Told in the first person, main character Ava Johnson returns to her hometown of Idlewild, Michigan. Ava up until recently lived in Atlanta, GA. However, after finding out that she is HIV positive, she ends up having to shut down her business after losing customers when her status is found out.

Ava is blunt, funny, and at times sad when she reminisces about growing up/being raised by her older sister and brother in law. Ava has plans to stay with her sister for just the summer before heading to San Francisco to live. She feels like her HIV status there won't be a problem and she can start anew.

However, returning home brings its own trials and tribulations.

Besides Ava, we have her big sister Joyce, their long-time friend Eddie, and a whole cast of younger women that live in Idlewild trying to do what they can to get by raising their young children. I liked the character of Joyce, who even though her own life had been hit with non-stop tragedy, was still doing what she could to make things better for those around her.You have Joyce doing her best to bring a sense of order to Idlewild by heading up her group that talks to young mothers about safe sex and how to protect themselves from assault.

I come from a small town that reminds me of Idlewild. No it, not solely black. However, the town is dying. It physically hurts me when I go home these days, because the houses that used to be full of parents and kids are now all boarded up. We have a large amount of crime and drug use is through the roof. It used to be that I could walk anywhere I wanted and I would know everyone and everyone would know me. Now there are strangers in every house that I pass, and most of them would not think twice about trying to rob me if they think I have anything expensive on me. It makes you sad to think of a place that was so alive starting to fall into disrepair. Idlewild is very much a town like this and to see all of the characters trying to do their best to keep the place alive feels frustrating since you know that they are not going to be able to do much to stem the tide.


I thought that Ms. Cleage's writing style was effortless. Everything flowed together so nicely that I found myself reading and reading and reading without taking breaks. In one sentence you would have something heart breaking said by Ava or another character, and in the next I would find something so funny that I would laugh out loud.

The setting of Idlewild comes alive to you and you can picture every house, the lake, the people in your head as you read. I thought that the ending was perfect and I was surprised to see that there was a sequel to this book, I Wish I Had a Red Dress (Idlewild #2). When I get some more free reading time, I will definitely read this sequel to see what happens to Ava, Joyce, Eddie, and everyone else in Idlewild, I Wish I Had a Red Dress (Idlewild #2).

“What looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight.”

Absolutely loved this book! Great message without being preachy. Look forward to reading her other books!

After setting aside my initial bias that this was Diary of a Mad Black Woman but with HIV instead of an abusive husband as the main chapter’s breaking point, this novel was insightful, filled with practical, simple joy & heartbreaking realities.
Written almost conversationally, this story follows Ava from her wild oat sowing days in Atlanta her the return to her hometown of Idlewild in Michigan. The contrasts between these two locales seems obvious, but on closer inspection of ‘the world we live in’ they are the same in all the wrong ways.
Cleage does a masterful job of detailing the struggles of young Black Americans without preaching or demonizing. She also weaves Ava’s story & that of her sister & new love as they work to restore dignity & hope to as many of the young people they can!
Inspirational but practical, Cleage’s novel has the perfect balance of laugh & cry that make life the roller coaster it is.

I enjoyed this read. Little mix of a bunch of traumatic events all ending up in a happy story.

First, this is one of my most favorite books and one which I have recommended many times. I picked it up in a bookstore right after it was published because I was intrigued by the title. It's strange how many incredible books I have picked up just because of the title. This book is hysterically funny, poignant and has the most incredible love interest ever, although this is far from a romance novel! (I have bought multiple copies of this book because of loaning it out so often.)

Loved this book from page one. Bittersweet and redemptive.

I found this to be such an easy, sweet, and engaging read. I don’t think I’ve ever finished another book this so quickly (I’m a slow reader, and also tend to go for things that are quite cerebral). I’m glad there was a happy ending, and admittedly peaked ahead to the epilogue to ensure my favorite characters were still around.
I don’t know that I believe in soul mates, but I do believe in deep, unconditional love. And I know what it is to crazy shame and feel loveless/hopeless about your romantic future like the narrator.
Grateful to spend some time in Pearl Cleage’s creative space. There’s some great commentary and reflections on the Black experience, generational divides, delusions of Christianity, and more.

"An Oprah book club selection" was one of the Read Harder challenges this year, and I wasn't sure what I was going to read because nothing on the abridged list that used to be on Oprah's site (it has since been updated to be complete) looked interesting. I found this book in passing on a completely different list of books and noticed the little Oprah logo in the corner and went, aha!

This is an interesting little book and sort of a time capsule of 1997 when it was written. I feel like it would have been really affecting and groundbreaking had I read it 20 years ago, except not really because I would have been a little too young for it but you know what I mean, but now it's a little more... quaint?

That's not to say it's not good. It has an interesting perspective on AIDS, teen sexuality, poverty, racism, religion, drug addiction -- all the controversial issues you can cram into a pretty short book without going overboard, and it does cram them in really well. It also has a cute romance subplot and a bit of a meditation on place. It's fun and a little suspenseful and it has some things to say that still need to be heard in 2018, so it's worth it to push past the weirder late-90s bits to get to them.

I would have probably read this in a day had I not got it so late. I truly enjoyed this book, like I did not want to put it down. Perfect way to start my reading off this year right. I am excited to get the next book. This is such a beautiful story about unconditional love. This book really had me smiling hard reading certain parts. No matter the extent of the obstacles, love shined it's light above it all. AMAZING!!!

I read this one years ago

And it is still one of the most profound books I have ever read. It isn't easy to explain the appeal for a book with this subject matter, but, this story speaks to me. I'm just happy I had the chance to enjoy this one again. Some parts I had forgotten about, but again, this one is amazing.

Pretty good. Loved the conversational style of writing. I felt trusted. Also learned a lot from this book. I don’t know much about HIV or AIDS, but I did lots of extra research while reading this and I’m glad I expanded my view. I enjoyed the story quite a bit. People need to help people. People need to love themselves. People need to love people. I think this may have encouraged me to love more.

One issue I have with this book: Eddie. He’s presented as so perfect, and no one is, even when you are madly in love with them. Also, when he offered to fix things with the teenagers, that is entirely inexcusable. Entirely.

Also, it seemed like the reverend got a bad ending. Instead of going crazy and being institutionalized, couldn’t he have gone into a rehab program? He had done super sketchy things, but hadn’t done anything that is actually a crime.

If you’re reading this, make sure you don’t mind some mild sex scenes.

An African American woman from a small town, living in a big city discovers something that changes her life and the way she views it forever…she was told she is HIV positive. Ava is a successful business woman, running her own salon in Atlanta. Her life may have been a bit full of sex partners, but she is a good woman and a hardworking woman. She feels, when told she is HIV positive, that the men she has had sex with deserve to know. So she sends out letters telling them all and telling them that they may want to get tested themselves to be sure they don’t have it too. She has no idea how long she has been carrying this disease, so she just sends out letters to any man she had sex with. She then continues on with life, dealing with the disease and trying to still run her salon. Which is working ok…until a man’s wife comes in screaming at her for sending out a letter like that to her husband and telling everyone that Ava has “the AIDS”. After this the salon goes under and Ava sells it for a wonderful price and moves back home to Idlewild, Michigan to be with her sister Joyce for the summer. Joyce (who has had rough times herself, losing her husband to an ice accident) is wonderful support for Ava and is more than willing to have her. While in Idlewild Ava has lots to deal with on top of dealing with her own sickness. Joyce is a “do-gooder” and “helper”, she thinks she can “fix” things just by caring enough to try to. Joyce has a club for young African American women/girls that is meant to help them better cope in life, called the Sewing Circus. This is a club through the local church.

While Ava is in Idlewild for the summer many things happen…Joyce is banned from having the Sewing Circus at the church because of a meeting that circled around ways to practice safe sex (by using jumbo hot dogs on chopsticks to practice putting condoms on). Also, a young mother addicted to crack has a baby with Joyce’s help, and leaves the hospital in the middle of the night…without the baby, never to come back again. The family of the girl doesn’t want the baby and is also a crack house, so Joyce gets temporary custody of the baby. Joyce and Ava come to love the baby and are bewildered when child services come out of the blue to take the baby back to give her to the family of the mother (because they found out there is money given to whoever takes care of the baby). On top of all that going on, the small town is now having break-ins, there is something weird going on with the Good Reverend and his wife from Chicago that just doesn’t seem right, the secret comes out in town that Ava is HIV positive and the boys in town make that news a living hell for Ava, AND Ava finds herself falling in love for the first time, but she is scared to because of knowing that her disease makes relationships hard and a future almost impossible. Ava and Joyce make it their goals to: keep the Sewing Circus together, even if it isn’t through the church; try to get an innocent baby out of the custody of a crack house on wanting her for the money; and digging in deeper to see what secrets the Good Reverend and his wife have. But can they do all that before it is too late? They learn that all of the goings on are connected to someone that they least expect. Can they save the baby before something bad happens to her? Can they keep the Sewing Circle together for supporting the women in it? Maybe there are some things that can’t be “fixed” by a loving woman who tries…or can they be? What about Ava and her new found relationship with Eddie? Will she tell him about her being HIV positive and risk losing yet another person in her life? If he doesn’t run from her and her disease can she bring herself to keep him in her life when she is doomed for death?

This book was amazing! I fell in love with the characters in this book. Ava was an exceptional character and woman in this book. She is strong in the face of her illness. She is determined not to let it beat her down. Ava has such strong support from her sister Joyce and friend Eddie that she decides Idlewild is where she is meant to stay, not move on after the summer. They help her see that things are worth fighting for and that love is a beautiful thing, no matter how short it may be. To give a summary of this book in a short version would be impossible, so much happens in this book. Even in my summary above I had to leave some things out. So much happens and so much is addressed. This book may be fiction, but it has a very true story plot and feel to it. As I read this book I found myself forgetting that is was indeed fiction. This was a very touching and enlightening read for me. I love that it’s main component was a disease that you hear about, but never really hear about as far as the lives of those that have it. This book has touched me in a way that is not easily described. I would highly recommend and have recommended this book to anyone.

5/5 Stars!