Hand-me-down Heartache

September 17, 2001
Butler's second novel (after Sorority Sisters) deals sensitively with the impact of domestic abuse on an African-American family and the choices made by a young woman dealing with issues of self-doubt while seeking acceptance in her relationships. Nina Landers has just graduated with a B.A. in journalism and dreams of becoming a broadcast sports announcer. Until she lands a job and can afford her own apartment, she returns to Atlanta to live at home. There she discovers that all is not well between her parents: her mother Juanita's attempts to please her husband, Smitty, only result in her being the target of his rage. Nina and her brother, Brice, must finally acknowledge to each other that the relationship between their parents has worsened, and that Smitty's behavior is out of hand. Meanwhile, at a party with her good friend Janelle, Nina meets Maurice, a Georgetown graduate and basketball player soon to be drafted by the Miami Heat. She falls hard for the good-looking star, believing that he is everything she wants in a man; she is even willing to explain away his subsequent infidelity and temper. Eventually, she is forced to face up to reality and decide just who she really is—and whether she has been foolish to ignore the attentions of another, more loyal, suitor, a rapper she has known since high school. Building on the successful formula of her first novel, Butler continues to focus on the lives of sorority sisters as they make the transition from college coeds to young women dealing with life, the job market, love and relationships. 11-city author tour.

March 1, 2002
Adult/High School-Abusive relationships and the power of sisterhood are addressed in this novel. Nina Lander graduates from college and moves back home, where she becomes painfully aware of her father's abuse of her mother. At the same time, she begins a relationship with Maurice, a promising basketball player with a bad attitude and an abusive nature. While out at a nightclub, the young woman bumps into a high school classmate, now a successful rapper. Leo makes it very clear that he is interested in her, but she is committed to making her relationship with Maurice work. Things come to a head when her mother becomes ill. The two women become close and begin to share some of the reasons they find themselves attracted to abusive men. Nina begins to see her mother change from a passive wife into a person who stands up to her husband and speaks her mind. With the support of her friends and family, Nina learns what true love really is. Her parents, her brother, her best friend, and Maurice and Leo all ring true. Sadly, there are teens who can identify all too strongly with the young woman's struggles to keep her relationship going with her boyfriend, and the desperate measures she takes to try to hold onto something that's not really there. This work is a sequel to Sorority Sisters (Villard, 2000), which deals with college life and love relationships. Teens will find both works worthwhile reading.-Patricia White-Williams, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2001
The characters that appeared in the author's previous novel, " Sorority Sisters "(2000)--Cajen, Chancey, Malena, Stephanie, and Tiara--are reunited at Chancey's wedding. Nina Lander, their sorority dean of pledges, is also in attendance. Nina is relocating to Atlanta, moving in with her parents. Returning to her parents' home is increasingly frustrating because her father treats her mother rudely and her mother accepts his behavior. Nina is partial to athletes and begins dating Maurice, a rookie NBA player. The long distance and the groupies make maintaining the relationship difficult for Maurice, so he abruptly ends it. As Nina works to get over her unhappiness, she begins dating an up-and-coming rapper, Leo "LJ" Love, who has had a crush on her since high school. Everything is going well until Maurice comes back into her life, begging for a second chance. She is forced to choose. Some hear-to-heart talks with her mother help Nina to become more insightful, and she learns powerful lessons about love, relationships, and family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)