What do you think?
Rate this book
Idlewild #2
I Wish I Had a Red Dress
Cleage captures the mores, culture, and rhythm of black urban youth and the romantic tensions between mature black adults as she weaves contemporary issues into a love story.
Joyce Mitchell was widowed far too young when her beloved husband, Mitch, died in a tragic accident five years ago. Since then she's kept her hands full and her mind and heart occupied by running The Sewing Circus, an all-girl group she founded to provide badly needed services like day care and job counseling to young women, many of whom are single mothers. More important, The Circus is a place for lively, wide-ranging, heart-to-heart discussions that will help members grow into what Joyce likes to call "twenty-first-century free women."
All in all, Joyce has a full and rich life. She has her work, her family, her friends, and her town. But there are some nights when she crawls into bed alone and has to admit that something is missing. What she doesn't have is that red dress she keeps dreaming about or a social life that would accommodate it even if she braved the mall and bought one. To further complicate matters, she may not have The Sewing Circus much longer, as the state legislature has decided not to fund the group's vital but hard to define work with young women who are too often regarded as problems rather than possibilities.
Feeling defeated and pessimistic, Joyce reluctantly agrees to keep a date for dinner at the home of her best friend, Sister -- a reverend like no other-and finds not only a perfect meal but a tall, dark stranger named Nate Anderson. Nate has just joined the administration at the high school and his unexpected presence in Idlewild touches a chord in Joyce that she thought her heart had forgotten how to play. Nate feels the same immediate connection, but both have enough experience with broken hearts to take it real slow. Besides, they've got too much work to do to concentrate on falling in love....
But life moves at its own pace, and as Sister says, "if you want to make God laugh, make plans." Particularly when it comes to matters of the heart. Joyce decides the trick is to stay focused and to remember that nothing is as sexy as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, especially if you tell it while you're wearing a perfect red dress...
Joyce Mitchell was widowed far too young when her beloved husband, Mitch, died in a tragic accident five years ago. Since then she's kept her hands full and her mind and heart occupied by running The Sewing Circus, an all-girl group she founded to provide badly needed services like day care and job counseling to young women, many of whom are single mothers. More important, The Circus is a place for lively, wide-ranging, heart-to-heart discussions that will help members grow into what Joyce likes to call "twenty-first-century free women."
All in all, Joyce has a full and rich life. She has her work, her family, her friends, and her town. But there are some nights when she crawls into bed alone and has to admit that something is missing. What she doesn't have is that red dress she keeps dreaming about or a social life that would accommodate it even if she braved the mall and bought one. To further complicate matters, she may not have The Sewing Circus much longer, as the state legislature has decided not to fund the group's vital but hard to define work with young women who are too often regarded as problems rather than possibilities.
Feeling defeated and pessimistic, Joyce reluctantly agrees to keep a date for dinner at the home of her best friend, Sister -- a reverend like no other-and finds not only a perfect meal but a tall, dark stranger named Nate Anderson. Nate has just joined the administration at the high school and his unexpected presence in Idlewild touches a chord in Joyce that she thought her heart had forgotten how to play. Nate feels the same immediate connection, but both have enough experience with broken hearts to take it real slow. Besides, they've got too much work to do to concentrate on falling in love....
But life moves at its own pace, and as Sister says, "if you want to make God laugh, make plans." Particularly when it comes to matters of the heart. Joyce decides the trick is to stay focused and to remember that nothing is as sexy as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, especially if you tell it while you're wearing a perfect red dress...
323 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2001
117 people are currently reading
2063 people want to read
About the author
Pearl Cleage
43 books586 followersPearl Cleage is an African-American playwright, essayist, novelist, poet and political activist. She is currently the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre and at the Just Us Theater Company. Cleage is a political activist. She tackles issues at the crux of racism and sexism, and is known for her feminist views, particularly regarding her identity as an African-American woman. Her works are highly anthologized and have been the subject of many scholarly analyses. Many of her works across several genres have earned both popular and critical acclaim. Her novel What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day (1997) was a 1998 Oprah's Book Club selection.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
November 9, 2012
I loved everything about this book,the prose, the characters, the story with a couple of exceptions.
The idea that it was somehow within men's purview to protect women from other men. As someone who has had to claw tooth and nail from the maw of ruin all the while being told that all I needed to do was find some man to protect me, I have to say that's one of the most dangerous ideas ever proffered from a feminist that I've ever heard. It was only when I started ignoring all that nonsense and took it upon myself to protect myself and care for myself, that life got any better for me. Oddly enough, at that exact moment most meaningful support for myself and my children pretty much ended. I can only think that it was in the best interest of everyone (except for myself and my children) that I stay vulnerable and dependent, and once I broke away from that to make my own decisions people washed their hands of me.
This is the crux of whatever problem that exists between the sexes. An outright refusal to literally see each other as equals. Not the same, but equal. Every man isn't as strong, as fast, as intelligent as every other. But no one would think less of one man for winning a fight through strength, while another won through speed, and another through manipulation of the fight. The same is true for women.
Men are not responsible for our safety, we are! So, go take your self defense and martial arts classes, learn how to shoot a gun, call the police, educate yourself, and teach other women to do the same. Stop waiting around for some dude to show up on a white horse. He may never come, and then where will you be?
The idea that it was somehow within men's purview to protect women from other men. As someone who has had to claw tooth and nail from the maw of ruin all the while being told that all I needed to do was find some man to protect me, I have to say that's one of the most dangerous ideas ever proffered from a feminist that I've ever heard. It was only when I started ignoring all that nonsense and took it upon myself to protect myself and care for myself, that life got any better for me. Oddly enough, at that exact moment most meaningful support for myself and my children pretty much ended. I can only think that it was in the best interest of everyone (except for myself and my children) that I stay vulnerable and dependent, and once I broke away from that to make my own decisions people washed their hands of me.
