Black Book Chat – Mama Dearest by E. Lynn Harris
Written by RAWSISTAZ · November 3, 2009 · 549 views
Welcome to another Black Book Chat as we discuss our October Book of the Month, MAMA DEAREST, by the late E. Lynn Harris. Readers everywhere mourned the death of E. