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Overview
Sandy is a twentysomething executive on the fast track at work and looking for love in her personal life. T.J. is the object of her affection, a jazz pianist who prefers to keep his romances casual—but who may be facing the real deal in Sandy. Bebe is Sandy's confidante, a bank supervisor who is struggling through her self-imposed "sex sabbatical". Speed is T.J.'s father and best friend, a man who isn't too old to learn a few things from his son. Together these four weave a funny, touching, and vivid tale of coping with the ups and downs of everyday life in Chicago that readers won't soon forget.
From the bestselling author of Blackboard comes a vibrant and rollicking novel that shows how black men and women really relate. In four alternating voices, Sandy, Bebe, T.J., and Speed come together to teach each other about life and love, responsibility and fulfillment. 320 pp. Author tour. Print ads. Online excerpt. 25,000 print.
Synopsis
Sandy is a twentysomething executive on the fast track at work and looking for love in her personal life. T.J. is the object of her affection, a jazz pianist who prefers to keep his romances casual—but who may be facing the real deal in Sandy. Bebe is Sandy's confidante, a bank supervisor who is struggling through her self-imposed "sex sabbatical". Speed is T.J.'s father and best friend, a man who isn't too old to learn a few things from his son. Together these four weave a funny, touching, and vivid tale of coping with the ups and downs of everyday life in Chicago that readers won't soon forget.
Publishers Weekly
The expectations set by the lively opening chapters of Joe's (Falling Leaves of Ivy) second novel are not fully realized in this candid but predictable story of four black singles searching for love in the '90s. Sandy Atkins, a sales supervisor at a popular Chicago radio station, is looking for a "good man to share my life with" when she meets jazz pianist TJ Willets at a sales party. A player in more ways than one, TJ is waiting for his big break and meanwhile avoiding all romantic commitments. While Sandy's closest confidante, older and wiser bank employee Bebe Thomas, cautions her eager friend to take it slow, TJ receives similar warnings from Speed, his widowed father and best pal. Despite all advice, Sandy and TJ settle into a seemingly monogamous relationship, until an ambitious, jealous coworker reveals herself as one of TJ's recent lovers-just as Sandy is preparing a crucial presentation for a prospective client. Devastated, Sandy turns to Bebe for comfort; as revenge, Bebe concocts a plan to disrupt TJ's much-anticipated meeting with a renowned musician, leading to a confrontation that forces the couple to seriously consider their future together. Joe has a terrific ear for current hip-hop lingo, though she doesn't establish distinctive voices among her four first-person narrators. She creates likable characters with plausible histories, challenges and dreams, but the final, unsurprising plot twist mars an otherwise satisfyingly breezy novel. (Dec.)
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
The expectations set by the lively opening chapters of Joe's (Falling Leaves of Ivy) second novel are not fully realized in this candid but predictable story of four black singles searching for love in the '90s. Sandy Atkins, a sales supervisor at a popular Chicago radio station, is looking for a "good man to share my life with" when she meets jazz pianist TJ Willets at a sales party. A player in more ways than one, TJ is waiting for his big break and meanwhile avoiding all romantic commitments. While Sandy's closest confidante, older and wiser bank employee Bebe Thomas, cautions her eager friend to take it slow, TJ receives similar warnings from Speed, his widowed father and best pal. Despite all advice, Sandy and TJ settle into a seemingly monogamous relationship, until an ambitious, jealous coworker reveals herself as one of TJ's recent lovers-just as Sandy is preparing a crucial presentation for a prospective client. Devastated, Sandy turns to Bebe for comfort; as revenge, Bebe concocts a plan to disrupt TJ's much-anticipated meeting with a renowned musician, leading to a confrontation that forces the couple to seriously consider their future together. Joe has a terrific ear for current hip-hop lingo, though she doesn't establish distinctive voices among her four first-person narrators. She creates likable characters with plausible histories, challenges and dreams, but the final, unsurprising plot twist mars an otherwise satisfyingly breezy novel. (Dec.)Library Journal
Joe's (Falling Leaves of Ivy, Borders Pr., 1992) humorously titled, sensitive novel tells of the relationships between a group of African American men and women. Through alternating voices, we learn about Sandy, a rising young radio executive looking for the right man; Bebe, Sandy's best friend, a bank teller who has sworn off men for the time being; T.J., a young pianist who falls for Sandy; and Speed, T.J.'s compassionate and wise father. The text is read by four readers, which lends each character a unique and authentic voice. Most popular collections will want a copy.Mark Annichiarico, "Library Journal"Kirkus Reviews
Joe's second (Falling Leaves of Ivy, 1992) is a sassy, lively—if thematically shopworn—exploration of dating and relationships in the '90s, told in the alternating voices of four African- Americans.Sandy is 25, well-educated, attractive, content with her job as a radio station executive, and looking for love. Her best friend Bebe's gone back to school and is juggling homework with her own job as a supervisor at a bank—and a desire to meet Mr. Right. When Sandy meets T.J., an aspiring jazz musician who's permanently short on cash, Bebe takes a while to warm up to him—but takes an immediate liking to his father, Speed, a widower who spends a lot of time with much younger women. There's no climax as such, but when Sandy decides to bring her best friend, lover, and lover's dad together at a dinner party at her apartment, all hell breaks loose: Bebe and Speed start flirting and end up in an impromptu dance contest, Bebe insults Speed, T.J. overhears and insults Bebe, and poor Sandy ends up angry with everyone. When she learns that T.J. has been philandering (with one of her officemates, no less), Sandy drops him—but then she's right back where she started: alone. A pregnancy scare, some poor communication—Bebe adopts an I-told- you-so attitude—and classic tales of misunderstanding ensue; when push comes to shove, however, everyone makes the right decisions and the characters who end up with love are the two who began by claiming they didn't want it.
Too bad that Joe skates on the surface of the issues she ought to be exploring; the family and friendship bonds depicted here are more engaging than the love/sex stories, and the narrative offers few surprises.