Bebe's by golly wow!

Author: Joe, Yolanda

A modern look at romance, friendship, and family follows the story of Bebe, a fortysomething bank supervisor and recent college graduate, and her best friend, Sandy, a young radio executive


New York: Doubleday, 1998, 289 p.

Publishers Weekly Review: Joe follows the commercial success of He Say, She Say with an exuberant if unambitious tale of love discovered in the nick of time by two lonely, 40-something African Americans living in Chicago. While attending graduation ceremonies at a local college, fireman Isaac Sizemore spies mature Bebe triumphantly accepting her diploma, taps her on the shoulder and makes a date. Isaac is single in one sense--his wife left him several years ago. But there is a jealous woman in his life--Isaac's 13-year-old daughter, Dashay, an aspiring rap artist who isn't looking for a new mom. As Isaac and Bebe try to make their love work, they suffer through several comically horrific dates, as well as Dashay's attempts to thwart their developing romance, all of which Joe relates in the alternating voices of the three principals and Bebe's best friend, Sandy (who faces love and career troubles of her own). These voices are crisp and full of fun, even if most of the characters share Isaac's confessed inability to tell the difference between "meaningful conversation and talking shit." Underneath all the jive (e.g., "I'm divorced by force, think love is from above, like my books long and my brewskis in a short glass"), there's a sweet core of sentimentality that will no doubt strike a chord with many readers who have hoped for a second chance at love. (June)



Other related features:

1. Author Read-Alike - Eric Jerome Dickey


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0385492553


Credits:
• Hennepin County Public Library
• Baker & Taylor
• Publishers Weekly, A Reed Elsevier Business Information Publication
• Added to NoveList: 20010101
• TID: 003756

Falling leaves of ivy
Yolanda Joe

Author: Joe, Yolanda

The interracial friendship among four Yale University students is marred by their involvement in a heinous crime and cover-up, which follows them as they embark upon fast-paced, prestigious careers, with tragic results


Stamford, CT: Longmeadow Press, c1992, 319 p.


Booklist Review: Yale and Columbia graduate Joe, a newswriter for CBS in Chicago, opens her first novel at her undergraduate alma mater. She follows four students--two men and two women, two European Americans, and two African Americans--from New Haven into graduate school and first jobs in finance and television journalism. The four shared a guilty secret at Yale and--as they cope with the pressures of life beyond college and gradually grow apart--their common burden generates suspicion and ultimately murder. Joe's publisher compares her to Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Terry McMillan, but her forced descriptions of nature and occasional grammatical lapses (which her editor should have corrected) make such comparisons less than apt. On the other hand, "Falling Leaves of Ivy" offers an intriguing plot with plenty of twists and turns, textured characters from backgrounds a bit different from those most novels portray, and enough sexy scenes to benefit from reader word-of-mouth. Joe should hold on to her day job, but readers willing to plow through the rough spots will find her first novel entertaining. ((Reviewed Nov. 1, 1992)) -- Mary Carroll

Publishers Weekly Review: Melodrama mixes with murder in this banal first novel about Yalies on the rise in Manhattan. Kayo, Connor, Michelle and Elizabeth become best friends as undergraduates. Two of them are black: smart, ambitious Kayo, from Chicago's inner city, aims for a career in investment banking, while Michelle, a lit major from a family of Georgia preachers and schoolteachers, seeks a professorship. Connor, a white banking scion and alumni brat, struggles with econ grades while preparing for a job in the family firm, and Elizabeth, an aspiring journalist and daughter of a New Haven cop and an alcoholic mother, is a political activist. The cover-up of an accident in which they kill a bomeless man so strains their friendship that when one of them is murdered the following year in New York, the others are prime suspects. Joe uses wearisome clichds to explore such themes as corporate racism and the problems of interracial dating, meanwhile shifting the focus among her unappealing characters with formulaic regularity. (Nov.)



ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0681413964
1879360438 : Paperback


Credits:
• Novelist/EBSCO Publishing
• Baker & Taylor
• Booklist, published by the American Library Association
• Publishers Weekly, A Reed Elsevier Business Information Publication
• Added to NoveList: 20010101
• TID: 008326

Hatwearer's lesson, The
Yolanda Joe

Author: Joe, Yolanda

When her grandmother's sixth sense tells her that something is wrong, Terri, recently engaged and working as an attorney in the north, initially refuses to believe her but is nevertheless drawn back to her small-town roots.


New York: Dutton, 2003, 229 p.

Booklist Review: Terri Mills is an ambitious Chicago lawyer, a rising star on a fast track, recently engaged to an equally ambitious young lawyer, Derek Houser. Together they make an enviable pair at the political dinners and charity galas attended by Chicago’s young black elite. But Terri’s Grandma Ollie, who raised her granddaughter after her daughter died in childbirth, is unable to record the engagement in her Bible--a bad sign. Grandma Ollie’s sudden illness sends Terri home to Collingswood, Arkansas, while she’s in the midst of romantic and career turmoil--she’s discovered that her fiance has been unfaithful, and she’s in the throes of a make-or-break lawsuit. Granddaughter and grandmother share a gift of vision, although Terri’s talent is not as well developed. In their time together, with Grandma Ollie flashing back to her own youth, the two help Terri sort out conflicting emotions when a competing love interest materializes. Joe’s fans will enjoy this touching novel about what a matriarch with memories and the vision can teach a troubled young woman.
(Reviewed March 1, 2003) -- Vanessa Bush

School Library Journal Review: 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 (Reviewed September 1, 2003) (School Library Journal, vol 49, issue 9, p240)

Publishers Weekly Review: 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 fiancé, 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)
— Staff (Reviewed February 10, 2003) (Publishers Weekly, vol 250, issue 6, p162)



Other related features:

1. Annotated Book List - Popular African-American Fiction


Other titles associated with this book:
Hat wearer's lesson


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0525947167
0452284872 : Paperback
1585473391 : Library binding - Large Print


Credits:
• Hennepin County Public Library
• Novelist/EBSCO Publishing
• Baker & Taylor
• Booklist, published by the American Library Association
• School Library Journal, A Reed Elsevier Business Information Publication
• Publishers Weekly, A Reed Elsevier Business Information Publication
• Added to NoveList: 20030920
• TID: 120137

He say, she say

Author: Joe, Yolanda

Radio executive Sandy persists in searching for the perfect love despite disillusionment, while her best friend Bebe fights patriarchal politics and pursues her feelings for jazz pianist T.J.


New York: Doubleday, 1997, copyright 1996, 262 p.


Booklist Review: To dramatize the conflict between the sexes, Joe reached into the writer's bag of tricks and pulled out the ever potent "multiple narrators" schema for her latest tale of relationships. In the "he say" chapters, he is either Speed or T. J., father and son, respectively, and best friends; in the "she say" chapters, Sandy or Bebe, best friends, express the female perspective. Sandy, a young, ambitious radio executive, is seeking a compatible mate. T. J., a promising musician, is also ambitious, and he desires a relationship but not a real commitment. Bebe is a bank supervisor and part-time student, who is also Sandy's confidante and "big sister." Sandy and T. J. establish a love relationship that inevitably entangles the four characters in a male/female tug-of-war. Each chapter emphasizes one of the characters' thoughts and interpretations of the previous situation as it propels the complications forward. The characters interact with humor, compassion, honesty, and gender bias, and each learns important lessons about life and relationships. This novel is sure to be a best-seller. ((Reviewed Sept. 1, 1996)) -- Lillian Lewis

Publishers Weekly Review: 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.)



Other titles associated with this book:
She say, he say


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0385485077
0446605700 : Paperback - Mass Market
0708958710 : Hardcover - Large Print
1561007250 : Cassette - Audio
1561009628 : Cassette - Audio
1561003492 : Cassette - Audio
1567401988 : Cassette - Audio


Credits:
• Hennepin County Public Library
• Baker & Taylor
• Booklist, published by the American Library Association
• Publishers Weekly, A Reed Elsevier Business Information Publication
• Added to NoveList: 20010101
• TID: 036400

My fine lady
by Yolanda Joe

Author: Joe, Yolanda

Talented young singer Imani is surrounded by men with their own interest in her career--including her father, her boyfriend, and Orenthal Hopson, who believes that he can transform her from a hip-hop diva to a traditional jazz singer.


New York: Dutton, 2004, 288 p.

Booklist Review: /*Starred Review*/ Ever since childhood Imani and Taz have dreamt that Imani would become a hip-hop artist and Taz would be her producer. But things change when Imani gets stopped on the campus of a prestigious black university situated on the other side of her tough Maryland town. There the head of the school and his protege, Professor Hopson, have been arguing about Hopson's belief that music can fundamentally change a person, and they decide that street-wise Imani would make the perfect test case. Hopson accepts the bet and tries to turn her into a jazz singer with class instead of a hip-hop girl with a "bad" attitude, but Imani has some lessons for "Hops," too, and ultimately realizes that she must find her own path to success. A fantastic update of Pygmalion and hip Americanization of My Fair Lady by the best-selling author of The Hat-Wearer's Lesson [BKL Mr 1 03], Joe's compelling tale about one woman's coming into her own and the dichotomy between educated African Americans and those living in poverty may well become a popular classic in its own right.
-- Patty Engelmann (BookList, 01-01-2004, p822)

Publishers Weekly Review: Bestseller Joe's latest gives a nod to My Fair Lady—and, like the musical, it's predictable but plenty of fun. Imani Holland has a voice like "velvet on fire," and she raps the lyrics her boyfriend, Taz, writes; together they're gonna make it big. At an unofficial competition at the local college campus, Imani catches the attention of Orenthal Hopson, a gifted young musician and academic. Hopson's been butting heads with department chair Perkins over his theory of music's transformative powers, and Imani's raw talent makes her the perfect test—Perkins will give Hopson three months to make Imani into a jazz diva. "Mother Nature had just been darn right good to the brother" Hopson, but Imani dismisses him as too "uptown"—that is, until she catches Taz getting a lap dance from a groupie and decides to give the professor a call. Hopson exposes her to new music, offers elocution and singing lessons and gives wardrobe advice. In turn, Imani's uninhibited spirit helps the uptight Hopson loosen up. Meanwhile, Imani's dad is in trouble with the local loan shark and his strongman, Biggie (who's also Taz's best friend and Imani's best friend's older brother). Imani feels pushed and pulled—she's still got a thing for Taz, but he keeps misbehaving. When she finally falls for Hopson, it turns out that he's capable of betrayal, too. Joe (The Hatwearer's Lesson) is prone to pseudo-profundities ("Where do we flee when something we trust breaks?"; "The essence of love can't be penetrated because it's too deep"), but it's impossible not to root for spunky, ambitious Imani. The inevitable happy ending is the perfect finale. (Apr. 12)
— Staff (Reviewed March 1, 2004) (Publishers Weekly, vol 251, issue 9, p48)



Other related features:

1. Annotated Book List - Popular African-American Fiction


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0525948082
0452286182 : Paperback
0786271450 : Hardcover - Large Print


Credits:
• Novelist/EBSCO Publishing
• Baker & Taylor
• Booklist, published by the American Library Association
• Publishers Weekly, A Reed Elsevier Business Information Publication
• Added to NoveList: 20040320
• TID: 122469

This just in ...
A novel by Yolanda Joe

Author: Joe, Yolanda

Five remarkable women take on the cutthroat world of broadcast news as they work together at WKBA in Chicago, in a story of family, friendship, and office politics


New York: Doubleday, copyright 2000, 281 p.

ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0385492561


Credits:
• Hennepin County Public Library
• Baker & Taylor
• Added to NoveList: 20010101
• TID: 036401