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COLORED WAITING ROOM
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Author:Patricia Pope
Colored Waiting Room is a novel set in contemporary rural Tennessee that poignantly reveals the struggles of a woman to be accepted in the unwavering traditional workforce ranks of a racist employment circle. The author takes the reader on a suspense-filled journey from a fierce beginning to a shocking and unpredictable ending. Injecting murder, corruption, and deceit into the arena of the federal government, the story paints a picture not readily forgotten. The main character explores love, deals with personal weaknesses, and vulnerablity.
The novel describes the struggles of a Black female locked in the grips of the "good ole boy" network. Alberta Graham, the novel's central character, examines the past eight years of her life as she waits for the hours to pass in a long forgotten room at Cherokee Nuclear Plant in rural east Tennessee. Following her as she relives the highs and lows of her life, the reader will cheer her on, cry, laugh, and begin to live the experiences as the story prompts judgment calls. The discovery of an ongoing taxpayer financial burden with government racketeering, as witnessed through the eyes of Alberta Graham, is both disturbing and frightening.
TOP REVIEW:
A fierce thriller about the first Black woman hired by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Colored Waiting Room is as much a woman's story, any first woman's story in a world of men, as it is a story of a Black woman's story alone in a world where no one gives a damn about her, not her lover, nor her friends & certainly not her co-workers, who are all white.
So is set the stage for a tragedy as inexorable as any in the Classics. I have categorized Colored Waiting Room as a thriller because more than it is literature, from the start, it is a thriller as Alberta Graham counts sticks of dynamite & feeds the flames of a pure yet complex hatred.
Alberta Graham had been a Texas woman of determination: proud, competent & dreaming of becoming the first female shift lieutenant at the Cherokee Nuclear Plant. That was eight years ago. Eight years of surviving the ?good ole boy? network of harassment, rumors, not-so-subtle threats, & a host of unwritten rules which changed with each shift.
The only other female officer opts to work nights & Lieutenant Graham must struggle on in this alien world, alone & betrayed by both employer & the Federal system, Equal Opportunity Employment notwithstanding.
Nothing is as it seems until on foot patrol, Alberta descends some steps into a forgotten area ?hidden behind mounds of pipes in the cavernous Power Building area. Totally obscure, these steps led to a small crawl space that led her through a maze of darkness...[to a] sullen room,? where she stares around in the dimness. ?The words COLORED WAITING ROOM were boldly inscribed on the wall.? She realizes that this must have been ?the secret refuge place for some employee of the past who had experienced a need to escape the ridicule and racist behavior prevalent at the Cherokee Plant.? (Page 71)
Patricia Pope has written a difficult story about ?the submission of one's will? & the unraveling & destruction of one single woman, in a struggle against deception & misuse of power among traditionally racist men resentful of the intrusion of a lone black woman into their closed white society. It did not escape me that this drama is played out in the frightening & deadly arena of a TVA nuclear plant.
Colored Waiting Room is a gripping read which will leave you drenched with the stench of racism, impotence & a dreadfully poignant rage.
2 teapots because many times I wished Patricia Pope had hired the skills of an editor, however, the story still raises my hackles & makes me wish I'd known Lieutenant Alberta Graham -- I would have walked those patrols with her.
Retails:$20.50
C&B Price:$15.99
Publisher: Trfford Publishing
ISBN-10: 1553691369
ISBN-13: 978-1553691365
Paperback: 220 pgs
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EVERY WOMAN NEEDS A WIFE
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Author:Naleighna Kai
Bursting with originality and controversy, author Naleighna Kai has created a provocative, and at times heartwarming tale about an age-old problem that will strike a chord with all women.
Every Woman Needs a Wife is the hilarious, but thought-provoking story of a wife who does the "unthinkable." Strolling in on Vernon and his mistress one night, Brandi Spencer insists that the new woman in his life come home and earn her keep the honest way -- on her feet helping the wife clean the house, keep the children and pay the bills, instead of laying on her back servicing the husband.
Retails:$14.95
C&B Price:$10.00
Publisher: Strebor Books
ISBN-10: 1593090609
ISBN-13: 978-1593090609
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SUPERWOMAN'S CHILD
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Author:J.L. Woodson
Growing up the only male in a house full of women is no easy task. Sometimes the women can be "as sweet as pie," while other days they turn into something he wouldn't dare say out loud.
So is the life of Sean Morris, a teenager with an absent father and troubles many would recognize. Even though his father's been practically missing in action for a while, Sean still wonders if his father will ever be there for him, especially now, when he needs him most. Will Sean be able to handle new challenges without a male role model? Or will he come to terms with the fact that the only people he needs in his life are the ones who actually love him -- the "superwomen" who are already there?
Sure to resonate with parents and teenagers alike, Superwoman's Child is by turns humorous and heart wrenching -- a revealing story of the determined perseverance of one son and the unwavering encouragement of his mother.
Retails:$13.00
C&B Price:$10.00
Publisher: Strebor Books
Paperback: 272 pgs
ISBN-10: 1593090595
ISBN-13: 978-1593090593
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BLIND TEMPTATIONS
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Author:Lesley Hal
The three friends in this book are hell bent on vengeance, treachery, power trips, seduction and sexual deception that will leave you begging for more!
Chante Michaels lives in a fantasy world. She has the perfect job and the perfect family. That is until her husband, Alex Michaels, step out on her with a Tyra Banks look alike, Paris Chere' Du'Moore who has a little secret of her own that will unleash all kinds of hell.
Karissa Waters would love nothing more than to be accepted by her mother that disowned her when she was only eleven. She meets the heir to a multi-billion dollar oil estate Andre Williamson who wants to give her a lifetime of happiness. Karissa won't marry him without her mother's blessings; a woman who makes Mommy Dearest look angelic.
Michelle Ramsey is in love with the devil himself Brandon Thomas. She's a master at hiding what she doesn't want people to see like the abuse she endures at Brandon's unloving hands. Greg Wallace is the man she needs but won't give a chance because her heart belongs to only one man...Brandon.
Retails:$15.00
C&B Price:$14.00
Paperback: 460 pgs
ISBN-10: 0977865509
Publisher: Pleasure Principle Publishing
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CRUSIN' ON DESPERATION
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Author:Pat G'Orge-Walker
Finished reading 'Cruisin' On Desperation' by Pat G'Orge Walker last night! There are few words to describe what she wrote! It was awesome! Funny! Entertaining! Enlighting! This was one of those books that have that reglious theme, but very funny. The characters she choose and the names were so unique and funny. When I first ran cross the name of the church and stuff, I was compeletly stunned. At first I was like, 'Is she serioius?' But She was and it was so funny! The things she had her characters do was so hiliarous. The extent that someone would go to! WOW! This is a great read! Make sure you get your copy!!!
Retails:$22.00
C&B Price:$14.00
Publisher: Kensington(March27, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0758218869
ISBN-13: 978-0758218865
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