This book was my second of Ms. Cleage's books and I absolutely loved it. I am so moved by her writing. It has given me some insight into a part of society that I have never experienced, being a caucasian. A must read!

I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Cleage here in Atlanta and I ran out and got her book. She is phenomenal and her book is too

This book was a wonderful drink for my soul. Ms Cleage has the inapt ability to take you on a journey where you feel the characters and begin to care about what happens to them. Her writing is rhythmic, it flows and it’s almost sensual without being out right sexual. There is room for your imagination and I like that. This strong literary voice is a pleasure to behold. I can't wait for the next book to come out. Thank you Ms Cleage for an awesome read, it makes you want to go a buy a red dress for sure!

I loved the first one, thats what led me to this one and i loved it also. The story deals with issuses that might be happining in some young girls life today.

When I began to read this book , the natural flow of the words the rhytym of the thoughts gives you a look into the characters lives. It made me care about them, what they were going through, I wanted them to fight their way out of the situations that held them captive. I laughed, cried and shouted at each trouble, triumph and the slow turn to love of the main character. I felt good when I finished the book, about who we are as black people, even with all the self-destructive things we find ourselves caught up in. I felt that there is hope even in the worst situations. It reaffirmed the things I've already experienced and come to know about us and our struggle to survive. Pearl Cleage has way of telling a story that is not often come seen, I like it.

This book was excellent! The best i've read in quite some time. Funny, thought provoking, and subtly and maturely sexy!! Kudos to Mrs. Cleage!!

MOVING ON
Pearl Clearge's I Wish I Had a Red Dress, was a warm, sensitive story about wanting to live again. Joyce's heart froze some five years ago when her husband fell through the ice and drowned.

She still missed him and she still dreamed about making love with him, but Joyce was finally realizing that life goes on. Her heart was beginning to thaw and her thoughts were on her loneliness and her wardrobe. What she really wanted to do was meet a nice man and
get herself a daring RED dress.

All the men in Idlewild were either old enough to be her father or young enough to be her son. But maybe dinner with her best friend and her husband, would change all that for Joyce, there was a new a coach at the local high school and her friends wanted her
to meet him.

Along with Joyce's desire to live again was her dedication to the young women whom she lived for at the Sewing Circus, this was a group she started for young women to meet and learn different skills. She was trying to teach them how to be free women. Most
of them had started adult life much too soon and Joyce was trying to slow them down or at least show them a better way.

Ms. Cleage's gift for telling a story made this tale of Joyce's rebirth so sweet and she again reminded us how Joyce handled drama with such ease. Pick up this book for a nice quiet read and find out if Joyce really had the nerve to wear a 'Red Dress'.

Reviewed by aNN Brown of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers RAWSISTAZ Book Club
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