Terry McMillan

This book is really ZERO stars. It comes off as a cash grab for Terry McMillain to have source material to make a Waiting to Exhale II.

Let's start with how all the good guys go to shit, shall we?
Gregory Hines passed away at some point either before or during her writing this, so she wrote Marvin out the book (he gets murdered buying a Xmas tree in a gang shootout, wtf?). After being married to Gloria for 15 years, you know she back to being a wreck like she was pining for her gay baby daddy show more back in the day. Her getting to happy is gaining back all the weight she lost after he dies and having her deadbeat ass girlfriends jock her constantly about it.

James (you know the guy that was married to the dying white woman in the first book that swept Bernie off her feet respectfully) is now ia con artist with a very alive and black wife, who has ran through all her money while Bernie is a pill head. That's right,her getting to happy is being a mainlining junkie circling the toilet bowl of ex's because, get this, she winds up taking John back after his trash wife leaves him and their mulatto kid behind.

Robin is still circling the bowl in love on the shallow end of ex's as well, since her getting to happy is returning back to Michael (you know, she could have had a V8 the peen was so tiny) because he loses weight. I'd rather she go back to flip flopping with Russell trifling ass (who is also floating around, same as before, attempting to be something he aint).

Savannah finally gets a husband that ain't tied to somebody else, and her getting to happy is dumping him because after some years she's bored with him. So now, at age 50, she wants alone time after bagging and tagging her man. That's her getting to happy.

Doesn't help that Whitney Houston died by the time this was released (and she was in talks to star in the sequel) so I'm expecting Savannah to die off in Book 3.

This is a redundant snooze fest slash complete desecration of characters we know and love from the 90s. Pass right on by it, unless you like the weak, dull, boring, neverending explorative narration that has underwhelmed all of Terry McMillan's books since How Stella Got Her Groove Back. This one is worse than A Day Late and A Dollar Short, and that one was a stinker. show less

Funny, sad, tragic, and every page is appealing. Each character is well-drawn and it's not long before it feels like I know them personally. Like many siblings, the sisters are so different from each other with each having a unique view of what is regarded as the right thing to do. The differences between living in a "nice" neighbourhood or in "the 'hood" plays out in much of this family drama of mixed races. The main character, Betty Jean, was my favourite, a grandmother who brings up her show more daughter's children and suffers the most from her dysfunctional family. This was my first book by McMillan but there will be more. show less

narrated by Terry McMillan, Phylicia Rashad, Michael Boatman, and Carole DeSanti

The basics: Who Asked You? is the story of Betty Jean, a hardworking hotel room service worker, and her family and friends. As the novel opens, Betty Jean's daughter Trinetta drops two of her three children, each of whom has a different father, for Betty Jean to care for indefinitely. Betty Jean is already struggling with caring for her ill husband, who has a daytime nurse care for him while Betty Jean is at show more work. One of her sons is in prison. The other never visits and rarely communicates. Her two sisters are always eager to share their opinions. Betty Jean's main source of support is her best friend and neighbor Tammy, who faces family struggles of her own.

My thoughts: How Stella Got Her Groove Back is one of my all-time favorite novels. I have read it more times than any other novel in my adulthood. Perhaps because I first read it in high school and re-read it throughout college and my early twenties, I foolishly assumed I had outgrown McMillan. Who Asked You? felt like reconnecting with an old friend, and it reaffirmed my love for Terry McMillan and her ability to create so many life-like characters in a singular narrative.

I was instantly enchanted with this novel and its characters. The novel opens in Betty Jean's voice, and she orients the reader (or listener in my case) to this extended cast of characters beautifully. While there is a large cast of characters, I was never confused and never struggled to tell them apart. Even more remarkably, although Betty Jean is perhaps the core character, as all other characters have a connection to her, she is not the main character in a traditional sense. There are so many narrators who make the story even more rich and layered. The reader sees the motivations and reactions of all the characters, even when they lack self-awareness.

Audio thoughts: I realize more and more how much I enjoy multiple narrators in a book with so many narrators. Phylicia Rashad voiced the older black women, Terry McMillan voiced the younger black women, Carole DeSanti voiced the white women, and Michael Boatman voiced all of the men. Initially, I expected each narrator to only voice one character, but I soon realized how many narrators McMillan was utilizing. One particular delight: Phylicia Rashad narrating a character's thoughts about not measuring up to Clair Huxtable. The narrators all handled scenes with laughter, pain, and wisdom beautifully. DeSanti's narration left me cold at first, but as the novel went on, I think it made sense.

The verdict: Who Asked You? is simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. Listening to this novel was like hanging out with friends so close they might as well be family, and I have missed their presence in my life since I finished this novel. show less

After an unexpected loss, Loretha Curry takes a somewhat reluctant, but necessary, stock of her life, family, and friends. As usual, Terry McMillan gives us a story about real women who deal with life as it comes, none of them perfect, but no complete villains. Life sometimes gives us bad apples and McMillan's characters show us how important it is to deal with them with the help of your friends and family. Reading McMillan is always a very nice experience and this one is no different. show more Actually, it was just what I needed to read in this 2020-disaster of a year. Recommended for all. show less