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Who Does She Think She Is?
Aisha Branch is in the midst of planning her elaborate wedding when the unthinkable happens -- she falls for another man, hard. All the drama stirs up old feelings in her mother and grandmother, and as Aisha confronts a painful dilemma, the three Branch women take turns telling their own stories, reflecting separately on their lives and relationships. With her signature dry wit, quietly resonant insight and sharp yet compassionate eye, Benilde Little deftly explores one family's expectations, anxieties and abiding love.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 26, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 21, 2022
I honestly think I’ve should’ve read this book 20 years ago. I couldn’t relate to the characters.
December 25, 2022
Who Does She Think She Is
Aisha is woken up by her sister telling her she saw her engagement announcement and people are talking about it at the church because her fiancé (Will) is white. Aisha looks it up online, is satisfied with the pictures, and starts to think about what she’s going to see on her wedding announcement. She thinks about how she met Will through a mutual friend Belinda.
Aisha’s mom (Camille) thinks about how fast time went by from her being a child to her now getting married. She also thinks about how spoiled Aisha is and expects her stepdad Lem to get her a seven-thousand-dollar dress. She thinks about how Aisha wants her to lose weight and lose her locks (which she’s had for 10 years). Then she also wonders where her own life went while she was being a mother and wife (now ex-wife) and how now all she really has is her job (as a social worker).
Aisha thinks about her first date with Will and how there were never any fronts. The two of them were beyond other people’s perceptions of them and were just secure enough to be themselves. She thinks about how tough it’s been with his friend's opinions, not so much as her friend's opinions (who thinks you gotta do what you gotta do) but also other people’s opinions, and how tired of it she is. Her mother hasn’t really had much to say about her marrying him, nor her father. But deep down she knows her father probably wanted her to marry someone more like him. Then there’s her mother telling her to think about what she wants to consider her future children as (white or black). She doesn’t believe in biracial or mixed as an option. It’s either one of the other.
Camille thinks about her past relationship with a Morehouse student who she told her mother was Aisha’s father. She thinks about how this was the first time her family were together and on the same emotional page. This was also the day her brother decided to put distance between him and the family. After quitting law he bought a vineyard with his lover (He was gay). She also thinks about earlier days with Lem and his proposal.
Geneva thinks about the mistake her daughter (Camille) made by getting pregnant but thinks about how Aisha is a fine girl (tho she doesn’t approve of her marrying a white man). She thinks about her marriage to her ex-husband Magor and how she was in love with him, but how he was caught up in all the wrong things. She had a previous boyfriend who was an Alpha and she was an AKA and how they were going to have a prosperous life. She comes from a family of sharecroppers. She was raised by a spinster who taught her to read. But she got with Major and they stayed together for 51 years. She thinks of how she met Major in a jazz club who was playing a set, (while there with a girlfriend). After that she forgets all about Kenneth.
At the engagement party, Aisha is introduced to Miles (whose mentor was his father) and promptly tells her best friend she’s in LOVE and can’t go through with the wedding. Her friend tells her she doesn’t know a thing about him and Aisha says she doesn’t care. She has to have him. She and Miles converse and after a while, she tells him she wants to see him again and gives him a place and date. When they meet she offers up three suggestions to their attraction 1. They can screw their way through it and hope it grows old 2 they can ignore it or 3 they can be together and she can break up with Will that night. He tries to discourage her by saying he’s 40 to her 26 and might even have a kid. But Aisha isn’t swayed. They talk and after Aisha wants to know when she’ll see him again. He tells her how about a cool-down period for a few weeks. He says they have thinking to do. Aisha says he might but she doesn’t and she knows what she has to do but she just doesn’t know how.
Camille thinks about how when Aisha was a teenager she wanted to know (and kept asking) who her father was. She asks at the wrong time after her grandfather’s funeral does Camille even know who her father was or was she screwing every man in sight and she hauls off and slaps her. Afterward, she makes up a lie just to give her something. She tells her about Adam that was her boyfriend. She says she didn’t know if it was his or the guy from Morehouse.
