The View From APOOO–May 2007 Edition

Greetings and welcome to May! A month filled with many wonderful and timely events…Mother’s Day, Proms, Graduations, May Showers, the weekend to kick off summer (ie Memorial Day Weekend) and another month of reviews from APOOO!

Grab your favorite drink and sit back and read what we have in store for you this month. All reviews are original…and the first time they’re being showcased to the public is here at Blogging in Black!

Read them…if you like the review…purchase the book when it comes out and spread the word. Enjoy the rest of May and see you next month. Same Place…Same Time…The View From APOOO!

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All That Glitters by D.L. Sparks
APOOO Rating 4 (out of 5 stars)
Reviewed by Jennifer C.

Clouded Vision
People have a tendency of looking at someone else’s life, and believing that it is easy as can be. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the road, as we will find out in All That Glitters by D. L. Sparks.

Sparks hold truth to this when she introduces Santee Denise Mitchell. Santee has always felt like an outsider, even when she was a young child. She had her cannot-do-no wrong, older sister, Sonya, and her best friend, Delaree.

Santee was always jealous of her sister and Delaree, because she wanted what they had, but she would never admit that to them. When tough times hit and Santee had no one to turn to, she turned to the life of adult entertainment. It was only going to be for a short period of time, long enough to get from under the repo man’s radar and to catch up on her rent, so she thought.

But the glitz and glamour of having money to do as she would like got her caught up in the world of Black and Monique. Monique introduced her to the business, and Black made sure everything ran smoothly. Just when things started changing, and Santee had had enough and was ready to get out of the business, she realized it was not as easy to get out as it was to get into it.

Decisions that were made would eventually turn her world upside down. Would Santee ever be able to get away from the biggest mistake of her life? Would her quest for love and money wind up ruining her life past repair? All That Glitters is a fast-paced, quick, and easy read. There were some editing mishaps, but it was not detrimental to the story. The wonderful story-line made up for the errors. This is a must read for anyone looking to read a well-paced story, and also for a person that suffers from the green-eyed monster called jealousy.


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Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
Reviewed by Phyllis R.
APOOO Rating: 5 stars

The actual Book of Negroes is an amazing historical document (a British military ledger) that contains the names and descriptions of 3,000 men, women, and children who served or were supported by the British during the American Revolutionary War. Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes is a brilliantly imagined novel based on the document of the same name and the events surrounding the relocation of thousands of Black Loyalists to various British colonies and eventually to Sierra Leone after the conflict. Similar in approach to The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Hill’s offering spans the lifetime of the fictional Aminata (Meena) Diallo, an African born woman who escaped to freedom.

At the beginning of the novel Meena is in London, an old woman who has lived a tumultuous life. At the urging of her abolitionist sponsors, she is asked to pen her story which would be used as evidence depicting the cruelty and inhumanity of the slave trade. Meena, an intelligent, educated woman, authors her autobiography via vivid flashbacks through time. She writes, “Let me begin with a caveat to any and all who find these pages. Do not trust large bodies of water, and do not cross them. If you, dear reader, have an African hue and find yourself led toward water with vanishing shores, seize your freedom by any means necessary.” She continues and details her life as a young child in an African village, her capture and Middle Passage crossing, enslavement while in America, relocation to Nova Scotia, return to Africa (Freetown, Sierra Leone), and partnering with abolitionists in England.

However to summarize the book in such a way is a huge understatement – it is steeped in historical facts that educate and enlighten the reader; I was pulled in immediately after reading the opening passages. Before her capture, African spirituality/religion, education (Meena’s father taught her to read and write, her mother taught her midwifery), family structure, and culture are illustrated in her interactions with her parents and other villagers. After witnessing her parent’s murder at the hands of African slavers, she is coffled and mournfully treks through the African interior for months before arriving exhausted at the coastal slave port. Meena transcribed the inhumanity of the trade, the stifling stench and horrid conditions aboard the slave ship, the rapes and attempted revolts that occurred during the crossing, and the shameful and dehumanizing experience on the auction block. She suffers hardships in America at an indigo producing plantation in South Carolina. She experiences the love and loss of a husband and children. Unwilling to work after the abrupt sale of her son, she is eventually sold to a new owner and escapes to freedom while in New York. Once there, she is employed by the British to record entrants into the infamous “book” and relocates to Nova Scotia. After a decade of struggling against the harsh elements, barren landscape and broken promises regarding land ownership; she and 1,200 other Africans relocate yet again to Africa to establish Freetown in partnership with London-based abolitionists.

The author notes in the Afterword where he has taken a few liberties with the timeline and some historical figures; however the vast majority of the book is factual; extracted from history books and inspired by diaries, memoirs, notes, etc. Hill expertly layers the social and political climates of the time against the protagonist’s story. This novel is extremely well-written, perfectly paced, and highly recommended as a study aid for students or to anyone who enjoys the historical fiction genre.
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Everybody Say Amen by Reshonda Tate Billingsley
Reviewed by Angelia M.
APOOO Rating: 4 stars

Amen, Amen, Amen
Everybody Say Amen by Reshonda Tate Billingsley is an inspirational drama filled with humor. Rachel Jackson Adams is now married to Lester Adams. He was not her first choice, in fact her heart still belongs to Bobby, her child’s father. But the former wild-child has gotten married and settled down, almost. When Rachel discovers Lester is going to become a preacher she is not pleased. She does not feel she can be a preacher’s wife the way her late mother was. She is too interested in being herself and getting dressed in her Baby Phat outfits. She rebels every step of the way, initially.

The book is filled with humorous, though poignant moments as Rachel struggles to accept her new role. She starts bringing innovative programs to the church, much to the chagrin of the elders. There are many confrontations and upheavals within her marriage during the first months of Lester’s ministering.

Everybody Say Amen is filled with a backdrop of family drama stories that will have the readers gasping and laughing out loud. There is infidelity, homosexual married folks, drug abuse and almost any situation that can come up in family drama.

Everybody Say Amen is a wonderful read for those interested in a fast-paced, inspirational, yet funny look at what goes on behind the scenes in a church family. There is never a dull moment, just when the reader feels they know the direction of the story, something else will come up. This book is recommended for anyone interested in a well-paced, inspirational, fun read.

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Heat by Geneva Holliday
Reviewed by Phyllis R.
APOOO Rating: 4 stars

Summer Heat
Heat by Geneva Holliday is the third in the series and focuses on the continuing antics of Geneva, Crystal, Noah, and Chevy.

In this episode, Crystal is disgruntled with her high stress job, hectic city life and at every turn runs to her lover/gigolo in Antigua for comfort. Can she love a man who sleeps with women for a living? Geneva is publicly humiliated at her six year-old’s school play when she discovers the poem her child recites is about Mommy’s “jelly belly.” She then decides to tackle her weight problem with the aid of diet pills with some very interesting and frightening results that
jeopardize her relationships, friendships, and her job. Noah and his partner are at a stalemate regarding the step toward parenthood, so he returns to New York to battle the newly arrived “hood rats” next door and evicts Chevy for utterly trashing his apartment in his absence. Chevy, the vain and snobby fashionista, is thus humbled. She is left homeless and moneyless wandering the streets and resorts to very desperate and dangerous measures to secure a roof over her head.

Heat is an entertaining, quick read – perfect for the summer book bag. It is filled with witty dialogue, humor, drama, and (borrowing from the novel’s title) some steamy “sex-capades.” It is definitely a “must read” for fans of the series – if only to seek closure with the characters introduced in the first two books (Groove, Fever).
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If These Walls Could Talk by Bettye Griffin
Reviewed by Jeannette W.
APOOO Rating: 4 stars

In Bettye Griffin’s newest novel, If These Walls Could Talk, she takes the reader inside the world of three first-time homebuyers. What these couples endured in their quest to get a piece of the American dream, a house in the suburbs, is nothing short of amazing. With the housing market in New York being out of range, they all jumped at the opportunity to own a home in Pennsylvania at what seemed to be affordable prices.

They had to deal with shady real estate agents, contractors, jealous family members and broken promises. This novel could have been a manual of the dos-and-don’ts of home buying.

The Youngs, a family of three resided in a New York rent controlled apartment. Since they were not paying much, they could afford to delve into some luxuries, like vacations every year and designer clothes. When they purchased their home, they found their budget did not stretch as far as they imagined and the stress of trying to keep up with the bills, put a strain on their marriage. The Curry family also bought a home in the suburbs. With both parents working, they enjoyed their new roles as homeowners.

However, their families were not as pleased with their upward mobility. Even with all the negative remarks, the Currys continued to host the family on holidays and allow relatives to stay at their home. Everything seemed to go well until unemployment struck. The job market in Pennsylvania was just not as good as in New York and after a long stint of unemployment the couple had to make desperate changes.

The Lee family was the only family to really stop and learn about home ownership, mortgages, and budgeting. While they also left New York for Pennsylvania, they made decisions that may have seemed odd to the other couples, but it was best for them. They bought an older house and slowly fixed it up.

Their family members found their housing situation to be a home away from home and until they put their foot down, they were hosting relatives every weekend. Once I got through the first 60 pages, this book really picked up and I found myself enjoying reading about the antics of the families and their family members. It also made me think as a first-time homebuyer of all the things that could have happened if I did not do as the Lees did and researched and asked many questions. Which was something the Currys and the Youngs failed to do. I would recommend this book to those who are contemplating buying a home. While this is a fictional account, there are many truths in this novel. Also, fans of Bettye Griffin will enjoy this one.

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Rainstorm by Vanessa Miller
Reviewed by Jennifer C.
APOOO Rating: 5 stars

God’s Love
Some of the things we do in our lives lead us to believe that we are not deserving of God’s unconditional love. Vanessa Miller has created a story that shows us, nothing done can ever keep us from the love we ought to and will receive from God.

Rain Storm deals with the fight for love and forgiveness in the lives of four individuals that are different but yet the same. Keith Hosea Williams prayed about finding his perfect woman, but the woman he had in mind was far from what God had in his plan. Keith was lead to a crack head, prostitute named Cynda Stephens, and of course he just knew that God was wrong. Keith struggled with God’s decision and for every doubtful question he asked, God always had a strong reassuring answer.

Cynda had many demons, and did not believe that she was worthy of anyone’s love. She stopped believing in God when her mother was killed. She hated that her mother did not protect her from the evils of the world and died leaving her alone.

Cynda could not understand why God would send her a man like Keith. Always there for her, no matter how she treated him. She did not believe that he could be happy with her because she was a drug-using street walker. Isaac loved his wife Nina. Even though he loved her he had cheated on her with Cynda, years before they married.

The constant tormenting of Cynda made Nina run from Isaac, but he fought for her just the same. Once Isaac realized that he only wanted one woman, Cynda crossed him and betrayed him to the police. But the other thing she did to him was so unforgivable that even though he found the love of God while in prison, he still harbored hate for Cynda in his heart. Isaac dedicated his life to trying to bring God’s glory and love to his friends from his past and any others walking down that same road of destruction.

How could he help others when his heart was not totally clean from the things of the past? He preached of God’s forgiving heart and love but he was still struggling with forgiving others. Due to a tragic incident, Nina was told that she could never have any more children. That was what she prayed for most, to be able to give her husband another child. She kept the faith and believed that God loved her enough to give her another child. She would learn sometimes the things we want and the way we receive them is not always the way we planned, but how God wanted it.

Rain Storm is a fast-paced, page-turner, must read. I recommend this book to everyone, especially those that believe because of their past indiscretions and wrong doings they do not deserve to be loved or forgiven by God and the people around them that truly love them.

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A Request to Closure by Wanda Y. Thomas
Reviewed by Donielle R.
Amazon.com Rating: 4.0

If You Love It, Let It Go
In A Request for Closure by Wanda Y. Thomas, we meet friends Paige, Jazmin, and Ariana. Each of these women have deep-seated issues with men and love. Paige sleeps around, searching for someone to love and care for her and her daughter, Jessie. She ends up with two men who each give her something she needs, so she refuses to choose between the two.

Jazmin is a former supermodel who meets Brick, a professional basketball player. Deeply in love, he proposes to her shortly after they meet. As they move forward, wedding plans are placed on the back burner when Jazmin is given another chance at her dream of modeling. She has to decide if she wants to live for Brick or for herself. Ariana is the more innocent of the three. She does not give much thought to all of the attention she gets from men until she meets Jace Barnes. Jace has a pull on her she cannot comprehend. He is confident in the fact that she is his and there is no other way. That is until Jace’s skeletons come out of the closet.

A Request for Closure was a quick and pleasing read. I was curious to see how the lives of these three women developed and I was not disappointed. Thomas has taken the common tale of women with issues and the men who love them, and laced it with interesting characters, drama, steamy sex scenes, and a little unpredictability. There were a few occurrences where scenes, which should have been separated, were mixed together.

I had to sometimes re-read lines to figure out who was speaking. The story’s focus was mostly on past events that led up to the present. I think a little more enlightenment on the present would have fleshed the story out more and brought it full circle. Overall, A Request for Closure is an enjoyable read and I could not wait to see how it turned out.

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Whispers in the Night by Brandon Massey (editor)
Reviewed by Phyllis R.
APOOO Rating: 4 stars

Third Time is a Charm
Whispers In The Night is third in the Dark Dreams series featuring nineteen speculative short fiction stories from veteran and upcoming authors. Massey has done a credible job assembling a variety of stories that offer differing themes and varying degrees of horror which may also appeal to some suspense/mystery fans. He anchors the anthology with the traditional ‘old fashioned’ ghost story opening with Tananarive Due transporting the reader to Florida just in time for the emergence of the swamp demons (Summer) and closes with his self-authored tale about visiting the cemetery to remedy writer’s block (Ghostwriter) .

Massey fills the anthology with stories that have political or socially-conscious themes such as slave reparations (The Taken), drug use in the inner-city (My Sister’s Keeper), spousal (The Wasp) and child abuse (Hell Is For Children). Humor is sprinkled in the mix when a “special” boy looks for a father (Are You My Daddy?) and love is in the air when a zombie claims her soul mate (The Love of a Zombie Is Everlasting) . Spirituality is at the forefront when a man’s faith in God is challenged by a demon (Nurse’s Requiem), false and true prophets clash (Power and Purpose), and the aftereffects of internalized intra-race discrimination manifest themselves on an unsuspecting office worker (Scab).

Although I found most stories engaging, there were three tales that I thought were notable:

And Death Rode with Him by Anthony Beal – Paradise Pub, a gritty bar in the middle of a desert, has a television that only gets channel 66 and seemingly “permanent” patrons who routinely drown their sorrows in a powerful yet strange elixir.

WET PAIN by Terence Taylor – a very touching tale that reveals misery does indeed love company in a twist on how unconquered racism of yesteryear festers and destroys friendship, family, and community amid the atrocities of Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Bones by Christopher Chambers- a timely tale that is appropriate in the wake of the Michael Richards/Don Imus controversies. It examines the tortured souls of minstrel show performers who “sold out” their own people with disastrous results only to find themselves reincarnated in a hellish cycle of torment as modern day rapper/hip hop artists.

While some stories appealed to me more than others, I found that this collection challenges the imagination and gets high marks for creativity. I think Massey was extremely successful in his attempt to showcase old and new talent in horror and speculative fiction. I will be on the look out for independent work from these writers as well as Dark Dreams IV.

CLICK HERE to check out other books reviewed by APOOO this month!