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Whitegirl
I was not always a white girl. I used to be just Charlotte. A person named Charlotte Halsey. But when I met Milo, when I fell in love with him, I became White, like a lit light bulb is white. In the mirror there is my skin the color of sand, hair the color of butter, eyes blue as seawater. Just so bleachy white I am practically clear.
Milo is black, what they call “Black,” only not to me. To me he has mostly been just Milo. They say lovers can find each other just by using the sense of smell; that we are all really animals in that way, no different from dogs or deer. I know it’s true. I could find Milo blind in a room of men, the smell of him like pine trees in a snowy wind. I could pick him out just by the slow rising of his breath while he slept. So no, until this happened, up to the time of the assault, he was not black, not to me. He was Milo. He was my husband.
– from Whitegirl
As Kate Manning’s riveting debut novel begins, a thirty-five-year-old white woman lies secluded in her home overlooking the Pacific, unable to speak, recovering from a violent assault that has nearly taken her life. Her husband, a famous black actor, is in jail for the crime.
Is he guilty? She’s not sure. She remembers nothing of the assault. Longing for answers, she sifts through the history of their life together, trying to determine how two people once so in love might find themselves so ruined.
Charlotte Halsey and Milo Robicheaux met briefly in college in the 1970s, where she was a beautiful, troubled girl hungry for freedom, and he was the star athlete with Olympic dreams. Years later, when she is a successful model and he a famous sports hero turned actor, their paths cross again in New York City and they fall in love.
But their marriage is soon fraught with tension. As Milo’s celebrity skyrockets, motherhood ends Charlotte’s career, leaving her increasingly alienated from the man she believed she knew so well. Jealousy and mistrust grow between them even as they strive to build a life together against increasing odds.
A poignant anatomy of a marriage undone by the pressure of fame and the struggle for identity, Whitegirl is the arresting debut of a significant new voice in contemporary fiction.
Milo is black, what they call “Black,” only not to me. To me he has mostly been just Milo. They say lovers can find each other just by using the sense of smell; that we are all really animals in that way, no different from dogs or deer. I know it’s true. I could find Milo blind in a room of men, the smell of him like pine trees in a snowy wind. I could pick him out just by the slow rising of his breath while he slept. So no, until this happened, up to the time of the assault, he was not black, not to me. He was Milo. He was my husband.
– from Whitegirl
As Kate Manning’s riveting debut novel begins, a thirty-five-year-old white woman lies secluded in her home overlooking the Pacific, unable to speak, recovering from a violent assault that has nearly taken her life. Her husband, a famous black actor, is in jail for the crime.
Is he guilty? She’s not sure. She remembers nothing of the assault. Longing for answers, she sifts through the history of their life together, trying to determine how two people once so in love might find themselves so ruined.
Charlotte Halsey and Milo Robicheaux met briefly in college in the 1970s, where she was a beautiful, troubled girl hungry for freedom, and he was the star athlete with Olympic dreams. Years later, when she is a successful model and he a famous sports hero turned actor, their paths cross again in New York City and they fall in love.
But their marriage is soon fraught with tension. As Milo’s celebrity skyrockets, motherhood ends Charlotte’s career, leaving her increasingly alienated from the man she believed she knew so well. Jealousy and mistrust grow between them even as they strive to build a life together against increasing odds.
A poignant anatomy of a marriage undone by the pressure of fame and the struggle for identity, Whitegirl is the arresting debut of a significant new voice in contemporary fiction.
- GenresFictionContemporaryRace
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
18 people are currently reading
652 people want to read
About the author
Kate Manning
6 books357 followersA former documentary television producer (for WNET-13, where she won two Emmy Awards), Kate Manning would rather read than watch TV. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, Glamour, and Time magazine. She has taught writing at Bard High School Early College in New York City where she lives with her family. Early endorsements of her new novel, Gilded Mountain, are from authors Erik Larson, ("Brilliant. I raced through it.") Christina Baker Kline ("So immersive, so richly imagined.") Carol Edgarian ("Remarkably panoramic") and Marybeth Keane ("love, sorrow, revenge, joy, Gilded Mountain hums with all of these..." Pub date 11/1/22.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
March 26, 2014
I picked up this book because I absolutely loved Kate Manning's second novel, My Notorious Life. I read a few sample pages of this and was hooked quickly, though it really was the synopsis of it that made me want to read it in the first place.