This is the crux of whatever problem that exists between the sexes. An outright refusal to literally see each other as equals. Not the same, but equal. Every man isn't as strong, as fast, as intelligent as every other. But no one would think less of one man for winning a fight through strength, while another won through speed, and another through manipulation of the fight. The same is true for women.
Men are not responsible for our safety, we are! So, go take your self defense and martial arts classes, learn how to shoot a gun, call the police, educate yourself, and teach other women to do the same. Stop waiting around for some dude to show up on a white horse. He may never come, and then where will you be?
July 1, 2016
Oh my gosh, I think I read this twice without knowing it!
September 23, 2018
Best Pearl Cleage novel I ever read! I love the characters and their relationships. I enjoyed the way men and women related to each other. I loved the pragmatic way they handled life. It felt like reading about people I know.
January 8, 2010
This was one of those books that raises important issues and then can't deliver on giving a nuanced and realistic storyline or outcome. A youngish widow lives in an all black Michigan resort town. In the old days before segregation this was a thriving middle class community. Now all the teenage girls have babies and meet at a place called the Circus run by aforementioned widow. She meets a long cool drink of water, but battles with him so about her freedom and women's rights it is hard to see why he sticks around. Not a one of the girls shows a bit of attitude and all of them are perfect mothers. The women are always right and the men, if they are good men, are poor unenlightened saps. And they illegally have a film festival where they show a movie about Dorothy Dandridge and everyone's conscientiousness is raised. The part about them showing the movie and charging an entrance fee was not viewed as illegal in the book, I just know it is so it griped me.
December 19, 2024
Loved this! Cleage’s Idlewild is vivid, real & speaks to the past, present & future so elegantly it makes you want to live there & just be among the place & its people!
It was wonderful to read Joyce’s full story; she is such a force in the lives of the young women she is working to teach & encourage that her personal goals, fears & hopes & dreams get lost.
Cleage’s dialogue is masterful, probably a result of playwriting being her first love. There is thought but there is also a direct use of conversation to drive the plot forward. She uses language, even dialect, in specific ways for specific characters to make them real, portray them honestly & let them speak their minds regardless of the consequences.
The notions of love, hope, fear & ultimately surrender are explored in ways both male & female with the expected outcome seeming to be recognition of the need for surrender going hand hand with the notion of safety.
Beautiful novel! I sure hope we get more of the vibrant, growing community of Idlewild!
It was wonderful to read Joyce’s full story; she is such a force in the lives of the young women she is working to teach & encourage that her personal goals, fears & hopes & dreams get lost.
Cleage’s dialogue is masterful, probably a result of playwriting being her first love. There is thought but there is also a direct use of conversation to drive the plot forward. She uses language, even dialect, in specific ways for specific characters to make them real, portray them honestly & let them speak their minds regardless of the consequences.
The notions of love, hope, fear & ultimately surrender are explored in ways both male & female with the expected outcome seeming to be recognition of the need for surrender going hand hand with the notion of safety.
Beautiful novel! I sure hope we get more of the vibrant, growing community of Idlewild!
July 6, 2013
This is a sequel to What Looks Like Crazy on An Ordinary Day. I loved Crazy and enjoyed Red Dress. I am enjoying Pearl Cleage as an author - she reminds me a lot of Terri McMillan. Red Dress is the story of Joyce - a young widow in a Michigan town. She is a social worker and starts "The Circus" - a support group for young black women - teaching them to be "free" women. Enjoyable read.
February 3, 2011
Cleage's previous work (What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day) was 100 times better than Red Dress. This book was slow, with a lazy plot.
Read
August 2, 2011Liked it, but wish I had known to read the previous book in this series which was "What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day." I don't like reading books out of order!
March 26, 2025
A Poignant Reflection on Healing, Love, and Self-Discovery
Pearl Cleage’s I Wish I Had a Red Dress is a deeply moving novel that captures the resilience, struggles, and triumphs of Black women, particularly those striving to reclaim their power and rewrite their narratives. Told through the voice of Joyce, a widow and community advocate, the novel weaves themes of love, self-worth, and healing into a story that resonates far beyond its pages.
Cleage’s writing is both poetic and fierce, painting a vivid picture of Idlewild, Michigan, a town once a thriving haven for Black excellence but now grappling with the realities of economic and social decline. Against this backdrop, Joyce mentors young Black girls, helping them navigate a world that often limits their potential before they even begin to dream. Her work with the “Young Sisters” is one of the most compelling aspects of the novel—offering both hope and a stark look at the struggles Black women and girls face in a society that often undervalues them.
The metaphor of the red dress is powerful—it’s about desire, confidence, and stepping into one’s full self unapologetically. For Joyce, and by extension the women around her, the red dress represents a reclamation of joy, femininity, and agency. Cleage skillfully addresses issues like domestic violence, economic instability, and racism, but she never lets her characters be defined solely by their pain. Instead, she gives them space to love, to dream, and to demand more from life.
This novel is especially important within the Black community because it highlights the power of mentorship, intergenerational healing, and self-love. It reminds us that Black women deserve to be seen, cherished, and celebrated—not just for their resilience but for their full humanity.
A must-read for those who appreciate stories that uplift while confronting harsh realities, I Wish I Had a Red Dress is both a love letter to Black womanhood and a call to step boldly into one’s own light.
Pearl Cleage’s I Wish I Had a Red Dress is a deeply moving novel that captures the resilience, struggles, and triumphs of Black women, particularly those striving to reclaim their power and rewrite their narratives. Told through the voice of Joyce, a widow and community advocate, the novel weaves themes of love, self-worth, and healing into a story that resonates far beyond its pages.
Cleage’s writing is both poetic and fierce, painting a vivid picture of Idlewild, Michigan, a town once a thriving haven for Black excellence but now grappling with the realities of economic and social decline. Against this backdrop, Joyce mentors young Black girls, helping them navigate a world that often limits their potential before they even begin to dream. Her work with the “Young Sisters” is one of the most compelling aspects of the novel—offering both hope and a stark look at the struggles Black women and girls face in a society that often undervalues them.
The metaphor of the red dress is powerful—it’s about desire, confidence, and stepping into one’s full self unapologetically. For Joyce, and by extension the women around her, the red dress represents a reclamation of joy, femininity, and agency. Cleage skillfully addresses issues like domestic violence, economic instability, and racism, but she never lets her characters be defined solely by their pain. Instead, she gives them space to love, to dream, and to demand more from life.
This novel is especially important within the Black community because it highlights the power of mentorship, intergenerational healing, and self-love. It reminds us that Black women deserve to be seen, cherished, and celebrated—not just for their resilience but for their full humanity.
A must-read for those who appreciate stories that uplift while confronting harsh realities, I Wish I Had a Red Dress is both a love letter to Black womanhood and a call to step boldly into one’s own light.
February 12, 2021
I loved this book even more than What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day. The main character is Joyce Mitchell, older sister to Ava Johnson the main character in What Looks Like Crazy. Joyce is a widow and a social worker and someone I just know I'd be friends with. Joyce used to be a high school English teacher until she decided to make it her life's work to help her female students, most of them young mothers figure out a better way to live. It's a great story about love and friendship and saving the world.
January 21, 2020
I Wish I Had a Red Dress was quite predictable. I felt like there was some teaching about how Black women and men ought to act. The main character was strong, but I didn't necessarily want to be like her. Joyce Mitchell is a social worker helping young women. She is pushing them to be who they want to be and this titular red dress is meant to symbolize freedom. This sequel was not as good as What Looks like Crazy on an Ordinary Day.
January 28, 2025
I def liked the first book more. I don’t really feel like this was an important addition to the story I guess? The only reason I liked this book is bc there’s a strong women who struggles to get men to see the importance of women empowerment, and I found that something I could relate to.
February 23, 2022
I Wish I Had A Red Dress
Plot: Joyce is thinking about how all she wears is black since the loss of her husband and how she wishes she had a red dress. Even though she’s not all that into clothes. She thinks about how her life changed when she started seeing how hopeless the future’s teenage girls looked (with babies and hopes of being exotic dancers). Joyce is trying to petition the state to fund a program for these young women. Ava, Eddie, and Imani are away on a trip in a camper.
Joyce goes to a state council meeting to try to get a grant for the Sewing club, but they aren’t interested and turn it down. (Sighing they’re a bunch of white men. Why would they care about this group of black women and teen mothers?) Disappointed (tho I’m not sure why) she tells her new Pastor and one of the members of the Sewing Circus the results of the meeting. Tee gives the idea to have an anti-Superbowl after seeing an article that men get violent after the Super Bowl and beat up on women (and since women only watch the Super Bowl for the Benefit of a man).
Sister and her husband Bill have a get-together. Because of the mood of the Cuban music playing and the mango margarita, Joyce starts to dance when no one is looking. Then she realizes a handsome man (Nate a friend of Bill's) has entered the room. Nate is the new principal (vice?) at the high school and hasn’t been in town long. Because he’s been staying at the Motel 6, Joyce suggests a lakeside home that he can rent. She’ll give him the keys the next day. Already we can see she’s kind of taken with him.
At the Super Bowl party, there’s some more drama. One of the members of the club Niki was called out by Tomika for getting a new job (stripping). There’s a bunch of brothers (the Latimore’s) that have knocked up a lot of girls in the club. One of the brother’s Junior has been going with Niki on and off for some years. Niki bursts up at the party and says she and Junior has a fight because he doesn’t want her stripping and she told him to kick rocks. Junior shows up “to drop off his sister’s kids” and then tries gets rowdy (he’s been drinking) and tries to grab Niki and haul her off, but Joyce gets in the way. Tomika comes to rescue by pulling out a gun. Only it turns out to be a toy gun but Junior doesn’t know that. She’s scared that he’ll soon come after her. Niki despite Joyce’s encouragement won’t testify and her mother just wants Joyce to drop it.
Nate accepts the house, but questions why Joyce won’t extend her program to include guys. She says that’s not what she does. He wants to know if they can work together. Joyce says she has to work on her ladies first and the guys have to first have some accountability for their ways. Tomika comes up with another great idea to throw a black film festival during February featuring movies by Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Nia Long, and Vivica Fox. But Junior starts harassing Tomika (by sending harassing calls) and Niki (by mailing her used condoms).
Because of a visit to her landlord's house with Nate and seeing one of them (Nettie) grieving over a love she never got to tell, Joyce kisses Nate then has conflicting feelings because of Mitch. Sister tells her to try fantasizing about other men while she masturbates and gets some condoms for when the time comes with Nate. Sis tells Joyce what went on with Lynette. She meet this man at a theatre who was about to divorce his wife. They connected and then slept together. Only the man found out his wife was pregnant so it was a one-night stand. But every year he sent Lynette a unicorn (the production had something to do with a girl and unicorn). So she was breaking all the unicorns he gave her. (Umm! Shouldn’t she have been SAVING them since she loved him? That would be something you’d do if you were having an affair with him and didn’t know he had a wife). Anyway, Nate then makes it clear that he wants to know where things stand because of his bad divorce. He and Joyce make a date to go out to dinner. At dinner, they have a slight disagreement because Joyce tells him about the film and then tells him it’s only for women. Guys will just be a distraction. He says he wants to meet with Tee so he can try to get her to change her mind. Tee catches Niki in her yard in a car having sex with Junior (what is with these men having sex in people’s yards). Tee flips out and kicks Nikki out her house (She let her stay there after the incident at the party). Tee then considers getting a gun. Tee then meets with Mrs. Nettie and has a change of heart when she realizes how Mrs, Nettie knew a lot of famous people and is a big help to the festival. She also meets with Nate and allows the guys in his class to come as long as a) he looks after them and b) they aren’t allowed to talk during the discussions. Nate even offers to take Tee to the gun range, but unfortunately, she’s not very good at shooting.
The party is a success and afterward, Joyce and Nate plan to celebrate by having a midnight date. However, they’re interrupted with a call from Sheila (Junior’s) sister. She says Niki told Junior the gun wasn’t real and now he’s looking for Tee. So Nate goes to beat him to her house. In a box, he gives Joyce a red dress because she previously told him that’s what she wanted if she could have anything. Later tho, he remembers how his Dad gave his mom a red dress and she hated it (thought it made her look whorish). So he tells her only wear it when she feels like she’s free and she wants too. He doesn’t want to be like his Dad who was surprised that his mother hated the dress. He really wants to get to know her. Nate is too late. Junior follows Tee and runs her off the road. She ends up in the hospital with severe injuries. Junior disappears. Tee and Niki makeup and we learn Nikki told because Junior harassed and beat her and she shot off at the mouth which is how he found out. Some of the men (including Nate and Bill-Sister’s husband decide to take shifts at Geneva and Lynnette’s house where Tee will be staying until Junior’s caught). Since the police won’t do a damn thing! But Junior is waiting at Joyce’s house holding his sister (Sheila) hostage. He pulls a gun on Joyce (who steps in to save Sheila) but is shot by Nate in a stand-off. Junior is then arrested and Tee is safe to go home. Nate asks Joyce if she feels safe and when she says she does he request that she put on the red dress.
My Thoughts:
I had a like-dislike relationship with this one. I liked what Joyce was doing for these young women, by trying to shape them and make them see things in a different way. But honestly, I thought, this woman has a death wish. One day she’s going to find herself KILLED! I could three times since the What Feels Like that she’s jumped in the middle of a situation that wasn’t hers trying to defend this woman. It’s noble and all but a bullet doesn’t recognize whether or not your trying to do the right thing. None of these women seem to really see it. Tomeka even after getting run off the road and banged up says nothing Junior does to her can scare her. Which is *brave* but at the same time foolish because you can’t ignore threats and you’re a single mother. Tomeka was so busy thinking of the unimportant thing out of pride, that she skipped all over the fact that, NO. The important thing is keeping MYSELF safe because I have a daughter. I liked how some of them thought. I admired the way Tomeka made the comparison by using Denzel as a model to what she *should* be looking for. I admire that she kicked Jimmy out and was strong enough to stand up for herself. I admire that Niki left Junior. But some of the things they thought I didn’t quite agree with. For example, the anti-Superbowl comment about women just watching the Super Bowl because of a man. Now while I *personally* agree that I never watch the Super Bowl (I usually watch the Puppy Bowl as an alternative) you can’t say that *all* women are only into it because of a man. Just like you can’t make a list with a set of requirements that *all* females out to be able to know how to do that include knowing how to grow food and flowers, child care (and early childhood development), and midwifery. And I’m still not sure why Joyce thought a group of white men would care about helping her educate these young, black, females. Something about that list annoys me every time I see it. You also can’t say that all women just have all this rage inside for no reason whatsoever. Like we’re all just ticking time bombs. If we *do* have rage, oh I’m so sure there’s a *GOOD* damn reason for it. Nor can you say if you invite males to a discussion they won't have anything positive too contribute to it and that they're only there to be disruptive. So there were a lot of generalizing statements that rubbed me the wrong way. I liked Sister’s explanation of the four types of relationships men and women can have. But sometimes, how Joyce thought irritated me. She wants to be independent-minded and not have Nate follow her to Juniors to take Sheila because “she can handle it”. But then later she’s pissed that he didn’t figure out the solution how to protect Tee when she got out the hospital and didn’t see it as him “being a man”. ` If something would have happened with Junior and he hadn’t come would she have been mad? What if he would have let her “handle it” at the end of the book? It’s nothing wrong with being independent, but there’s no shame in having someone protect you either. It doesn’t make you any less of a “free woman”. And that term.. I feel like it should be independent women. Joyce also tended to overanalyze EVERYTHING and that truly would drive me crazy. Nate is never quite sure if the things he says will set her off (because she’s so much of a feminist). Sometimes the smallest things he said or did (did). Overall, it was … interesting but I don’t see this being one I’ll read again. I did also like Tee’s ideas. She had some really good ones.
Rating: 6
Plot: Joyce is thinking about how all she wears is black since the loss of her husband and how she wishes she had a red dress. Even though she’s not all that into clothes. She thinks about how her life changed when she started seeing how hopeless the future’s teenage girls looked (with babies and hopes of being exotic dancers). Joyce is trying to petition the state to fund a program for these young women. Ava, Eddie, and Imani are away on a trip in a camper.
Joyce goes to a state council meeting to try to get a grant for the Sewing club, but they aren’t interested and turn it down. (Sighing they’re a bunch of white men. Why would they care about this group of black women and teen mothers?) Disappointed (tho I’m not sure why) she tells her new Pastor and one of the members of the Sewing Circus the results of the meeting. Tee gives the idea to have an anti-Superbowl after seeing an article that men get violent after the Super Bowl and beat up on women (and since women only watch the Super Bowl for the Benefit of a man).
Sister and her husband Bill have a get-together. Because of the mood of the Cuban music playing and the mango margarita, Joyce starts to dance when no one is looking. Then she realizes a handsome man (Nate a friend of Bill's) has entered the room. Nate is the new principal (vice?) at the high school and hasn’t been in town long. Because he’s been staying at the Motel 6, Joyce suggests a lakeside home that he can rent. She’ll give him the keys the next day. Already we can see she’s kind of taken with him.
At the Super Bowl party, there’s some more drama. One of the members of the club Niki was called out by Tomika for getting a new job (stripping). There’s a bunch of brothers (the Latimore’s) that have knocked up a lot of girls in the club. One of the brother’s Junior has been going with Niki on and off for some years. Niki bursts up at the party and says she and Junior has a fight because he doesn’t want her stripping and she told him to kick rocks. Junior shows up “to drop off his sister’s kids” and then tries gets rowdy (he’s been drinking) and tries to grab Niki and haul her off, but Joyce gets in the way. Tomika comes to rescue by pulling out a gun. Only it turns out to be a toy gun but Junior doesn’t know that. She’s scared that he’ll soon come after her. Niki despite Joyce’s encouragement won’t testify and her mother just wants Joyce to drop it.
Nate accepts the house, but questions why Joyce won’t extend her program to include guys. She says that’s not what she does. He wants to know if they can work together. Joyce says she has to work on her ladies first and the guys have to first have some accountability for their ways. Tomika comes up with another great idea to throw a black film festival during February featuring movies by Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Nia Long, and Vivica Fox. But Junior starts harassing Tomika (by sending harassing calls) and Niki (by mailing her used condoms).
Because of a visit to her landlord's house with Nate and seeing one of them (Nettie) grieving over a love she never got to tell, Joyce kisses Nate then has conflicting feelings because of Mitch. Sister tells her to try fantasizing about other men while she masturbates and gets some condoms for when the time comes with Nate. Sis tells Joyce what went on with Lynette. She meet this man at a theatre who was about to divorce his wife. They connected and then slept together. Only the man found out his wife was pregnant so it was a one-night stand. But every year he sent Lynette a unicorn (the production had something to do with a girl and unicorn). So she was breaking all the unicorns he gave her. (Umm! Shouldn’t she have been SAVING them since she loved him? That would be something you’d do if you were having an affair with him and didn’t know he had a wife). Anyway, Nate then makes it clear that he wants to know where things stand because of his bad divorce. He and Joyce make a date to go out to dinner. At dinner, they have a slight disagreement because Joyce tells him about the film and then tells him it’s only for women. Guys will just be a distraction. He says he wants to meet with Tee so he can try to get her to change her mind. Tee catches Niki in her yard in a car having sex with Junior (what is with these men having sex in people’s yards). Tee flips out and kicks Nikki out her house (She let her stay there after the incident at the party). Tee then considers getting a gun. Tee then meets with Mrs. Nettie and has a change of heart when she realizes how Mrs, Nettie knew a lot of famous people and is a big help to the festival. She also meets with Nate and allows the guys in his class to come as long as a) he looks after them and b) they aren’t allowed to talk during the discussions. Nate even offers to take Tee to the gun range, but unfortunately, she’s not very good at shooting.
The party is a success and afterward, Joyce and Nate plan to celebrate by having a midnight date. However, they’re interrupted with a call from Sheila (Junior’s) sister. She says Niki told Junior the gun wasn’t real and now he’s looking for Tee. So Nate goes to beat him to her house. In a box, he gives Joyce a red dress because she previously told him that’s what she wanted if she could have anything. Later tho, he remembers how his Dad gave his mom a red dress and she hated it (thought it made her look whorish). So he tells her only wear it when she feels like she’s free and she wants too. He doesn’t want to be like his Dad who was surprised that his mother hated the dress. He really wants to get to know her. Nate is too late. Junior follows Tee and runs her off the road. She ends up in the hospital with severe injuries. Junior disappears. Tee and Niki makeup and we learn Nikki told because Junior harassed and beat her and she shot off at the mouth which is how he found out. Some of the men (including Nate and Bill-Sister’s husband decide to take shifts at Geneva and Lynnette’s house where Tee will be staying until Junior’s caught). Since the police won’t do a damn thing! But Junior is waiting at Joyce’s house holding his sister (Sheila) hostage. He pulls a gun on Joyce (who steps in to save Sheila) but is shot by Nate in a stand-off. Junior is then arrested and Tee is safe to go home. Nate asks Joyce if she feels safe and when she says she does he request that she put on the red dress.
My Thoughts:
I had a like-dislike relationship with this one. I liked what Joyce was doing for these young women, by trying to shape them and make them see things in a different way. But honestly, I thought, this woman has a death wish. One day she’s going to find herself KILLED! I could three times since the What Feels Like that she’s jumped in the middle of a situation that wasn’t hers trying to defend this woman. It’s noble and all but a bullet doesn’t recognize whether or not your trying to do the right thing. None of these women seem to really see it. Tomeka even after getting run off the road and banged up says nothing Junior does to her can scare her. Which is *brave* but at the same time foolish because you can’t ignore threats and you’re a single mother. Tomeka was so busy thinking of the unimportant thing out of pride, that she skipped all over the fact that, NO. The important thing is keeping MYSELF safe because I have a daughter. I liked how some of them thought. I admired the way Tomeka made the comparison by using Denzel as a model to what she *should* be looking for. I admire that she kicked Jimmy out and was strong enough to stand up for herself. I admire that Niki left Junior. But some of the things they thought I didn’t quite agree with. For example, the anti-Superbowl comment about women just watching the Super Bowl because of a man. Now while I *personally* agree that I never watch the Super Bowl (I usually watch the Puppy Bowl as an alternative) you can’t say that *all* women are only into it because of a man. Just like you can’t make a list with a set of requirements that *all* females out to be able to know how to do that include knowing how to grow food and flowers, child care (and early childhood development), and midwifery. And I’m still not sure why Joyce thought a group of white men would care about helping her educate these young, black, females. Something about that list annoys me every time I see it. You also can’t say that all women just have all this rage inside for no reason whatsoever. Like we’re all just ticking time bombs. If we *do* have rage, oh I’m so sure there’s a *GOOD* damn reason for it. Nor can you say if you invite males to a discussion they won't have anything positive too contribute to it and that they're only there to be disruptive. So there were a lot of generalizing statements that rubbed me the wrong way. I liked Sister’s explanation of the four types of relationships men and women can have. But sometimes, how Joyce thought irritated me. She wants to be independent-minded and not have Nate follow her to Juniors to take Sheila because “she can handle it”. But then later she’s pissed that he didn’t figure out the solution how to protect Tee when she got out the hospital and didn’t see it as him “being a man”. ` If something would have happened with Junior and he hadn’t come would she have been mad? What if he would have let her “handle it” at the end of the book? It’s nothing wrong with being independent, but there’s no shame in having someone protect you either. It doesn’t make you any less of a “free woman”. And that term.. I feel like it should be independent women. Joyce also tended to overanalyze EVERYTHING and that truly would drive me crazy. Nate is never quite sure if the things he says will set her off (because she’s so much of a feminist). Sometimes the smallest things he said or did (did). Overall, it was … interesting but I don’t see this being one I’ll read again. I did also like Tee’s ideas. She had some really good ones.
Rating: 6
February 27, 2019
Pearl Cleage brilliant
The story line continued nicely from “What looks like Crazy...” and leaves you wanting more from the Arthur . The characters grow as they learn from some difficult life lessons ...
The story line continued nicely from “What looks like Crazy...” and leaves you wanting more from the Arthur . The characters grow as they learn from some difficult life lessons ...
December 19, 2013
Our Own Reality
Joyce Mitchell is a devoted social worker, an optimist and a widow. Since the loss of her husband, she founded the Sewing Circus - a place for young women where they can receive assistance, job counseling, GED classes, daycare, and development into becoming ‘free’ women. Joyce and the Sewing Circus have been in business for two years and now they have to find a way to keep the program funded.
Nate Anderson is new to Idlewood. He’s the Assistant Principal at the high school. Friends of Joyce’s have been unsuccessful at setting her up. This time it appears that Nate, a former cop, who is looking for a way to connect to the young males before the cuffs, just may be the one.
With so many issues arising between the young ladies and males in the community, it seems to keep Joyce and Nate on opposing sides. Will they ever find a common ground?
In this second installment, readers are introduced to individual members of the Sewing Circus as well as other residents of Idlewild. I absolutely LOVE the way the author utilizes certain black male stars as positive males and how through black movies they are able to analyze life and see things in a different way and apply it to their own lives. Both the title and cover play an important part into the journey of the lives of those in the story.
I really enjoyed this book.
4.5
Joyce Mitchell is a devoted social worker, an optimist and a widow. Since the loss of her husband, she founded the Sewing Circus - a place for young women where they can receive assistance, job counseling, GED classes, daycare, and development into becoming ‘free’ women. Joyce and the Sewing Circus have been in business for two years and now they have to find a way to keep the program funded.
Nate Anderson is new to Idlewood. He’s the Assistant Principal at the high school. Friends of Joyce’s have been unsuccessful at setting her up. This time it appears that Nate, a former cop, who is looking for a way to connect to the young males before the cuffs, just may be the one.
With so many issues arising between the young ladies and males in the community, it seems to keep Joyce and Nate on opposing sides. Will they ever find a common ground?
In this second installment, readers are introduced to individual members of the Sewing Circus as well as other residents of Idlewild. I absolutely LOVE the way the author utilizes certain black male stars as positive males and how through black movies they are able to analyze life and see things in a different way and apply it to their own lives. Both the title and cover play an important part into the journey of the lives of those in the story.
I really enjoyed this book.
4.5
March 9, 2022
I read this back in 2015 and I didn't remember a thing about it! When I read the first book, my favorite "What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day", I wanted to be sure and read this one directly after it so that I could see how things progressed. From that title, I learn that Ava and Eddie are traveling the country with Joyce's adopted daughter, Imani...and that was it about them. I really wanted to see them show back up in this installment just to get a quick glimpse into how they've thrived together, but I guess that wasn't meant to be. Either way, this sequel was still about the Sewing Circus, messiness of the Lattimore men, winter love that's slow and easy like the way snowflakes fall, and all about Joyce's ability to see herself as more than just a widower and forty years old. It's something about the sophistication of a red dress that reminds women that the spice is still there; just tapping into it is always the hard part. I'm happy for the way it turned out for Joyce and how she continued to make the Sewing Circus ladies into "almost" free women. But I really, really wanted to see a little more of her and Nate's relationship play out. I mean, it was about the idea of a red dress revamping a love life and I feel like the book was focused solely on the Sewing Circle. It was still a good re-read, though.
June 29, 2022
I first read this book 17 years ago and loved it so much that I've kept it on my bookshelves all these years. I'm reading through the books I own and decided to reread it. It's been so long since I read it that I remember nothing about it except that I loved it and I wanted to see if it was still worth keeping. The answer: oh yeah!!! It's a book about strong black women. It's about gender relations and what it's really like to be a woman in a patriarchal society. And it has a happy ending. And I reread it in one day.
April 9, 2023
I've read this book many times. Each time I read it, I want to reach for a highlighter to remember a portion or to share it with my daughter. So far, it is my favorite novel by Pearl Cleage. This book is so powerful that you can almost start reading at any point and get inspiration. I always feel inspired when I read it. I really like the way that the author includes each chapter's title somewhere in that chapter.
February 19, 2016
I was interested in reading this second book since I loved the first one "what looks like crazy on an ordinary day " but was disappointed. This book was slow in the beginning. She was trying to change the girls mindset but never included any men to speak to the girls. She had financial troubles that never got resolved. I normally like her books but this I did not find interesting.
March 14, 2008
O.K., so one day I'll return this book to my good friend Val. Although, I enjoyed it because I was familiar with the characters, it wasn't as well written as the What looks like crazy on an ordinary day!
August 27, 2017
This was an intelligent read. I tried to read some of Pearl Cleage's books years ago and could never receive the books well. Well, fast forward a decade and now I appreciate what she brings to the literary world. She makes you think on things and every day realities through her writing.
August 24, 2008
This is a very powerful novel. It truly expresses the unique experience of being a woman in today's society.
Currently reading
August 12, 2009Read if you want to learn how to be a "FREE WOMAN"
August 15, 2025
First of all, the 2001 published copy I was reading was the worst I've ever seen. The type was very faint, portions of letters missing and some lines were in what appeared to be a smaller font. It was annoying and drastically impacted my reading experience.
That aside, this novel follows, primarily one woman who wants better for the females in her all-black community that was once a thriving resort location in Northern Michigan. The women she focuses on are the young and unwed, most with at least one child. Through her group, referred to as The Circus, she tries to teach them to rise up, have voices and be free women, women who can fend for themselves without needing a man or accepting unsavory behavior from them.
The concept was fine, but I didn't connect with any of the characters. I felt like the narrator must have had a past, but we never got to really know her. Perhaps this is because it was a "book 2" and I needed to read book 1, but there should have been a little background regardless. The novel also relied much too heavily on stereotypes, which are never going to make strong characters, and feels like lazy writing to me. I had no understanding of any of the characters' motivations, which in turn caused my disinterest.
Also as a woman who really enjoys football, and not for the sake of any men, I found the whole anti-Superbowl party section and premise very irritating and likened all of these women to people who do literally nothing without it being for a man. As if a woman couldn't possibly enjoy it because that is a man's realm. The women, nor men, in this novel had any true personality whatsoever - just all stereotyping. The book was filled with things like this.
Would not recommend at all. I'm shocked by the 4+ star rating.
That aside, this novel follows, primarily one woman who wants better for the females in her all-black community that was once a thriving resort location in Northern Michigan. The women she focuses on are the young and unwed, most with at least one child. Through her group, referred to as The Circus, she tries to teach them to rise up, have voices and be free women, women who can fend for themselves without needing a man or accepting unsavory behavior from them.
The concept was fine, but I didn't connect with any of the characters. I felt like the narrator must have had a past, but we never got to really know her. Perhaps this is because it was a "book 2" and I needed to read book 1, but there should have been a little background regardless. The novel also relied much too heavily on stereotypes, which are never going to make strong characters, and feels like lazy writing to me. I had no understanding of any of the characters' motivations, which in turn caused my disinterest.
Also as a woman who really enjoys football, and not for the sake of any men, I found the whole anti-Superbowl party section and premise very irritating and likened all of these women to people who do literally nothing without it being for a man. As if a woman couldn't possibly enjoy it because that is a man's realm. The women, nor men, in this novel had any true personality whatsoever - just all stereotyping. The book was filled with things like this.
Would not recommend at all. I'm shocked by the 4+ star rating.
May 11, 2022
This is one of my favorite books of the year, twenty years after it was written! I loved the voice and just the fact of Joyce Mitchell, a forty-something teacher turned social worker because of the needs of young Black women that can't get fulfilled in the classroom. How often is the hero of a book someone with a sharp political awareness AND a sense of humor? A chapter doesn't go by--I want to say, a page doesn't turn--without her funny, biting observations making me look at things anew, and sometimes, laugh out loud.
One point off because the author creates a fantasy man as the love interest for this young widow and sticks her fantasy that men are there to protect her onto his tall figure. It's not good for men or women to give in to the idea that men's job is to protect women. Even Joyce tells the former cop turned school vice principal Nate that he shouldn't be taking her decisions away, "especially for her own protection." She shouldn't be giving her power away either. Between the wish fulfillment of Nate and the cardboard villain of Junior, there is not much realism there. If it weren't for Sister's husband, Bill, you wouldn't know men could be good, flawed, and complicated, just like women.
But this book is not mainly about men. It's about what it means to be a free woman: specifically, a free Black woman. It's also about 300 pages of what could have been a standard romance novel turned into much, much more.
One point off because the author creates a fantasy man as the love interest for this young widow and sticks her fantasy that men are there to protect her onto his tall figure. It's not good for men or women to give in to the idea that men's job is to protect women. Even Joyce tells the former cop turned school vice principal Nate that he shouldn't be taking her decisions away, "especially for her own protection." She shouldn't be giving her power away either. Between the wish fulfillment of Nate and the cardboard villain of Junior, there is not much realism there. If it weren't for Sister's husband, Bill, you wouldn't know men could be good, flawed, and complicated, just like women.
But this book is not mainly about men. It's about what it means to be a free woman: specifically, a free Black woman. It's also about 300 pages of what could have been a standard romance novel turned into much, much more.
May 10, 2020
This second book is about the oldest sister Joyce Mitchell. The story was lovely, as I kept reading. I felt everything was predictable in the story. Joyce being a widow for the past five years and finding love again. Joyce is also the founder of the Sewing Circus is a counseling center for single young mothers a place they can come to talk about their issues and have very tough, but needed discussions. When it comes to the girls, Joyce is very patient. She more like a sloth; that's one of reasons why they love her. They can talk to her, and she listens with no prejudice toward the girls. She will not give them answer but will guide them to make the right decision. Something the girls struggle with but soon realize they are comfortable in making their own decision and not being afraid to talk. You know how things are going as planned and then there a hiccup in the road and that is a knucklehead boy who causes problems with one of the girls at the center can't have a girl show him up. Anyway, I love Pearl Cleage writing and will continue to read more of her books, but this one was just ok for me it wasn't dominant like the first book of this series. Its 3 1/2 stars
November 25, 2022
Almost checks every box in the 'why I read romance' score card, but...
Cleage's heroine is a strong woman. Black, of course. She teaches younger black women how to stand on their own feet. Which is great.
But she doesn't think black men (one guesses that white men would be included, but none ever gets on stage) 'understand.' And she doesn't think that men need her help getting educated. Please! This stuff isn't taught in school, so if it's not the women who teach the men, they're left with no help. Cleage gives us too many examples of men who don't separate love from rape.
And there is a very serious technical error in a key point in the plot which I will not discuss in more detail as it would be a big spoiler. Most people (including, obviously, the author and her editors) will miss it. For some of us, whose backgrounds include [spoiler] wish the error had been fixed!
Now, back to the beginning. Otherwise, this book checks every one of those 'why I read romance' boxes. Innovates, too. Those short chapters (as little as less than a page!) whiz on by.
Cleage's heroine is a strong woman. Black, of course. She teaches younger black women how to stand on their own feet. Which is great.
But she doesn't think black men (one guesses that white men would be included, but none ever gets on stage) 'understand.' And she doesn't think that men need her help getting educated. Please! This stuff isn't taught in school, so if it's not the women who teach the men, they're left with no help. Cleage gives us too many examples of men who don't separate love from rape.
And there is a very serious technical error in a key point in the plot which I will not discuss in more detail as it would be a big spoiler. Most people (including, obviously, the author and her editors) will miss it. For some of us, whose backgrounds include [spoiler] wish the error had been fixed!
Now, back to the beginning. Otherwise, this book checks every one of those 'why I read romance' boxes. Innovates, too. Those short chapters (as little as less than a page!) whiz on by.
April 10, 2023
This book is different but I don’t know how to describe it. However, I will say this, if you’re a Black woman looking for a fiction book that will be good for you like a well balanced meal, simple yet thoughtful, easy to pick up at different times of the day, and about the intersections of community, intimacy, history, and activism but a soft read than this book is for you.
The quote that resonated with me the most was, “I want to know you. Really know you. I want to know what you think, and what you feel, and what makes you laugh, and what drives you crazy. And I’m trying but the closer I get the more mysterious you seem. I’ve never known a woman like you (the character Nate talking to our heroine Joyce).” I feel like most men I’m dating feel this way about me but never get to the point of articulating this to me, the way Nate boldly does, with a desire to continue his pursuit to know Joyce is beautiful. He’s not intimidated because he’s a worthy counterpart in the journey of life for Joyce.
The quote that resonated with me the most was, “I want to know you. Really know you. I want to know what you think, and what you feel, and what makes you laugh, and what drives you crazy. And I’m trying but the closer I get the more mysterious you seem. I’ve never known a woman like you (the character Nate talking to our heroine Joyce).” I feel like most men I’m dating feel this way about me but never get to the point of articulating this to me, the way Nate boldly does, with a desire to continue his pursuit to know Joyce is beautiful. He’s not intimidated because he’s a worthy counterpart in the journey of life for Joyce.
August 21, 2021
You never look for truth unless it dawns on you that you don't already have it. p190
What's the use of fighting for the truth if you're not allowed to tell it? p22
It's important to be clear, and when you're clear you always run the risk of sounding doctrinaire and inflexible. p134
Pearl Cleage is anything but doctrinaire and inflexible and she has upped her game here with her dry humour and her passionate truth. Enough of the first book is encapsulated so that in fact this sequel can be read on its own, but I appreciated a deepening of my relationship with the people I had met. The essential message of both books remains the same.
We spend so much time controlling what we feel- the pain and the joy- because our babies are sleeping in the next room. I wonder how much of it they absorb anyway, how much of it appears in their dreams? p228
If enough of us want to fix this place, well fix it. p11
In the absence of fear they could focus on wonder. p253
November 15, 2020
Another sequel and this one worked much better than the sequel to the last book I read. Ms Cleage took a different route from the author of 'Accidental Mother & Family' in that instead of continuing the adventures of the characters with all its forced quarrels, misunderstandings and reconciliations, she used the voice of another character from the first book. So a continuation of the story from another POV although one affectionately remembered from the first book. The story was fast moving sad and joyful, leaving one with a bitter aftertaste of wondering if the problems aired in the book can EVER be fixed this side of Heaven.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews