Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was really disappointed with this book. Where it was well written,it was not however very true to itself. What I mean by that is, in the beginning of the book, Joyce mentions Imani, her adopted daughter. She never mentioned her again after that. I thought that the reason for Joyce's relating so well with the Young Ladies at the Circus was primarily due to the fact that she had a daughter and in dealing with her daughter she was able to deal with other young ladies. It never happened. It was as if Joyce was not a Mother. She never related her fears of the Lattimore brothers into concern for her own daughter.Also I didn't understand the whole "Free Woman" concept. She wanted to be a free woman but she also wanted men to protect her without her having to ask? I just wasn't convinced with this free women thing. But doesn't it just make sense that the only sane, available man in the book is sensitive to Womens issues. (I would love to believe it, if it's true or not. But I am leaning more towards the untrue side of that debate!) Also in the opening of the novel, Joyce needs funding to keep the Center open. My question is for what? The main character nor any other characters ever mentioned the center needing anything. The author failed to convince me what a small center, such as the Circus would need money for. Did the Film Festival cover the need for the centers funding? That point was never made clear. Finally I would like to say that I applaude Ms. Cleage for taking "day to day" events and NOT making them ghetto, like so many other "contemporary" authors. I would actually give this book 2 1/2 stars if that was possible. I felt as if there were too many unanswered questions and I just didn't believe validity of the main character... Oh how could I forget this one, I was really shocked that Sister, a minister, would suggest that the main character in this story engage in fornication. She told Joyce to leave her mind open for a sexual encounter. I wasn't bothered by the Sister drinking wine, or listening to secular music, I wasn't too taken aback by the prayer where she said Mother/Father we ask... (What Christian church allows her to pray like that?) But I just could not believe that she would suggest Joyce be open to pre-marital sex. That was too much for me. I think Ms. Cleage should have did a little more research on this one.
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it!
Review: This is one book that I really wanted to read, and I am glad that I did, enjoyed each and every word of it, and felt very empowered by the women of the Circus. I am also glad to know that Joyce finally gets her day in the sun and wears other colors than just black.(Much as I love the color, there ARE other colors out there, I laughed when one of the girls pulls a gun on Junior.) I wonder if she will take this further, and probably do a book on the various characters in the Sewing Group.I was curious about the daddy for that young girl who was a maid in her own mother's house. I found it interesting,and couldn't put it down even though I am also studying for an important exam. Again, Kudos for such a fine book!
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging and Enlightening...but I missed Ava!
Review: I Wish I Had A Red Dress is Pearl Cleage's sequel to her best-selling debut novel What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day. Looks Like Crazy was Ava & Eddie's story but in Red Dress, Cleage's focuses on Ava's widowed sister, Joyce Mitchell. Cleage's takes readers back to Idlewild, Michigan which was once a popular resort community for affluent African Americans but is now decaying, however, the ordinary folks who live there are still working to overcome dysfunction and reclaim their lives. Joyce, continues to work at the center she founded The Sewing Circus and Community Truth Center(which has been affectionately dubbed "The Circus") as a social worker counseling young black women, many of whom are the product of single parent homes and many of whom are single mothers. Although Joyce has her work, her family, her friends and her town...who does she have to take care of her intimately and passionately as only a lover can do? Five years after Mitch's tragic accident, time is still standing still in the romance department for Joyce. While she has her memories, daydreams and self-pleasures none of those can take the place of a muscular, hard, dark and handsome African American male. Joyce knows that something is missing and that sometimes you really need the real thang...but sometimes Joyce is just afraid. Afterall, her father passed when she was sixteen, her mother committed suicide on her wedding night a year later, her son got hit by a car walking home from school when he was six and her daughter didn't make it to her first birthday. After all the other tragedies, Mitch was always the one constant in her life and now he was gone. Opening her heart and chancing love was an endeavor that Joyce wasn't sure she was ready or willing to undertake at 40something. As the story opens, Joyce has to put thoughts about relationships, love, desires and her personal needs on hold, because first, she must meet with state legislatures to secure their votes to fund the proposal she worked on the last three months regarding "The Circus" program. While Joyce is busy focusing on the girls and funding, her friends, Bill and Sister are busy playing matchmaker. Over dinner, Sister introduces Joyce to Nate Anderson who has just moved to the area to work at the local high school as a guidance counselor. Nate is a sensitive, understanding and supportive gentlemen and he touches emotions in Joyce that have long been suppressed but as fate would have it... there's much drama with the babydaddy of one of Joyce's girls that keeps Joyce from focusing on self and backing away from Nate. Will Nate be there to weather the emotional/mental storm with her and help her to realize that decent and loving African American males still exist and that if she lets her guards down and opens her heart she might just have a recent to purchase and wear that daring little red dress? Pearl Cleage has once again created a storyline with remarkable and memorable characters, however, readers looking for Ava might feel a little slighted as I Wish I Had a Red Dress is truly Joyce's story. In fact, I was a little disappointed that Ava wasn't given more presence in Red Dress and was only mentioned in passing. I like Joyce...she's the responsible, stable, older sista who's on a mission to help the less fortunate...all good qualities...but I missed the feistiness and wit of Ava. On an up note, as with "Crazy", Cleage's writing once again inspires and enlightens as she shows us that life is about taking chances, taking risks, embracing the past but letting go, moving forward and embracing life. Fans of What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day will enjoy this sequel from Pearl Cleage as she takes us back to Idlewild once again.
Rating:
Summary: Pearl Cleage is amazing!
Review: Pearl Cleage's "Red Dress" is a refreshing and exciting summer read. Her words flow from the page and touch your heart in only the way that Cleage can. This is a must read not only for African American women, but for everyone!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Nowhere Near Crazy On An Ordinary Day. . .
Review: This book, while attempting to continue where What Looks Like Crazy. . .left off, did not succeed. For convenience rather than literary purposes, Cleage abrubptly left out Ava and Eddie -- the main characters from the first novel about Idlewood. She also left out any mention of Frankie, Imani and the path that was taken to lead to where Joyce now stands when this new novel starts off. While this may be convenient for readers who have not had the pleasure of the first book, it leaves you with less or an understanding and appreciation for the depth of the characters. Also, Joyce was not nearly as entertaining a voice as Ava was -- she lacks the humor and is more difficult to relate to seeing as her character is more set in stone and one dimensional. The book could have used more character development and depth, which would have happened had Cleage been striving not to equal What Looks Like Crazy. . . in style rather than in sales.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Summer Read!
Review: Novelist Cleage has once again created a world imbued with memorable and endearing characters. If you enjoyed "What looks like Crazy on an Ordinary Day" then you will enjoy revisting a small town in Michigan once again!
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I enjoyed this book as I have others of Pearl Cleage's. I was happy to see that Joyce was moving on with her life. The only disappointment was that the book didn't mention the baby that she "rescued" in What Looks Like Crazy. The sequel only mentioned her sister Ava once. Other than that, I thought it was a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Practical Feminism
Review: It surprises me that few of the reviewers have focused on Joyce's understanding and practice of feminism. There are many different types of feminism: eco, radical, liberal, marxist, and so forth. I might call Joyce a practical feminist -- someone believes in positive activities that meet women where they ARE instead of focusing on where they SHOULD be. She is very rarely nasty, strident, shrill, or mean about what she believes, which is a refreshing attitude. I appreciate the phrase "free woman" tremendously, as the notion of freedom also carries with it the notion of responsibility. Free women are responsible women...which means that they are strong and loving women as well.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I enjoyed this book as I have others of Pearl Cleage's. I was happy to see that Joyce was moving on with her life. The only disappointment was that the book didn't mention the baby that she "rescued" in What Looks Like Crazy. The sequel only mentioned her sister Ava once. Other than that, I thought it was a good read.
Rating:
Summary: I Wasn't Feeling It
Review: Maybe it's just me. I thought I'd try out a Cleage novel since i hear so much hype about her book. I was tossed back and forth and couldn't make heads or tails out of the gist of the book. I know that she met this handsome principal and fell in love and that she lost her husband and children in car accident. Then she started a nonprofit agency called the Sewing Circus for women with issues. Where's the connection? Sorry. Even though this is only my second review on amazon, I tried to get in this sotry and like this book but it was'nt happenin' for me. Others may like it, but its not my kind of novel. After saying that, i won't elaborate any further. Maybe i will try her other book ?What looks like crazy... Sweetie Pye
(Yes, this is my REAL name)
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