Yolanda Joe's fictional foray into Chicago's maddening dating game, He Say She Say (Doubleday, $21.95, 0385485077) has all the key ingredients for a sassy, smart bestseller. The central character, Sandy, is a young black professional who finds herself on the fast career track without a reliable man in her life. Her heart has been broken repeatedly, and she has been the victim of lies more frequently than the American voter. Her supporting cast is solid, the man-shy Babe, the erratic TJ, and the high-stepping Speed, TJ's papa. All havoc breaks loose when Sandy, weary but persistent, casts her lot with TJ, a jazz musician with big dreams. Every one of the novel's key characters has a turn at the mike, having their say, in this no-holds barred story of fickle love, steadfast commitment, confused family ties, and rigorous self-exploration.
Some writers only get better with time, as Kristin Hunter Lattany's Kinfolks (Ballantine, $23, 0345407067) shows in its generational look at two black women, their children and friends. Known for her memorable 1966 novel, The Landlord, Lattany uses her characters, Patrice and Cherry, to reveal what happens to cultural revolutionaries in the afterlife, life after the protests, raised fists, and slogans. Their children, Patrice's son, Toussaint and Cherry's daughter, Aisha, are slated for a walk down the aisle, but not before a series of odd calamities and zany characters enter their lives. The novelist, who knows her craft well, has written an entertaining gal-pal yarn that celebrates love, happenstance, and the rites of passage in family life.
For anyone who may have wondered what fictional marvel would come next from acclaimed novelist Tina McElroy Ansa, the wait is over. Her book, The Hand I Fan With (Doubleday, $23.95, 0385475993) is a most unusual romantic fable with a supernatural twist. Lena McPherson of Mulberry, Georgia, is her town's leading citizen, accomplished in all aspects of life but love. When Lena and her friend, Sister, "work roots" to call forth a man for the lonely woman, Herman, the friendly ghost, appears and her days are changed forever. The result is a lush but ethereal love story that heats up the heart and engages the mind.
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