebe Moore Campbell's work, and this book
is no exception to her wonderful tales. You will not be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent read
Review: Having enjoyed her other books,I was fully pepared to enjoy this book as well, however I didn't expect it to be the page-turner it was! The characterization in the book is outstanding, the characters are three-dimensional and respond to situations in a way that is real.The plot is also very engrossing.I very highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read
Review: I actually got this book from the Black Expressions Book Club for a friend. However, once I read the first few pages, I was hooked. I loved the way the author pulls you into the story. I also love the fact that it has a very realistic feel, like these are people that I acutally know. I don't want to give away too much of the book so I will just say that I am already reading it again.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book- Wonderful Character Development!
Review: Some authors create characters that are devoid of depth, defintion and direction. Bebe Moore Campbell has not done that with the characters in this book. The background she provides on each of the primary characters allows the reader to feel like you are really there watching this entire drama unfold. She has seamlessly interwoven the past "Gilda and Hosanna" with the present "Gilda and Matriece". I also loved the way she portrayed successful African-American men. These men started with nothing and made empires that wielded power in the economic circles they moved in. I can definitely see a sequel coming from this novel. I couldn't put it down over the holidays!! It was hard to eat Christmas dinner with a fork in one hand and the book in the other!! This book has the ability to draw you in and keep you questioning and guessing until the end. I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Awesome Book!
Review: When I started to read "What You Owe Me" by Bebe Moore Campbell, I was drawn to the first page until the very end. The story starts out with Hosanna Clark who is a woman with two visions: to get her family's land back and to epsecially start a company of her own. Hosanna befriends Glida Roenstein who will change her life forever. Gilda knows something special: how to make lotion. Hosanna has something to contribute: her talent to sell the lotion. Soon, the women begin to make lotion and sell it and wanting to start their own business. But one day while Hosanna goes to the back and is waiting for Gilda, the account is closed, and Gilda is nowhere to be found. Later, Hosanna recieves a letter from Gilda explaining what she did, and ever since then, Hosanna wants to avenge herself for the money that Gilda stole from her. Hosanna instills in her daughter, Matriece, that the only thing that should be important in her daughter's life is getting her revenge on Gilda. Matriece goes through a lot to avenge her mother's revenge. Even so far, that Matriece is about to lose everything in her life. What You Owe Me is about different people's lives and how they are cooping to make the best what is going on with their situations. Will Matriece find happiness or will she always be caught up in getting her mother's revenge on Gilda?
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: I read all chapters of this book as well as Bebe other books and this one belongs on screen. I hope and pray that some movie producer if not Mrs Campbell herself, will do us all a favor and bring some flavor to the screens, by producing What You Owe Me. Mrs Campbell deserves all the literature awards there are for this one. Bebe has done it again.
Can't wait for the next read, but in the meantime I hope this makes the "big screen".
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