When he is awarded a scholarship, Maurice Dupree must choose between following his dream of going to law school or breaking a promise to his fiancé, a quandry that leads him into an unexpected relationship with an affluent young white woman whose friendship profoundly impacts his life. 30,000 first printing.
Ernest Hill won great praise for his first novel, Satisfied with Nothin’, which made its way onto required reading lists at universities from UCLA to Syracuse. He is also the author of A Person of Interest, Cry Me a River, A Life for a Life, and Family Ties. Hill lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
I really expected to enjoy this book. It had all of my "must haves" for an enjoyable read: time period in the 70's, young adult lovers angst, interracial relations and dramatic situations. I was wrong. I felt the author could have given us so much more in developing the story and moving it forward. Instead, it dragged in places and was repetitive. And the worst thing of all was that it was incomplete. I've looked to see if the author has a follow-up. It appears he does not. Sorrowfully, he passed away in 2003.
Very good read....loved the ending.....My two cents: The girl's name was Omenida, pronounced (Imma need a). So, Imma need her to go to school and get a career. Imma need her to stop waiting on someone, a man, to rescue her. And lastly, Imma need her to grow up and into her own person and become a grown woman who depends on herself and realizes that any other help is just an added bonus to her life. The end....
It's been a while since I read anything from Ernest Hill. It was like meeting an old friend. Maurice is the first in his family to go to college. Maurice doesn't just embark on college; he undertakes law school. His trek leads him to new discoveries. It is his hope that his girlfriend waits for him. Growth takes place for the two of them.
Unfortunately, as we know, to grow means to leave some things behind? Does Maurice move forward and move with familiarity. Does Omenita see the benefit in supporting him and understanding the reason for the patience? Earnest Hill does a masterful job in depicting young love and the challenges. Read it....no spoilers here.
Great storyteller I wanted to crawl into the book and shake some sense into Maurice LOL any book that makes you that intwined in the lives of its characters deserves five stars :)
I really liked the book. The plot lines were intering. The story was a little linear however. At the end I found myself wishing there was a follow up book. I really enjoyed this book.
Another great novel by Ernest Hill. Though I thought Maurice was a little too young to be getting married, I found him as a solid young man who had a good head on his shoulders. He really had to find out for himself the true meaning of love. And he almost found out too late. The name alone of his fiancee Omenita, in itself, seemed like a true warning of what was to come because if you removed the last three letters, you are left with Omen. Omenita strikes me as a selfish young woman but at the same time I could almost sympathize with her because she wanted to escape a horrible home life. The whole time I was thinking that what she really needed was a therapist because she acted very irrational throughout the book and was dealing with an inner pain that needed to be addressed. I sided with Maurice's mother because she could see what Maurice could not as mothers tend to do and very good at. He really dodged a bullet. It was a blessing in disguise that the judge was late to the courthouse to perform the wedding. Maurice really needed to hear the passages his grandfather read from his Bible. This helped Maurice to open his eyes. He realized that if Omenita had truly loved him, she wouldn't had been trying to dissuade him from his true passion. I think he may had also come to the conclusion that all alone, he had really been a rebound because she had just broken up with the other guy. I am so glad he learned this before it was too late and decided to give Danielle a chance. I'm confused as to what time period this was as I didn't hear any mention of smart phones or computers lol. But it was a very good book just the same.