The book's described almost like a fictional telling of the O.J. Simpson/Nicole Brown story. The narrator is Charlotte, a beautiful young woman (yes, per the title, she's white) who's been taught to rely on her looks as her only hook. But the book isn't really about Charlotte--it's about her relationship with Milo, a handsome black man she meets at college who's first a successful athlete then later a movie star. The book takes place in the 1980s, so the race issue is a pretty hot-button topic, not only in Charlotte's social circle but society as a whole. It's told in flashbacks, sometimes jumping to the present, where Charlotte is recovering from a brutal attack. While she can't remember anything, everyone's telling her that Milo was responsible.
I found Charlotte to be an interesting character. Honestly, she seemed a bit vapid and dull--definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed. But I liked that about her, because it made her seem more real as a character.
I was a little disappointed in this book, because I felt like I was going to really love it. And there were parts of it that really picked up steam, but then it couldn't really sustain the momentum. So it was a solid book--but I was just hoping it was a great one.
The book's described almost like a fictional telling of the O.J. Simpson/Nicole Brown story. The narrator is Charlotte, a beautiful young woman (yes, per the title, she's white) who's been taught to rely on her looks as her only hook. But the book isn't really about Charlotte--it's about her relationship with Milo, a handsome black man she meets at college who's first a successful athlete then later a movie star. The book takes place in the 1980s, so the race issue is a pretty hot-button topic, not only in Charlotte's social circle but society as a whole. It's told in flashbacks, sometimes jumping to the present, where Charlotte is recovering from a brutal attack. While she can't remember anything, everyone's telling her that Milo was responsible.
I found Charlotte to be an interesting character. Honestly, she seemed a bit vapid and dull--definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed. But I liked that about her, because it made her seem more real as a character.
I was a little disappointed in this book, because I felt like I was going to really love it. And there were parts of it that really picked up steam, but then it couldn't really sustain the momentum. So it was a solid book--but I was just hoping it was a great one.
August 26, 2013
OK, this book was a doozy. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but Goodreads suggested Kate Manning to me based on other stuff I had read. And I will be reading more of Kate Manning. She took on the very prickly and personal subject matter of interracial relationships with discomfiting aplomb. Not too preachy, but not letting you off the hook, either. And the characters all seem so plausible. The ending is killing me!
July 8, 2012
Loved this book and all that I learned about racial couple stereotypes. Some of what I learned and the experiences shared by the couple of how people treated them absolutely shocked me. I have grown up and lived my life not judging by skin color, religion, sexual orientation, etc. It is simply not my place or nature to judge--never has been. Sometimes though, I am naive enough to believe or don't think about the fact that many others don't operate on the same premise. This was an excellent read about the couple, their history, their present, but not their future and I hated the open-ending. I however, do believe Milo is innocent. The 3 stars is only about the ending which left me hanging and extremely disappointed about not knowing how life moved forward for this couple.
June 4, 2009
I picked up this book because Sara Nelson, the author of So Many Books, So Little Time, loved it. It sat around on my To Read shelf for years, and I wish I'd read it sooner. This novel was terrific. Manning really captures this character, how she feels, how she thinks (or doesn't think). It was captivating and exquisite, a story of race and beauty and love and betrayal and recovering from violence. It floored me and I can't stop thinking about the ending. Highly recommended.
October 20, 2022
Charlotte und Milo kannten sich schon aus ihrer Zeit am College, auch wenn sich ihre Wege dort nur flüchtig kreuzten. Als sie sich Jahre später wieder trafen, war Charlotte ein erfolgreiches Model und Milo begann gerade, nach seiner Karriere als Sportler in der Welt der Schauspielerei Fuß zu fassen. Aus der gegenseitigen Anziehung am College wird gegen alle Widerstände Liebe.
