Author Archive

Searching for Tina Turner by Jacqueline Luckett

By • Feb 11th, 2010 • Category: Book Review 2010

When Randall decides that he’s had enough of marriage counseling, he offers his wife an ultimatum: “Be grateful for all I’ve done for you or leave.” Lena, realizing that money can’t solve her problems and that her husband is no longer the man she married, decides to choose the latter.



The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

By • Dec 21st, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009

In the tradition of Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, here is a portrait of a young girl— and society’s ideas of race, class, and beauty. It is the winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.



A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls Lanier

By • Dec 17th, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009

At 14, Lanier was the youngest of the Little Rock Nine, who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1951; she went on to become the first African –American young woman to receive a diploma from the school. Her memoir provides a firsthand account of a seismic shift in American history.



Sins of the Father by Angela Benson

By • Aug 2nd, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009

Angela Benson’s Sins of the Father is a powerful story of a house bitterly divided—a rich, multilayered family saga of betrayal and redemption, rage and compassion, faith, forgiveness, and ultimately, of love.



City Kid: A Writer’s Memoir of Ghetto Life and Post-Soul Success by Nelson George

By • Jul 22nd, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009

City Kid introduces us to Nelson’s family: his absent wanna-be-hustler father; his tough-minded sister, who is seduced by the streets; and his mother, who dreams of becoming a teacher and returning to the South.



Sins of the Father by Angela Benson

By • Jul 17th, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009

Successful media mogul Abraham Martin has great wealth, an elegant wife, Saralyn, and a rebellious son, Isaac. He also has a secret: a second family that no one knows about. Now, after thirty years—driven by the urging of his long dormant conscience—Abraham is determined to do the right thing by finally bringing his illegitimate children into the light…and into the family fold.



Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Danzy Senna

By • Jun 3rd, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009

Where Did You Sleep Last Night? is at once a potent statement of personal identity, a challenging look at the murky waters of American ancestry, and an exploration of narratives—the narratives we create and those we forget. Senna has given us an unforgettable testimony to the paradoxes—the pain and the pride—embedded in history, family, and race.



Seduced by Moonlight by Janice Sims

By • Apr 11th, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009

Cherisse reluctantly gives her heart to Harry, but there is a small problem that could be a big one. Her ex is back in her life, living in her house! He had also been a football player and got sidelined with gambling debts. Now he has a chance for new job and new lease on life—and he wants his family back.



Secret Daughter by June Cross

By • Apr 5th, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009

June Cross was born in 1954 to Norma Booth, a glamorous, aspiring white actress, and James “Stump” Cross, a well-known black comedian. Sent by her mother to be raised by black friends when she was four years old and could no longer pass as white, June was plunged into the pain and confusion of a family divided by race. Secret Daughter tells her story of survival.



Triangular Road by Paule Marshall

By • Mar 31st, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009

In Triangular Road, famed novelist Paule Marshall tells the story of her years as a fledgling young writer in the 1960s. A memoir of self-discovery, it also offers an affectionate tribute to the inimitable Langston Hughes.