I Wish I Had a Red Dress

Rating:
Summary: An easy interesting book...
Review: I thought this book was a very interesting read - but it seemed more of an empowering enlightening commentary than a novel & I thought it would have much more romance - but it had next to none..it focused more on the issues of the young women in the Sewing Circus - but all in all - itwas a thought-provoking interesting book

Rating:
Summary: Love wears a red dress
Review: This sequel revisits Idlewild, Michigan and the characters we grew to love in What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day. Joyce Mitchell was widowed early, when the love of her life Mitch dies in a freak accident. Joyce has a busy, rich life. It's only when she has a moment to think, climbing into her empty bed, that she feels something is missing.

It has been years since Mitch's death and though she still dreams about him, lately a new vision has been entering her dreams: a red dress. In this red dress, she dances as if no one's watching... remembering all those parts of her self neglected since she lost her Mitch.

Enter Nate Anderson, the new administrator at the high school. A tall, dark and handsome divorcé, he and Joyce immediately connect-but experience has taught them to proceed with caution, one tiny step at a time... After all, who has time for love? They each have their hands full with work (and their own fears about love).

At first I wished Pearl Cleage hadn't sent the characters I loved in her previous book off on a road trip first thing in I Wish I Had a Red Dress, but I quickly forgot that disappointment is the richness of Cleage's story. The pacing is a little slow at first (which is authentic to the characters' natures). The "bad guys" are just a little too one-dimensional for my taste, but everyone else's characters are strong. Once the book got going, I found myself truly caring about what happened to the central characters, which for me is a mark of good writing. My only other criticism would be that sometimes I found the conflict between Joyce and Nate a little superficial, and their resolutions not quite realistic.

This is a layered and compassionate book that I would recommend. The characters are strong and compelling, the plotlines intelligent, and the ending satisfying. If you liked What Looks like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, pick up Pearl Cleage's I Wish I Had a Red Dress.

Charisse Sisou
R.E.A.L. Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: If you loved What looks like crazy on and Ordianry Day- you'll love this almost sequel. Highly recommended

Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: I absolutly loved this book and highly recommend it to others. Ms. Cleadge is an excellent writer, her characters seem so real. This is quality reading!!

Rating:
Summary: Listen Up!
Review: Because I spend a fair amount of time in my car, I heard this book rather than read it. I was fascinated from the first minutes... so fascinated that I began to invent reasons to get back in the car. At one point, I sat in my garage at the end of my trip home to listen longer because I just couldn't "put the book down." I'm not a "sister"--at least not in the color sense--and thoroughly enjoyed the interaction, conversation and philosophy that shone through. I'm headed for the first book now because I'm definitely a Pearl Cleage fan.

Rating:
Summary: It's Time to Buy a Red Dress!
Review: What a beautiful follow up to Cleage's book "What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day". In "I Wish I Had a Red Dress" we get a chance to get to know more about the character Joyce. She teaches young people how to help themselves; while learning more about herself. As readers we learn that as "free women", we can have safety in love of ourselves as well as of others.
Read this book ... and enjoy that red dress!

Rating:
Summary: Loved It!
Review: I couldn't put the book down and ended staying up all night to read it. I liked the relationship between Joyce Mitchell and her girls. I read this book awhile back for a magazine called "Rapport" that I worked for doing book reviews. And it was one of the few books I gave a rave review too. ... but I would definitely recommend this book to everyone!

Rating:
Summary: Red Hot!
Review: Pearl Cleage is a wonderful author. With "Red Dress" she has crafted a love story that speaks not only of love between a man and a woman, but a woman's love for her fellow sisters. Black women have seemingly been thrust into a place that until recently we didn't want to be and that's at odds with each other. Ms. Cleage's character Joyce wants to be a healer of this rift, but knows that it begins within. Loving ourselves is the only key to loving each other. The story is a bit slow moving and the climax is predictable, but the sub-plot of women taking control of their lives with self-love is wonderful. The scenery descriptions are nearly poetic. Good book.

Rating:
Summary: Approachable and Encouraging
Review: A wonderful sophomore effort by Pearl Cleage! This book was a very easy read (approx. 1 1/2 days) due to the warmth and genuineness of the setting and characters. Although the primary character is Joyce, a woman struggling with her own issues of loss, independence and the meaning of being free, the author takes you through the growth process of the book's other characters. Dealing with issues of lost love, fear, self-esteem, vulnerability and violence, the book causes the reader to critically analyze those things preventing him/her from being completely "free" and to explore his/her own values around current societal issues. I especially appreciated (read: loved) the strength of Bill and Nate, which provided an edifice for the story and the female characters. In addition, I welcomed the roles of the Smitherman Twins whose elderly wisdom and decorum subtly and positively impacted the other characters. I do think the feminism angle and the use of "tea" in the book was a bit over-emphasized. However, a very wonderful story that invites and welcomes you back into Idlewilde, and shows you that life (although not simple) can be sweet - if you are just willing to taste it.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I read this book in one day. The first book i read was "what looks like crazy..." and i was glad to see an added addition to that. I thought this book was great, i liked how she went into more detail about the Circus, and all of their problems, and it was great for her to finally meet someone because it was really time for her to move on from her husband's death. Cant wait to read the next one.