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Lately my life has been a lot of travel, on planes, trains, and in a station wagon that is so beat up I am pretty sure it's not going to pass... Continue »

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The Middlesteins
Jami AttenbergJami Attenberg 9781455507207

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How Stella Got Her Groove Back

by Terry Mcmillan

ISBN13: 9780670869909
ISBN10: 0670869902
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Stella Payne is forty-two, divorced, a high-powered investment analyst, mother of eleven-year-old Quincy - and she does it all. In fact, if she doesn't do it, it doesn't get done, from Little League carpool duty to analyzing portfolios to folding the laundry and bringing home the bacon. She does it all well, too, if her chic house, personal trainer, BMW and her loving son are any indication. So what if there's been no one to share her bed with lately, let alone rock her world? Stella doesn't mind too much; she probably wouldn't have the energy for love - and all of love's nasty fallout - anyway. But when Stella takes a spur-of-the-moment vacation to Jamaica, her world gets rocked to the core not just by the relaxing effects of sun and sea and an island full of attractive men, but by one man in particular. He's tall, lean, soft-spoken, Jamaican, smells of citrus and the ocean - and is half her age. The tropics have cast their spell and Stella soon realizes she has come to a cataclysmic juncture: not only must she confront her hopes and fears about love, she must question all of her expectations, passions, and ideas about life and the way she has lived it.

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

: emmejo, August 10, 2010 (view all comments by emmejo)
42 year-old Stella is bored and tired of her job, her house, her friends, her whole life. So when her son goes to visit his father she decides on a whim to go on vacation to Jamaica. She wants to take a break from herself, and life's complications. She wants to dance, swim, tan and flirt without forming an attachment. But things get complicated when she falls for a guy half her age. She struggles with feeling that it is wrong to be with someone young enough to be her son, and desperately tries to fight her emotions off. But will she succeed, particularly when a handsome young man is trying to convince her not to?

I really enjoyed this story. I was a little apprehensive at first because, like Stella, I am not usually comfortable with romances with large differences in age between the two parties. However this is definitely a story about true love, not lust, and both age and discomfort about the age difference are just two more hurdles this couple have to figure out if they can get over. This book is not for those who want elaborate sex scenes and mushy declarations of undying love, both parties in this book are too sensible and the story is grounded in reality, not fantasy.

The only reason the book lost a star was because of the tendency of the author not to use punctuation when Stella was feeling emotional. Although this conveys the "stream of consciousness" feeling well, it made it very difficult to read. Right near the beginning there is a sentence that takes almost an entire page! I can see that scaring away a lot of readers.
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Product Details

ISBN:: 9780670869909
Author:: McMillan, Terry
Publisher:: Viking Adult
Author:: McMillan, Terry
Author:: McMillan
Location:: New York :
Subject:: General
Subject:: Fiction
Subject:: Romance
Subject:: Divorced women
Subject:: Romance - Contemporary
Subject:: Jamaica
Subject:: Americans
Subject:: Love stories
Subject:: Divorced women -- United States -- Fiction.
Subject:: African-American women
Subject:: Romance - General
Edition Description:: Hardback
Series Volume:: GTR-325
Publication Date:: 19960501
Binding:: Hardback
Grade Level:: from 12
Language:: English
Illustrations:: Yes
Pages:: 384
Dimensions:: 9.37x6.36x1.46 in. 1.46 lbs.
Age Level:: from 18

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Fiction and Poetry » Literature » African American » General

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