Geneva thinks about the first time Major took her to a restaurant and how her met up with him in D.C. Shortly after she breaks up with the Alpha (Kenneth who isn’t at all bothered) and marries Major. By this time Geneva is already pregnant. She thinks about how she always tried to do the best by her children but how Camille always accused her of trying to be white. But there’s some satisfaction that now Camille sees how it feels to have the person you do the most for to turn around and spit on all the dreams you had for them.
Miles tells Aisha more about his family and his absentee father. Then he clams up wondering why he’s letting her in. Aisha feels closer to him seeing they both come from single mothers and absent fathers.When Aisha comes home, she tells Will she’s been with Camille and he just lets it go. Later she meets up with Will at his grandparent's house and they end up making love in the pool, but Aisha is turned off by him complimenting her hair in its natural state and her breasts.
Camille sees the obituary for Adam (who died from drugs). After this, she goes to Adam’s mother and tells her she has a grandchild. Abby says she wants to meet her. She tells her about the engagement and that she hasn’t made peace with it. Abby tells her she has to let her live her life. After having lunch with Cedra, Aisha goes to visit Will but catches Amanda coming out of his apartment. Aisha tries to get it out of Will that they slept together, but Will says they’re just friends. Aisha starts to walk away but Will grabs her and says that he doesn’t want anyone else. But Aisha leaves and says she’ll call him later. Geneva takes a fall and after this Camille stays with her and tells her about Adam being Aisha’s real father and meeting with Abby. Geneva tells her Trudy (her best girlfriend has cancer). Then they start to talk about Aisha and it gets cleared up that Genevia was disappointed in her for having Aisha. She says once she was born she let everything else go. Geneva tells her she shouldn’t have left Lem and that she thinks Will is wrong for Aisha.
Aisha then goes to look for her (Mile’s suggestion) because she needs some (direction? Clarity?) and finds out he’s passed. So she goes to spend time with Miles in Vermont. Camille tells Aisha she knows that she lost her job. Aisha tells her she knows about her father. Then she tells her she broke up with Will and will be returning his ring. And she does and it’s over. Aisha is approached by a lady that’s a big deal at the magazine Vouge that tells Aisha to give her a call. When they get back to the apartment, they make love. While he steps out there’s a phone call from another woman. Aisha even notices pictures of many women in his apartment. But to his credit, when asked he explains who they all are and what happened with each.
She meets with the lady at French Vogue and wants her to hire Aisha as a stylist. She says she’ll be traveling to Paris shortly for a fashion show. Cedra calls Aisha and she says she’s not feeling her right now. She’s jealous. She says give her a minute and she’ll get over it. Aisha returns a call from Will (who was hammered on the message). He says he wants to try again. He apologizes for groping her and calling her a slut. She says it’s not about that and when he asks to come over she lets him. Before he arrives, she thinks of the day he proposed. When he gets there, he asks can they try again but she says there’s someone else. He knows it’s Miles but he asks if it wasn’t could they. She says she doesn’t know and he says she knows he doesn’t give up easy.
Aisha gets to meet Abby and it goes well. After she promises to send pictures of Adam. Camille, Geneva, and Abby meet up to eat at Genevia’s house. Genevia makes Abby realize that Adam’s anger with her probably came from being black with a white mother. Abby says she always raised him to see people rather than color but as he grew up she could protect him. Will shows up in Paris saying he needs to see her. He walks her to her apartment but doesn’t push up on her to come in.
My Thoughts:
I thought that too much of a big deal was made over Aisha marrying Will because he’s white. But then this was from the mother and the grandmother and I can understand where this comes from. Then I also thought too big a deal was made about Aisha wanting to marry Will for his money. Aisha (tho it was said she was materialistic and while she did want a seven thousand dollar gown) didn’t *read* to me like she was out to be a gold digger. She had her own goals and she seemed to be well for herself without him and before him. I don’t know in the end there was a big fuss over how proud they were of her that she walked away despite the money but then again I just don’t see anything wrong with living a “comfortable” life. I know women always say (those that do) that it gets boring after a while but I just can not see it. Then honestly Will just seemed to have more “passion” for Aisha than Miles did. I know that after a while “fire” burns out but another thing I didn’t get was why she seemed to have a problem with him desiring her all the time. I’m sure a lot of single women would roll their eyes at how she found this offensive.
