In the very public work that I do, I too often hear, as I just heard yesterday, well-meaning white people say, "The way to take care of diversity is to never mention it again."

And it is this kind of message that reminds me that we have a ways to go in race relations.

This book is a collection of stories from famous women, both white and black, about their experiences with race.

While every chapter had me deeply moved, I must say that the chapter titled, "Contents Under Pressure: White Woman/Black History," by Catherine Clinton, was the most moving.

This is a story about a white woman who teaches African-American History.

This is, a reverse discrimination story that has value for everyone to read. By her name, and her profession, she is assumed to be African-American. But she is Caucasian.

Her published work has led to many invitations to speak on race relations.

But, when they meet her, in person, and see that she is not African-American, things change.

And she had to put in a tremendous amount of time, to show that she is here to stay, despite the resistence of others.

In the end, this professor taught her students that the thickness of your skin, and not its color is a useful measure for success.

This is a professor whose mission lives on through her students.

I invite everyone male or female, of all races to read this book, as you think of yourself as a fly on the wall.

You will grow, beyond your wildest dreams.

As we begin to approach the next century, race is still an important issue that should not be ignored or denied. As we live in a multiracial society, it is important to take time out and listen to ourselves and others. This is a provocative book that should be read by all women who take the time to intellectually consider themselves and their role as women and mothers, sisters, neigbors, and lovers. How will we teach our children and eachother to consider race? These essays bring forth some harsh realizations of the boundaries that truly separate black and white women and what must be overcome if we truly want to unite. It is a good dose of reality that many of us would benefit from not only reading, but thinking about and discussing. The truth is awfully hard to swallow.

I don't know if I should admit this confession, but I enjoyed this book immensely; Annie reminded me of myself in a lot of ways, so that may be the reason. I've always enjoyed the idea of a little bit of detective work, as long as I'm guaranteed I won't be in any REAL danger!. This book was a sweet and amusing romantic/suspense novel, and I enjoyed going with Annie on her adventures.

The Train home was an excellent novel. I finished this in just one sitting. The sublte nuances and how each character is developed, she is a truly gifted writer.

This is a rare book. A writer sensitive to the vulnerable feelings of children, Ms. Shreve also shows respect and compassion of a kind too little displayed in this time of confusion of values in this modern capitalist society.In other words, there's no agenda here but appreciation of the intrinsic value of a human being learning to live with honor and empathy.

Don't let the title fool you - this is less a ghost story and more an examination of how a family can change as the children grow, as seen through the eyes of the eldest boy, 11 year old Peter. The cats (both alive and ghosts) are used as symbols of the change in the family.

Peter, the narrator, lives in a family where his father's job makes the family move to different countries almost every year. Peter enjoys the constant change and thrives on being the eldest child - often in charge. But when the family finally stops globe-hopping by settling down in Boston, the changes that occur to the family are not changes that set well with Peter and suddenly, change becomes his enemy.

Reader, beware - this is not a happy book (although the end can be viewed as a ray of hope). However, Susan Shreve paints a wondrous picture of Peter's life and the conflicts that are roiling about inside of him. This book is a fantastic departure from the standard conflict of "here's your good guy...here's your bad guy" that children are so often force-fed. Most advanced young readers will likely find this book perfectly to their liking. I suspect adults (especially ones with kids) will also enjoy this book and view it on a completely separate level from younger readers as they imagine routes that their family may take as their children grow.

Overall, this is a truly excellent book. Highly recommended.

-Likely to make you cry: yes -Likely to make you laugh: possibly - especially if you remember your childhood. -Reading Level: Advanced youth to adult -Reviewer's Favorite Authors (so you can compare to your favorite for possible interest connections): John Irving, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Charles Dickens, Kurt Vonnegut, J.D. Salinger

Shreve does a good job of portraying strong female characters from several eras in America's history. They are different from most of our average ancestors, yet are just barely believable as people who could have been real. I especially enjoyed the theme that character traits often skip generations; that a woman who sees no resemblance to herself in her mother can often look at her grandmother as if into a mirror. Although I felt at times that I was being swept through history at a pace too rapid to comprehend, I realize that this correlates to a human life - how time seems to move ever more swiftly the older we become. Not a quick read, nor a brainless one. Pick this up if you enjoy character development and the roles we all play in the history of our families and our nation. (Recently aired as TV movie called "A Will of Their Own")

I have not read the book and I might plan to. I cannot seem to find this movie on home video for it appeared as a t.v. movie on NBC. The movie was terrific. Eleanor's name was changed to Susan and Anna's name was changed to Annie. The movie is about four hours, that includes commercials. Amanda is the storyteller of her family's history and throughout the whole movie each woman will defy their point in history. From the 1890s to the 1990s, " A Will of Their Own" once again shows that we women are the true equals of men and that we have just as much influence on the world like men. I recommend that you watch the movie and read the book.

This is a great book that held my attention throughout the whole novel. The author gives a true description of how women in the past century have had to overcome oppresion to do what made them happy, even if it went against society's norms. It may not be a "feel good" novel, but then again, oppresion is not a "feel good" subject for those that have lived and perhaps overcome it.

Josh is always in trouble.Even if he moves.I got it beter.I never get in trouble.^_^. It was a good book when i mean got it was good..... well c ya

In this 1998 sequel to The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates (written last but chronicling Joshua's life between Susan Shreve's two earlier Joshua T. Bates volumes) Joshua had rejoined his fourth grade class after Thanksgiving.

As in the first two books, he found himself tangling again with the class bully, Tommy Wilhelm, who would do anything to make Joshua and his friends look bad.

Like always, Joshua learned some valuable lessons, not least of all that taking things--even from your parents--is always a bad idea.

My two children each raced through all three Joshua T. Bates books.

Parents take note: This series is perfect for second and third graders who want chapter books that are challenging but not too hard. The characters are realistic, the dialogue exactly duplicates that of children this age, and the stories are compelling enough to keep kids turning these pages. Alyssa A. Lappen

I liked the book because it was funny and you could learn a lesson from it. My favorite part was when Joshua's sister dyed her hair purple. I recommend other kids read this book because it's good to read.

This book is about this girl named Eliza, which thinks she looks fat and ugly when she looks at herself on the mirror. Then one day, she met the girl who could not hear and only read people's lips to understand them. They both wanted to play on a play, so they sign up and both were accepted on a play.
I would rate this book a 4 (****), because it seems boring but interesting to read. I like the book, even though it is not the setting that makes me like the book, it is about the story. I like both of the characters, and they are okay. I am just wondering how did Eliza's friend learn how to read people's lips, so she could understand what they are saying. The book is just so-so, I mean okay, and the author didn't really use a lot of descriptive languages.

I think that this is a wonderful heart-warming story that is suitible for all ages and should be givin an award for it's great details and creativity!

This book was okay. It was kind of unrealistic, though. First, Alyssa decides to change her name to Blister for no reason, then she decides to steal her dad's girlfriend's clothes. It was weird. I wouldn't spend my money on it.

I loved this book. It is very interesting. It was kind of boaring in the beginging but once you get in to the 3rd chapter you kind of know what happened and what is going to happen. The book was about a girl named Blister and she is going through a hard time in her life because her parents have been married for a long time and her parents are finally gettign divorced. Blister is very upset about this. So her and her mother stay to live in the same house and the father is told to move out of the house, so he moves out and he finds another lady. He starts to go on dates with her and then after a couple of years they finally get ingaged and then aventually get married. Blister does not like what her father is doing to her. Blister thinks that her mother and father could work things out and get back together again but that is not what happens. So her dad re- marries another women adn Blister does not approve of it. Know Blister wants to get revenge from her father since he will not lister to what Blister has to say. So she goes to her fathers new house and.....If you want to know what happens next you will have to read the book!! I liked the book alot and I think that you will too.

Blister is a great book. Blister was so brave, and she always looked on the bright side. She took control of her own life, and it made me want to be just like her. It was one of the best books I've ever read. It was wonderful, stupendous, and just plain great. I read it over and over again.

I think The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates was an okay book. Joshua, the main character, was very humorous. Joshua just ended the summer after a year of third grade. He is shocked and embarassed when he learns he has to repeat third grade over. Josh wasn't happy about the situation at first, but then Mrs. Goodwin came in. Mrs. Goodwin tutored Josh after school and during school she made him feel beeter about himself. Josh takes the test to fourth grade. Did he make it or did he not? Read The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates to find out the ending and all the hysterical details.

This book is about Joshua T. Bates who spent all summer having fun...that is until Labor Day when his mom gave him the devastating news ---he had to repeat third grade !

He thought his year would be terrible and that everyone would make fun of him because he flunked third grade.

But his teacher cared and gave him the extra help he needed to succeed. Joshua made new friends and learned that with hard work and and practice he could make it into fourth grade where he belonged.

Kids our age will like this book because it is a page turner and it teaches you that no matter how bad things may seem, if you believe in yourself, you can do anything!

I would highly recommend this book for any age. It begins with Joshua having the best
summer. Then his mother told him that he had to repeat the 3rd grade. Joshua was
very embarrassed, mad, and said he was moving to East Africa. He called his teacher a
tank. Then Joshua gets teased about repeating 3rd grade. Mrs. goodwind helps Joshua
get better grades. Joshua took a test to see if he could be promoted to 4th grade.
Read the book to find out if Joshua passed.

the 8 year old i babysit didn't like this book, but she isn't at the boys-boys-boys stage. i picked this up off the playroom table and read it while the girls played their harry potter game.

i thought it was cute. i was and still am a bookworm, and it was fun to read a pre-teen book for the new century. no one in a judy blume book ever wore purple lipstick, or black clunky shoes- as amanda, the good does.

even now at 28, i felt the throb of misplacement and confusion that amanda is going through in the book. seventh grade is hard. and while shreve touches oh-so lightly on some of the bigger issues young girls face (peer pressure, self-image), she doesn't really supply the reader with a whole lot of substance. she mentions that amanda's clothes are all too tight several times, and i was hoping she'd give the reader some small self-acceptance with your body bit, but instead she chose to concentrate on being yourself by turning away from gossip girls and turning toward the on the mend- once troubled, boy.

a light, cute, read devoid of preachiness, and ripe with the predictibility this genre of books usually carries.

This story is about a girl named Amanda. She dyed her hair when she thought it would come out black but, instead of coming out black it came out purple. Amanda wanted to dye her hair black because Fern, the most powerful member of the club at Alice Deal Junior High, had dyed it the same color. Alice Deal was a junior high and Amanda went to it. Amanda had a brother named Joshua and a sister named Georgianna. She liked it better in her elementary school named Mirch Elementary. She would always get straight A's in Elementary and excellent's throughout the day. Then Fern started talking to Amanda and told her to smoke a little bit of the cigarette that she had because when Amanda was in the bathroom washing her hands Fern asked Amanda if she had a spare cigarette Amanda lied and said that she didn't have one right now. Then Amanda's parents were talking about her report card and when it came. Amanda said to her parents that the report card didn't have all A's. Then the next day the report card came. Then her dad saw the report card it had all C's except for a B in P.E. and D's in math and social studies. When she got to school and was at her locker she met Slade. He was only the hottest in the junior high. Fern was jealous of Amanda so she told Amanda things that weren't true about Slade. Slade was Amanda's boyfriend. And then Fern told Amanda to steal some products at CVS and she did. Slade said that for Amanda to not be in the club because Fern makes people hate each other and like Fern so he told Amanda not to join the club. He said the club was more like a gang. Then Fern asked it Amanda wanted to be in the club and she said no so later on Fern called and said that she asked Slade's so-called girlfriend, that was a skinny blond, to join the club.

Hello i'm Monica .Susan shreve has created a book of when a girl named Amanda Bates turns good to bad . This girl is now in junor high and all these changes like ,dieing her hair black ,skipping classes ,wearing her mums black clothes. Now she has muddled up with the 9th graders who smoke and take drugs . A boy named slade and a girl named fern who want Amanda to join a club .
She even gets in a adventure with fern in shoplifting.
This book is for 8-13 year old children .
They will be able to connect with Amanda.