The Hatwearer's Lesson

Publishers Weekly

Readers who know that success isn't measured by material wealth will root for beautiful Terri Mills, a powerful attorney for the city of Chicago, who comes to understand that false values could destroy her life. Despite having grown up without parents or much money, Terri has made it big. She's riding high until her fiance, Derek Houser, cheats on her. His smooth-talking apologies are none too convincing; in fact, his smarminess and self-indulgence makes one wonder what she ever saw in the guy besides his Jaguar XJ6. Yet Joe (Babe's by Golly Wow) makes clear that it's especially difficult for a professional African-American woman to find a man who is not intimidated by her smarts. Not to mention that Terri and Derek are the perfect power couple, and Terri hates the idea of losing the fruits of their collective networking. When Terri's beloved Grandma Ollie becomes ill back home in Collingswood, Ark., Terri rushes to her bedside. There, she has time to reflect on her muddled love life, and Grandma Ollie offers additional insights by way of stories from her own youth. Distracted by Grandma Ollie's dramatic past and Derek's long-distance contrition, Terri doesn't realize that local rodeo superstar Lynnwood Conway has fallen in love with her. The unassuming ease with which Lynnwood woos Terri forces her to reconsider what and who truly makes her happy. This is a spirited fairy tale for young black professional women with an ending as predictable, and as satisfying, as one would expect. (Mar. 10) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Terri, a successful young lawyer in Chicago, has the physical attributes, material possessions, and active social life that many teens admire and aspire to. She's engaged to marry Derek, a sexy, charismatic, and equally successful professional man, but finds out that he is a philandering liar. When her beloved grandmother falls sick, Terri flies down to Arkansas to help care for her and soon meets Lynnwood, a man who seems like a good match for her-even though he doesn't have Derek's money and status. She is eventually faced with the choice of forgiving Derek and going through with her plans to marry him or pursuing a relationship with Lynnwood instead. This upbeat love story will appeal to young adults. The portrayal of Grandmother Ollie is particularly humorous and well crafted. With her quick and witty tongue, she offers her granddaughter words of wisdom and shares moving stories about her own experiences with men. Readers can pick up good advice for building positive self-esteem and choosing mates wisely. The rich imagery and lively dialogue of this novel will at times remind them of Zora Neale Hurston's romantic masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God (HarperPerennial, 1994).-Joyce Fay Fletcher, Rippon Middle School, Prince William County, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Ain’t nothing like the real thing. Terri Mills has it all: degree from Harvard, career at a prestigious law firm that includes high-stakes deal-making for the city of Chicago, and the perfect man: Derek Houser, a lawyer with a politician’s charisma. Being black meant being the best—and nothing’s ever slowed Terri down. But her Grandma Ollie, who raised her, has been seeing signs—and there’s no arguing with the old lady. Didn’t she foretell that her only daughter would die while giving birth to Terri, and didn’t it happen? Now that Terri and Derek are engaged, Grandma Ollie has to write their names in the old family Bible, but the pen runs out of ink before she can add Derek’s name. So she’s not surprised when Terri finds out that Derek’s been cheating on her and calls off the engagement. Then Grandma Ollie shatters her hip in a fall, and Terri goes back to Arkansas to care for her. The old woman floats in and out of consciousness and recalls her own lost love: Hank, a honey gatherer for a local farmer, the sweetest man she ever knew. But he had to disappear after the farmer tried to burn him to death in a barn, and Ollie married Wesley, another good man. Now, even when all hell breaks loose back in the city’s legal department, Terri stays on, soaking up the atmosphere and memories of the small town and learning more about her roots. Lynnwood Conway, a hospital volunteer, reads aloud to her grandmother, and Terri just melts at the sound of his deep voice. But can she really love a country boy like Lynnwood, who’s got nothing but a pickup truck and the farmhouse his parents left him? Warmhearted country romance, from the author of, most recently, Bebe’s By Golly Wow (2000).