What Aisha and Miles had felt “flat” to me. I guess the sexual chemistry was there, but while I felt all this desire on her end for him, I didn’t quite feel it on his end for her. Though I did like that he was straight up and didn’t believe in secrets.
Other than that, it got a little repetitive. This was one of those books where there’s a lot of background story that doesn’t necessarily need to be with the main story. Such as while Adam was Aisha’s biological father and he was white. There really wasn’t any connection I could make to this and her marrying a white man. Other than why should Camile have a problem with her marrying a white man and she fathered a child by a white man so this making her a hypocrite? Major and Geneva aren’t white so why was their story told from beginning to end? Maybe the point overall (in the case of Aisha and Geneva) was where love is concerned to just follow your heart like Aisha did and it lead her to Miles and like Geneva did and it led her to Major, Maybe some people can relate to that. Personally, this was just a racial, love story, that was just so-so and didn’t have much of an impact on me.
Rating: 5
Aisha is woken up by her sister telling her she saw her engagement announcement and people are talking about it at the church because her fiancé (Will) is white. Aisha looks it up online, is satisfied with the pictures, and starts to think about what she’s going to see on her wedding announcement. She thinks about how she met Will through a mutual friend Belinda.
Aisha’s mom (Camille) thinks about how fast time went by from her being a child to her now getting married. She also thinks about how spoiled Aisha is and expects her stepdad Lem to get her a seven-thousand-dollar dress. She thinks about how Aisha wants her to lose weight and lose her locks (which she’s had for 10 years). Then she also wonders where her own life went while she was being a mother and wife (now ex-wife) and how now all she really has is her job (as a social worker).
Aisha thinks about her first date with Will and how there were never any fronts. The two of them were beyond other people’s perceptions of them and were just secure enough to be themselves. She thinks about how tough it’s been with his friend's opinions, not so much as her friend's opinions (who thinks you gotta do what you gotta do) but also other people’s opinions, and how tired of it she is. Her mother hasn’t really had much to say about her marrying him, nor her father. But deep down she knows her father probably wanted her to marry someone more like him. Then there’s her mother telling her to think about what she wants to consider her future children as (white or black). She doesn’t believe in biracial or mixed as an option. It’s either one of the other.
Camille thinks about her past relationship with a Morehouse student who she told her mother was Aisha’s father. She thinks about how this was the first time her family were together and on the same emotional page. This was also the day her brother decided to put distance between him and the family. After quitting law he bought a vineyard with his lover (He was gay). She also thinks about earlier days with Lem and his proposal.
Geneva thinks about the mistake her daughter (Camille) made by getting pregnant but thinks about how Aisha is a fine girl (tho she doesn’t approve of her marrying a white man). She thinks about her marriage to her ex-husband Magor and how she was in love with him, but how he was caught up in all the wrong things. She had a previous boyfriend who was an Alpha and she was an AKA and how they were going to have a prosperous life. She comes from a family of sharecroppers. She was raised by a spinster who taught her to read. But she got with Major and they stayed together for 51 years. She thinks of how she met Major in a jazz club who was playing a set, (while there with a girlfriend). After that she forgets all about Kenneth.
At the engagement party, Aisha is introduced to Miles (whose mentor was his father) and promptly tells her best friend she’s in LOVE and can’t go through with the wedding. Her friend tells her she doesn’t know a thing about him and Aisha says she doesn’t care. She has to have him. She and Miles converse and after a while, she tells him she wants to see him again and gives him a place and date. When they meet she offers up three suggestions to their attraction 1. They can screw their way through it and hope it grows old 2 they can ignore it or 3 they can be together and she can break up with Will that night. He tries to discourage her by saying he’s 40 to her 26 and might even have a kid. But Aisha isn’t swayed. They talk and after Aisha wants to know when she’ll see him again. He tells her how about a cool-down period for a few weeks. He says they have thinking to do. Aisha says he might but she doesn’t and she knows what she has to do but she just doesn’t know how.
Camille thinks about how when Aisha was a teenager she wanted to know (and kept asking) who her father was. She asks at the wrong time after her grandfather’s funeral does Camille even know who her father was or was she screwing every man in sight and she hauls off and slaps her. Afterward, she makes up a lie just to give her something. She tells her about Adam that was her boyfriend. She says she didn’t know if it was his or the guy from Morehouse.
Geneva thinks about the first time Major took her to a restaurant and how her met up with him in D.C. Shortly after she breaks up with the Alpha (Kenneth who isn’t at all bothered) and marries Major. By this time Geneva is already pregnant. She thinks about how she always tried to do the best by her children but how Camille always accused her of trying to be white. But there’s some satisfaction that now Camille sees how it feels to have the person you do the most for to turn around and spit on all the dreams you had for them.
Miles tells Aisha more about his family and his absentee father. Then he clams up wondering why he’s letting her in. Aisha feels closer to him seeing they both come from single mothers and absent fathers.When Aisha comes home, she tells Will she’s been with Camille and he just lets it go. Later she meets up with Will at his grandparent's house and they end up making love in the pool, but Aisha is turned off by him complimenting her hair in its natural state and her breasts.
Camille sees the obituary for Adam (who died from drugs). After this, she goes to Adam’s mother and tells her she has a grandchild. Abby says she wants to meet her. She tells her about the engagement and that she hasn’t made peace with it. Abby tells her she has to let her live her life. After having lunch with Cedra, Aisha goes to visit Will but catches Amanda coming out of his apartment. Aisha tries to get it out of Will that they slept together, but Will says they’re just friends. Aisha starts to walk away but Will grabs her and says that he doesn’t want anyone else. But Aisha leaves and says she’ll call him later. Geneva takes a fall and after this Camille stays with her and tells her about Adam being Aisha’s real father and meeting with Abby. Geneva tells her Trudy (her best girlfriend has cancer). Then they start to talk about Aisha and it gets cleared up that Genevia was disappointed in her for having Aisha. She says once she was born she let everything else go. Geneva tells her she shouldn’t have left Lem and that she thinks Will is wrong for Aisha.
Aisha then goes to look for her (Mile’s suggestion) because she needs some (direction? Clarity?) and finds out he’s passed. So she goes to spend time with Miles in Vermont. Camille tells Aisha she knows that she lost her job. Aisha tells her she knows about her father. Then she tells her she broke up with Will and will be returning his ring. And she does and it’s over. Aisha is approached by a lady that’s a big deal at the magazine Vouge that tells Aisha to give her a call. When they get back to the apartment, they make love. While he steps out there’s a phone call from another woman. Aisha even notices pictures of many women in his apartment. But to his credit, when asked he explains who they all are and what happened with each.
She meets with the lady at French Vogue and wants her to hire Aisha as a stylist. She says she’ll be traveling to Paris shortly for a fashion show. Cedra calls Aisha and she says she’s not feeling her right now. She’s jealous. She says give her a minute and she’ll get over it. Aisha returns a call from Will (who was hammered on the message). He says he wants to try again. He apologizes for groping her and calling her a slut. She says it’s not about that and when he asks to come over she lets him. Before he arrives, she thinks of the day he proposed. When he gets there, he asks can they try again but she says there’s someone else. He knows it’s Miles but he asks if it wasn’t could they. She says she doesn’t know and he says she knows he doesn’t give up easy.
Aisha gets to meet Abby and it goes well. After she promises to send pictures of Adam. Camille, Geneva, and Abby meet up to eat at Genevia’s house. Genevia makes Abby realize that Adam’s anger with her probably came from being black with a white mother. Abby says she always raised him to see people rather than color but as he grew up she could protect him. Will shows up in Paris saying he needs to see her. He walks her to her apartment but doesn’t push up on her to come in.
My Thoughts:
I thought that too much of a big deal was made over Aisha marrying Will because he’s white. But then this was from the mother and the grandmother and I can understand where this comes from. Then I also thought too big a deal was made about Aisha wanting to marry Will for his money. Aisha (tho it was said she was materialistic and while she did want a seven thousand dollar gown) didn’t *read* to me like she was out to be a gold digger. She had her own goals and she seemed to be well for herself without him and before him. I don’t know in the end there was a big fuss over how proud they were of her that she walked away despite the money but then again I just don’t see anything wrong with living a “comfortable” life. I know women always say (those that do) that it gets boring after a while but I just can not see it. Then honestly Will just seemed to have more “passion” for Aisha than Miles did. I know that after a while “fire” burns out but another thing I didn’t get was why she seemed to have a problem with him desiring her all the time. I’m sure a lot of single women would roll their eyes at how she found this offensive.
What Aisha and Miles had felt “flat” to me. I guess the sexual chemistry was there, but while I felt all this desire on her end for him, I didn’t quite feel it on his end for her. Though I did like that he was straight up and didn’t believe in secrets.
Other than that, it got a little repetitive. This was one of those books where there’s a lot of background story that doesn’t necessarily need to be with the main story. Such as while Adam was Aisha’s biological father and he was white. There really wasn’t any connection I could make to this and her marrying a white man. Other than why should Camile have a problem with her marrying a white man and she fathered a child by a white man so this making her a hypocrite? Major and Geneva aren’t white so why was their story told from beginning to end? Maybe the point overall (in the case of Aisha and Geneva) was where love is concerned to just follow your heart like Aisha did and it lead her to Miles and like Geneva did and it led her to Major, Maybe some people can relate to that. Personally, this was just a racial, love story, that was just so-so and didn’t have much of an impact on me.
Rating: 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2015
IQ "and she taught both Aisha and me that if you ever had to question a tone or a deed from a friend, she wasn't a friend" Camille, 233
Except for the last chapter where there was some confusion about who was speaking I thought the interwoven narratives throughout this generational tale worked. Geneva, Camille and Aisha were obviously all products of different times but the Branch women also shared some similarities. Another quibble I had with this novel was the ending for one of the women. After all that talk about how one guy bored them, the novel then seemed to lean towards the boring guy. Maybe that's real life but that seems awfully sad to me to settle for boring. I also think Will should have been fleshed out more especially in his treatment of Aisha as a "dusty exotic" and then it was annoying that he was completely off the hook and got to call Aisha a slut even though she knew darn well they both were...
I'd like to see more novels like this; fairly light about middle and upper class Black people, it's a nice change of pace from the pretty intense novels about Black women, I've really enjoyed my forays into chick lit this break. And while this novel is fairly light it still manages to bring up and discuss some interesting class, familial and racial tensions. It also avoids being a cliche with its ending even if the ending for one of the Branch women did displease me. In addition to the ending the entire novel is fairly unpredictable, in a good way. I started off not liking Aisha but found her dedication to women who suffered from female genital mutilation a nice touch that added an international depth to the novel. I wish a little more time had been spent on it just because it only really came up in the beginning and end and thus seemed random. A pleasant tale of three strong women who manage to let their guard down and in the process raise some interesting questions about the world we live in today while being a nice addition to the marriage plot troph.
Except for the last chapter where there was some confusion about who was speaking I thought the interwoven narratives throughout this generational tale worked. Geneva, Camille and Aisha were obviously all products of different times but the Branch women also shared some similarities. Another quibble I had with this novel was the ending for one of the women. After all that talk about how one guy bored them, the novel then seemed to lean towards the boring guy. Maybe that's real life but that seems awfully sad to me to settle for boring. I also think Will should have been fleshed out more especially in his treatment of Aisha as a "dusty exotic" and then it was annoying that he was completely off the hook and got to call Aisha a slut even though she knew darn well they both were...
I'd like to see more novels like this; fairly light about middle and upper class Black people, it's a nice change of pace from the pretty intense novels about Black women, I've really enjoyed my forays into chick lit this break. And while this novel is fairly light it still manages to bring up and discuss some interesting class, familial and racial tensions. It also avoids being a cliche with its ending even if the ending for one of the Branch women did displease me. In addition to the ending the entire novel is fairly unpredictable, in a good way. I started off not liking Aisha but found her dedication to women who suffered from female genital mutilation a nice touch that added an international depth to the novel. I wish a little more time had been spent on it just because it only really came up in the beginning and end and thus seemed random. A pleasant tale of three strong women who manage to let their guard down and in the process raise some interesting questions about the world we live in today while being a nice addition to the marriage plot troph.
May 17, 2021
Another from my library multigenerational bundle. This one follows three generations of Branch women as they reflect on marriage and family relationships as the granddaughter prepares to marry a wealthy white man (the family is Black). I think I am just not the target audience for this book - I did not connect with any of the characters in any of the generations or how they were thinking. And, there were a lot of editing errors and that just drives me crazy.