Wie der Titel schon andeutet, ist Charlotte ein weißes Mädchen, ein in den 1970er Jahren typisches weißes Collegegirl sogar. Ihr Freund ist gemeinsam mit Milo im olympischen Sportteam und er und Charlotte sind das Traumpaar am College. Aber das vermeintliche Traumpaar hat Probleme. Charlotte wird von klein auf dazu angehalten, zu gefallen. Deshalb kann sie nicht nein sagen. Sie ist nicht glücklich in ihrer Beziehung, aber sie kann das ihrem Freund nicht sagen. Nicht nur, weil sie Angst hat, ihn zu verletzen. Der Hauptgrund ist, dass er sie massiv unter Druck setzt, sowohl emotional als auch mit körperlicher Gewalt. Schließlich wählt sie den vermeintlich leichteren Weg und schleicht sich aus der Beziehung.
Später ist sie das weiße Mädchen in der Welt ihres farbigen Freundes und muss sich ständig rechtfertigen. Vor den Eltern ihres Freundes, die lieber eine farbige Freundin für ihren Sohn hätten. Vor seiner Schwester, die nicht glaubt, dass sie Milo wirklich versteht. Aber auch vor ihren Freunden und Kollegen, die ihr zwar den Flirt mit Milo zugestehen, aber keine ernsthafte Beziehung und schon gar keine Kinder.
Während für Milo das Leben mit Kind unverändert weitergeht, findet sich Charlotte nur schwierig in ihrer neuen Rolle zurecht. Vielleicht liegt es daran, dass sie einige falsche Entscheidungen trifft. Vielleicht auch daran, dass sie auf die falschen Berater hört. Und... vielleicht auch deshalb, weil man das weiße Mädchen scheitern sehen will. Falsche Entscheidungen und falsche Berater führen nicht nur zu beruflichen, sondern auch zu privaten Spannungen. Damit kann Charlotte nicht umgehen, sie lebt von der Anerkennung. Deshalb trifft sie wieder eine falsche Entscheidung, die dramatische Auswirkungen hat.
Die Geschichte von Milo und Charlotte scheint vorhersehbar. Die Beiden kommen aus zu verschiedenen Welten, um miteinander glücklich zu sein. Aber hinter Whitegirl steckt mehr als nur die Geschichte einer scheinbar unpassenden Beziehung. Beide kommen aus Familien mit einer ungesunden Familiendynamik, auch wenn man die auf den ersten Blick nicht unbedingt erkennt. Sie haben nie gelernt, sich ihren Problemen wirklich zu stellen sondern laufen vor ihnen davon. Sie sind leichtgläubig und verlassen sich auf die falschen Menschen, auch wenn sie denen schon nicht mehr voll vertrauen. Für mich sind das die Hauptgründe, warum Charlotte und Milo scheitern.
Das Ende lässt mich zumindest für Charlotte hoffen. Ich habe das Gefühl, als ob sie es endlich schaffen könnte, ihr Leben in den Griff zu bekommen.
Wie der Titel schon andeutet, ist Charlotte ein weißes Mädchen, ein in den 1970er Jahren typisches weißes Collegegirl sogar. Ihr Freund ist gemeinsam mit Milo im olympischen Sportteam und er und Charlotte sind das Traumpaar am College. Aber das vermeintliche Traumpaar hat Probleme. Charlotte wird von klein auf dazu angehalten, zu gefallen. Deshalb kann sie nicht nein sagen. Sie ist nicht glücklich in ihrer Beziehung, aber sie kann das ihrem Freund nicht sagen. Nicht nur, weil sie Angst hat, ihn zu verletzen. Der Hauptgrund ist, dass er sie massiv unter Druck setzt, sowohl emotional als auch mit körperlicher Gewalt. Schließlich wählt sie den vermeintlich leichteren Weg und schleicht sich aus der Beziehung.
Später ist sie das weiße Mädchen in der Welt ihres farbigen Freundes und muss sich ständig rechtfertigen. Vor den Eltern ihres Freundes, die lieber eine farbige Freundin für ihren Sohn hätten. Vor seiner Schwester, die nicht glaubt, dass sie Milo wirklich versteht. Aber auch vor ihren Freunden und Kollegen, die ihr zwar den Flirt mit Milo zugestehen, aber keine ernsthafte Beziehung und schon gar keine Kinder.
Während für Milo das Leben mit Kind unverändert weitergeht, findet sich Charlotte nur schwierig in ihrer neuen Rolle zurecht. Vielleicht liegt es daran, dass sie einige falsche Entscheidungen trifft. Vielleicht auch daran, dass sie auf die falschen Berater hört. Und... vielleicht auch deshalb, weil man das weiße Mädchen scheitern sehen will. Falsche Entscheidungen und falsche Berater führen nicht nur zu beruflichen, sondern auch zu privaten Spannungen. Damit kann Charlotte nicht umgehen, sie lebt von der Anerkennung. Deshalb trifft sie wieder eine falsche Entscheidung, die dramatische Auswirkungen hat.
Die Geschichte von Milo und Charlotte scheint vorhersehbar. Die Beiden kommen aus zu verschiedenen Welten, um miteinander glücklich zu sein. Aber hinter Whitegirl steckt mehr als nur die Geschichte einer scheinbar unpassenden Beziehung. Beide kommen aus Familien mit einer ungesunden Familiendynamik, auch wenn man die auf den ersten Blick nicht unbedingt erkennt. Sie haben nie gelernt, sich ihren Problemen wirklich zu stellen sondern laufen vor ihnen davon. Sie sind leichtgläubig und verlassen sich auf die falschen Menschen, auch wenn sie denen schon nicht mehr voll vertrauen. Für mich sind das die Hauptgründe, warum Charlotte und Milo scheitern.
Das Ende lässt mich zumindest für Charlotte hoffen. Ich habe das Gefühl, als ob sie es endlich schaffen könnte, ihr Leben in den Griff zu bekommen.
March 20, 2017
This was entertaining enough, but nothing profound. I couldn't decide if it was more Tiger/Elan (the black guy in a white sport and a model wife on whom he cheats) or OJ/Nicole (the murder-mystery of it). It felt long. Manning foreshadows a lot and much of it is repetitive. I felt like it could have been about 1/3 shorter and would have flowed better with a stronger/more picked up pace.
March 17, 2008
I was so angry when I finished reading this book! The story line while a little long and drawn out kept my interest mainly becuase I was dying to find out who actually tried to kill her (which you learn could be one of two men in her life at the very beginning of the book.) After pages and pages of learning every nuance of these people, it ends WITHOUT TELLING YOU WHO DID IT! I know some people would consider this charming and part of the "literature experience", but I think it's a cop out and that the author didn't have enough balls to chose themselves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2013
A compelling read. I loved this story. Puts us in the center of violence and gives us the play by play--years of what led up to a horrific attack.
I liked how it's told from one character's POV but you are given enough information to make up your mind about the facts but never confirmed on your beliefs.
I read a lot about it being likened to the OJ and Nicole Brown Simpson history but I could look at it outside of that. In fact, I felt like this gave me some perspective that I didn't have when the OJ trail was going on.
Manning is a skilled writer.
Read this one.
I liked how it's told from one character's POV but you are given enough information to make up your mind about the facts but never confirmed on your beliefs.
I read a lot about it being likened to the OJ and Nicole Brown Simpson history but I could look at it outside of that. In fact, I felt like this gave me some perspective that I didn't have when the OJ trail was going on.
Manning is a skilled writer.
Read this one.
May 28, 2009
I read this book after reading about it in a book about books. How's that for a sentence? The author talked about how she stayed up all night reading it, which is shocking to me. It had some interesting parts about interracial marriage but it dragged on forever and the ending was horrible. Pretty disappointing.
October 13, 2012
The story of OJ and Nicole. Only the names have been changed.
The white wife of a popular Black athlete and movie star wakes up from a coma and cannot remember what happened. Did her husband really do this to her?
Read this story and tell me what you think.
The white wife of a popular Black athlete and movie star wakes up from a coma and cannot remember what happened. Did her husband really do this to her?
Read this story and tell me what you think.
August 10, 2014
I can't even adequately describe this book so I will merely say it is a Must Read. I didn't give it five stars because I felt like the author left me hanging at the end a bit, but other than that it was riveting.
February 9, 2008
This got a rave review in the book So Many Books, So Little Time. Couldn't say I agreed.
December 27, 2015
I think the book was great. It gave a new perspective about interracial relationships and true love. This book kept me very interested I had to know the ending.
February 19, 2017
Still timely and thought provoking
This book was originally published in 2002 and sadly it is still timely today. The book raises but does not necessarily answer a lot of questions about race, stereotypes, and political correctness. This book will probably not be to everyones liking. You will need to be able to tolerate ambiguity and unlikable characters. It is a lot like life.
Whitegirl is the story of Charlotte and Milo and their marriage. This is not a romance or a love story. The story begins with Charlotte recovering from a serious attack that resulted in deep cuts to her neck and face and a crushed larynx. Milo has been arrested for the crime, thought Charlotte has no memory of who attacked her due to trauma and way too much wine. There are several possible suspects, including her ex-boyfriend from college. The bulk of the story is Charlotte reflecting back on her life in an effort to figure out if her husband attacked her. He claims that he did not.
Through flashbacks, we find out that Charlotte is a white girl from a conservative Christian family. Oddly, the family values physical appearance to an extreme degree. Charlotte wants more for herself and escapes the family by attending college in Vermont. The year is 1974. She dates a white member of the college ski team, but is interested in the one black skier, Milo Robicheaux. She drops out of college in her freshman year to escape the bad relationship. She meets Milo some time later in New York and they begin a relationship. At this point, she is a successful model (ultimately failing to avoid her family expectations) and Milo has won an Olympic gold medal. Their relationship progresses as Milo's career takes off. He eventually becomes a major action movie star. They marry, have a child, and Charlotte's career flounders. Their relationship is volatile as he gets wrapped up in Hollywood, cheats on her, and she starts drinking. Mixed race marriage plays a prominent role, though neither of them is equipped to handle the issues.
As I mentioned earlier, this book will not be for everyone. I found the main characters to be unlikable. Charlotte is so naive you want to smack her. However, Milo is incapable of helping her to understand the complexities of their relationship. Charlotte's answer is to pretend to be colorblind, joke about color, and chide herself whenever she has a thought that could be remotely construed as racist. For example, she thinks about Milo's lips when he kisses her, but worries that focusing on his lips could be racist. Political correctness is a fine line indeed. Many reviewers have made the connection between this story and the OJ Simpson/Nicole Brown case. That is selling this story short. This novel is more nuanced than sensational and there are no clear answers. This will also bother some readers. If you appreciate a book that will leave you thinking and raises more questions than answers, then this may be the book for you.
This book was originally published in 2002 and sadly it is still timely today. The book raises but does not necessarily answer a lot of questions about race, stereotypes, and political correctness. This book will probably not be to everyones liking. You will need to be able to tolerate ambiguity and unlikable characters. It is a lot like life.
Whitegirl is the story of Charlotte and Milo and their marriage. This is not a romance or a love story. The story begins with Charlotte recovering from a serious attack that resulted in deep cuts to her neck and face and a crushed larynx. Milo has been arrested for the crime, thought Charlotte has no memory of who attacked her due to trauma and way too much wine. There are several possible suspects, including her ex-boyfriend from college. The bulk of the story is Charlotte reflecting back on her life in an effort to figure out if her husband attacked her. He claims that he did not.
Through flashbacks, we find out that Charlotte is a white girl from a conservative Christian family. Oddly, the family values physical appearance to an extreme degree. Charlotte wants more for herself and escapes the family by attending college in Vermont. The year is 1974. She dates a white member of the college ski team, but is interested in the one black skier, Milo Robicheaux. She drops out of college in her freshman year to escape the bad relationship. She meets Milo some time later in New York and they begin a relationship. At this point, she is a successful model (ultimately failing to avoid her family expectations) and Milo has won an Olympic gold medal. Their relationship progresses as Milo's career takes off. He eventually becomes a major action movie star. They marry, have a child, and Charlotte's career flounders. Their relationship is volatile as he gets wrapped up in Hollywood, cheats on her, and she starts drinking. Mixed race marriage plays a prominent role, though neither of them is equipped to handle the issues.
As I mentioned earlier, this book will not be for everyone. I found the main characters to be unlikable. Charlotte is so naive you want to smack her. However, Milo is incapable of helping her to understand the complexities of their relationship. Charlotte's answer is to pretend to be colorblind, joke about color, and chide herself whenever she has a thought that could be remotely construed as racist. For example, she thinks about Milo's lips when he kisses her, but worries that focusing on his lips could be racist. Political correctness is a fine line indeed. Many reviewers have made the connection between this story and the OJ Simpson/Nicole Brown case. That is selling this story short. This novel is more nuanced than sensational and there are no clear answers. This will also bother some readers. If you appreciate a book that will leave you thinking and raises more questions than answers, then this may be the book for you.
March 18, 2017
Powerful and Timely
I will start off saying that this was a great novel. I just love when a story is so unique that there is no other book I can compare it to. Manning truly achieves innovation and creativity with this book. Manning also captures what it can be like for black people in America. The whole time I was reading this I couldn't believe the novel was published in 2002 and story takes place in the 70s and 80s. Everything I read about Milo and Charlotte could have been written about, and definitely experienced in 2017. Race in America is still so raw that a story about the obstacles an interracial couple faces in the 20th century still rings true even today.
Milo's experiences as an Olympic skier, or black skier as he was known, rang so true for me even as a non-athlete. I grew up hearing "You talk/act white" or "you're not really black." And just like Milo, I heard these sentiments from people of various races. What really impressed me is how the author, a white woman, was able to capture the struggle black people face trying to make better, educated lives for themselves and get accused of whiteness from everyone around them. Whats even more impressive is how Manning depicts Charlotte's view of what "acting white/black" even means.
Whitegirl manages to create a new commentary on race relations in America. How black and white people continue to regard each other and the emergence of a new phenomenon of "white guilt." Many times Charlotte feels apologetic of her race since she sees racism from the other side, especially in a brilliant scene where they are pulled over by the cops.
At the heart of the story it is about racism and how society ultimately views black men as animals and place white women on a pedestal and how negative black and white people can be when it comes to these relationships. However, Whitegirl doesn't beat the reader over the head with racism, but also how money and fame can make a marriage more challenging instead of easier. Charlotte was just a woman in love with a man. There skin colors should have been irrelevant, but the author achieves in showing us that love is truly not enough to sustain two people.
I am shocked and in awe of this story. One word that comes to mind is how frank it is. I have truly never read anything like it. There were parts in the story that I felt could have been cut out, just prolonging the outcome, but ultimately I enjoyed this rare novel and I know I will think of Whitegirl, especially Charlotte and Milo, for a long time.
I will start off saying that this was a great novel. I just love when a story is so unique that there is no other book I can compare it to. Manning truly achieves innovation and creativity with this book. Manning also captures what it can be like for black people in America. The whole time I was reading this I couldn't believe the novel was published in 2002 and story takes place in the 70s and 80s. Everything I read about Milo and Charlotte could have been written about, and definitely experienced in 2017. Race in America is still so raw that a story about the obstacles an interracial couple faces in the 20th century still rings true even today.
Milo's experiences as an Olympic skier, or black skier as he was known, rang so true for me even as a non-athlete. I grew up hearing "You talk/act white" or "you're not really black." And just like Milo, I heard these sentiments from people of various races. What really impressed me is how the author, a white woman, was able to capture the struggle black people face trying to make better, educated lives for themselves and get accused of whiteness from everyone around them. Whats even more impressive is how Manning depicts Charlotte's view of what "acting white/black" even means.
Whitegirl manages to create a new commentary on race relations in America. How black and white people continue to regard each other and the emergence of a new phenomenon of "white guilt." Many times Charlotte feels apologetic of her race since she sees racism from the other side, especially in a brilliant scene where they are pulled over by the cops.
At the heart of the story it is about racism and how society ultimately views black men as animals and place white women on a pedestal and how negative black and white people can be when it comes to these relationships. However, Whitegirl doesn't beat the reader over the head with racism, but also how money and fame can make a marriage more challenging instead of easier. Charlotte was just a woman in love with a man. There skin colors should have been irrelevant, but the author achieves in showing us that love is truly not enough to sustain two people.
I am shocked and in awe of this story. One word that comes to mind is how frank it is. I have truly never read anything like it. There were parts in the story that I felt could have been cut out, just prolonging the outcome, but ultimately I enjoyed this rare novel and I know I will think of Whitegirl, especially Charlotte and Milo, for a long time.
January 31, 2024
One of the things I liked best about this read was the way the story was set up. . .it starts after the crisis - with Charlotte telling the reader that she's in the hospital, damaged mightily and cannot even speak. Right there, was my reason for staying through to the very end. We were going to get to the bottom of this!
402 pages later, I must admit to being rather disgruntled at the conclusion, a bottom not found. I have my suspicions, and would bet money if there was anyone who would play. . .but neither of us would have satisfaction there either, as . . . .
(see how it feels?)
The characters were well-developed for the characters they were being fashioned into - a little stereotypical - or maybe it is that I lived through the N Simpson/OJ years and this leans a lot into that area. There felt to be many storylines that could have been mined rather than the obvious one that was chosen. Disgruntled-ness aside, I'm going to read on with this author to see where she goes.
402 pages later, I must admit to being rather disgruntled at the conclusion, a bottom not found. I have my suspicions, and would bet money if there was anyone who would play. . .but neither of us would have satisfaction there either, as . . . .
(see how it feels?)
The characters were well-developed for the characters they were being fashioned into - a little stereotypical - or maybe it is that I lived through the N Simpson/OJ years and this leans a lot into that area. There felt to be many storylines that could have been mined rather than the obvious one that was chosen. Disgruntled-ness aside, I'm going to read on with this author to see where she goes.
December 16, 2018
A fictional novel exploring an inter-racial relationship that ends in violence. I believe loosely based on the OJ/Nicole Simpson murder. This book is a page-turner making you see the trials and tribulations suffered by people who married outside their race , even in the 1970's. A very good read, but the ending is not tied up nicely in a bow, you have to draw your own conclusion...
April 20, 2021
I found it hard to root for the main character that I'm supposed to have sympathy for, when all I see when reading about her is a girl that severely needs therapy. And then to not give an answer at the end was just rude Even though I'm pretty sure I know the answer.
September 24, 2025
Really enjoyed this book. Really good writing, great character development, interesting plot twists - everything you need in a very enjoyable story. Plus a little social awareness thrown in to make you think a bit. I tore through this one.
December 25, 2017
I was hoping this book would get interesting but it really didn’t until the very end and even then it wasn’t very satisfying. I didn’t hate reading it but it was definitely too long.
March 8, 2023
Another wonderful book by the author
I couldn’t quit reading. It really gives insight into how mixed couples have to cope. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending, wanted more.
I couldn’t quit reading. It really gives insight into how mixed couples have to cope. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending, wanted more.
December 3, 2023
Not as good as her others
December 7, 2024
Compelling and a really fascinating story telling
September 15, 2015
Authentic. That is the best description I can give of this book that begins with these riveting sentences: "I was not always a white girl. I used to be just Charlotte. A person named Charlotte Halsey. But when I met Milo, when I fell in love with him, I became White, like a lit lightbulb is white."
In some ways, this is the classic "boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl get married, and live happily..." well, not quite ever after. Because Charlotte is White. And Milo is Black. Capital letters because society demands that when Black and White marry.
Milo is a 1976 Olympic gold medalist. Charlotte is a Vogue cover girl model. But that is after. Before is when they first meet at a small liberal arts college in New Hampshire. And then they meet again in New York City after they are both famous--he more than she. They fall in love. And not just love, but a passionate, don't-we-all-want-that kind of love. And then life interferes.
I had to keep reminding myself--multiple times!--that this is a NOVEL and not non-fiction. THAT is how authentic this is. This book delights. This book haunts. And the ending is the most haunting part. It will tie you up in emotional knots and not let go. Because you just know in your bones what is right and what is wrong.
Author Kate Morton has written a complex and compelling book that will grab you with the first sentence and not let go--even after you have read the last sentence. Highly recommended!
In some ways, this is the classic "boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl get married, and live happily..." well, not quite ever after. Because Charlotte is White. And Milo is Black. Capital letters because society demands that when Black and White marry.
Milo is a 1976 Olympic gold medalist. Charlotte is a Vogue cover girl model. But that is after. Before is when they first meet at a small liberal arts college in New Hampshire. And then they meet again in New York City after they are both famous--he more than she. They fall in love. And not just love, but a passionate, don't-we-all-want-that kind of love. And then life interferes.
I had to keep reminding myself--multiple times!--that this is a NOVEL and not non-fiction. THAT is how authentic this is. This book delights. This book haunts. And the ending is the most haunting part. It will tie you up in emotional knots and not let go. Because you just know in your bones what is right and what is wrong.
Author Kate Morton has written a complex and compelling book that will grab you with the first sentence and not let go--even after you have read the last sentence. Highly recommended!
October 18, 2015
I was living near Los Angeles when OJ Simpson's drive through side streets and highways was shown on television for a tense couple of hours. I remember the trite conclusions that many drew - blonde wife killed by jealous famous black athlete husband. Whitegirl hearkens to those memories but the story is very different.
"I was not always a white girl. I used to be just Charlotte. A person named Charlotte Halsey. But when I met Milo, when I fell in love with him, I became White, like a lit light bulb is white," begins the narrative of a mixed race couple's love and their efforts to disprove the stereotypes of the OJ Simpson or Oscar Pistories stories.
Their story begins in college where Milo is the handsome black skier who goes on to win Olympic medals and Charlotte is the beautiful freshman, sought by Milo's ski team rival; she goes on to become a runway model. At this point the story could go on the way of romantic novels, but author Kate Manning has something else up her sleeve.
Both Charlotte and Milo fight temptations of fame, disapproval of family, uncertainty of their own biases as they raise a family. It is a provocative book that begins and ends in violence, where the reader may know more than the characters.
Recommended
"I was not always a white girl. I used to be just Charlotte. A person named Charlotte Halsey. But when I met Milo, when I fell in love with him, I became White, like a lit light bulb is white," begins the narrative of a mixed race couple's love and their efforts to disprove the stereotypes of the OJ Simpson or Oscar Pistories stories.
Their story begins in college where Milo is the handsome black skier who goes on to win Olympic medals and Charlotte is the beautiful freshman, sought by Milo's ski team rival; she goes on to become a runway model. At this point the story could go on the way of romantic novels, but author Kate Manning has something else up her sleeve.
Both Charlotte and Milo fight temptations of fame, disapproval of family, uncertainty of their own biases as they raise a family. It is a provocative book that begins and ends in violence, where the reader may know more than the characters.
Recommended
January 3, 2021
The ONLY reason I continued reading this story was because I absolutely LOVED My Notorious Life and strongly recommend that book to everyone. I was not surprised to learn that Whitegirl is Kate Manning's first novel. She learned a lot before writing My Notorious Life. I can't help thinking that Whitegirl would have benefitted from substantial editing. It was entirely too long and I really wanted to put it down about halfway through. I felt overwhelmed when I learned just how many chapters were left to read. There are many interesting insights and thought-provoking situations that gave me pause, but none of the characters were particularly likeable. Charlotte, the narrator, was unquestionably dim. This actually made the excruciating and repetitive details in the story and her rambling accounts of her own thoughts and feelings seem true to her life. Read My Notorious Life. It is excellent.
January 18, 2017
The was an excellent read on many levels. Of course, the race part is so real and raw. Interacial marriage was still uncommon in the 80s. I can remember much of the sentiment the book describes. The book also makes you realize how difficult communication is and how we constantly fall short. How even if you have the facts, you may not arrive at the right conclusion. I thought the ending was genius. The book wasnt about who did it. I think that's why the author ended it the way she did. To know who did it would take away from all the other important details of the story. Overall this is a moving book that I will be thinking about for some time.
December 31, 2014
Can't believe I just discovered this book. Kate Manning is unbelievable. I've read two of her books now. Completely different stories but the same in that they are beautifully written and unflinching in her willingness to take on seemingly impossible themes--in this one, race--in the other, women's reproductive rights. Topics most of us are unwilling to explore publicly, she embraces in such a straight-forward, honest, thought-provoking way. Whitegirl and My Notorious Life would both make excellent book club reads because after finishing both, you are dying to discuss them with others.
December 4, 2012
It has been a long time since I read a book that completely had me hooked from the beginning to the end. After reading some of the reviews, a lot of people compare this to the OJ/Nicole scenario, which I did not even consider as I read the book. This book posed a lot of interesting questions on race/ mixed marriages and societies views on them, particularly in the 80's.
October 26, 2015
I like Kate Manning's writing style. This book starts with the end and goes back to the start. A different trick. Today, I don't think people in this situation would have the same problems as say back in the 80's, as this story is set. I would certainly hope I'm right. An interracial couple struggling through prejudice, marriage and celebrity and perhaps betrayal. A good read, I thought.
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