September 21, 2025
Not the most ideal.
I have this rating because I didn't like the characters' actions and how, in the end, she was rewarded for those things. There wasn't as much depth to the characters as I would have liked it was a casual read. Didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, but I finished. When I finished, it didn't feel like the end. There is no real attachment to this book.
I have this rating because I didn't like the characters' actions and how, in the end, she was rewarded for those things. There wasn't as much depth to the characters as I would have liked it was a casual read. Didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, but I finished. When I finished, it didn't feel like the end. There is no real attachment to this book.
January 4, 2026
Who Does She Think She Is has been the third novel that I have read by Benilde Little. I like the writing style but I can’t say that the story was something new from her. Little’s other books Good Hair and The Itch have the same central story of a woman looking for love, meeting a man from a higher class, and navigating the class difference without disregarding her self.
June 13, 2024
I enjoyed this novel as a whole but i don’t like how Aisha married her father 🤣🤣.
January 2, 2019
Surprisingly delightful
February 20, 2017
Loved this! Will definitely check out more by this author.
January 28, 2015
I didn't think that I would like this book? However, I did but looking at the title, I didn't understand why the author selected that particular title. Now I know why. Aisha is a pretty girl with a mixed race background that has been given all the privileges by her parents. Now she's engaged until she meets Miles, an older African-American man with whom she falls madly in love with. By fiancé and hello the love of my life. Camille, Aisha's mother has been harboring her own issues; her mother, Aisha's real father, her happiness. To top it off is Ms. Geneva, Camille's mother and Aisha's grandmother. She has a few things that she needs to get off her chest. These three women will have you reading this book and finishing in the same day or the next day.
June 23, 2008
I loved the weaving of the life experiences of the Branch women and how parallel there dilemas were. I couldn't relate to Will - he never explained why he loved Aisha. Will would have cheated like his father. Also, it would have been to predictable for Aisha to meet her biological father - instead Aisha meets her grandmother Abby. I thought that was an ingenious twist to the story. I felt sorry for Cedra - Aisha's best-friend. She missed out on Aisha's wedding. I have a strong feeling we'll hear from her again. Aisha finding Richard Paul for her mother Camille, and ex-husband Lem jealous of her new-found soul-mate was heart warming. I look forward to your next novel.
June 17, 2009
I really liked Who Does She Think She Is? by Benilde Little. While I didn't agree with everything she wrote in terms of how she thought of black vs. white, I thought it was thought-provoking. I definitely want to read her Good Hair, The Itch, and Acting Out.
October 22, 2008
By the time I finished this one I was wondering who she thought she was, too. LOL. Still, I couldn't help admiring the main character's sense of self, even if I did think she was a little to full of herself at times. Just goes to show, you should always go for what you want.
December 14, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I realized midway that I'd read the hardcopy of this books years ago. But I was engaged to listen to it again in its entirety. I forgot how 'free spirited' youth can be.. I had several reflective moments.
March 17, 2016
The best story ever for anyone who knows "friends" and others have asked, "Who Does She Think She Is?" Love the main character and all her honesty about herself and how she does her own thing. Nice to see Miles again and see how he ends up.
January 18, 2008
Kinda pulpy and sweet story from the viewpoint of three generations of a family black women.
May 26, 2009
rounded up from 3.5
November 12, 2013
I just enjoyed this read...it was a nice look at 3 generations of females...their successes and struggles. This was a very good quick read.
Read
January 5, 2014This was a good read.
I really enjoyed this book. Loved every character in the book. Glad I read this want to read more from this author.
I really enjoyed this book. Loved every character in the book. Glad I read this want to read more from this author.
December 28, 2014
I couldn't put it down. Only gave it a four because I wanted more lol
July 26, 2021
This was a good book about three generations of women who are smart, funny and a great example of what family should be.
April 16, 2007
Interesting insight into the "black elite"
September 8, 2007
That was a good read...
Read
August 2, 2011Couldn't put this down. How to decide between two great people to marry. She chose the right one.
Read
December 31, 2018Good read. Very entertaining. I found a few typos but it's still lighthearted and fun!!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews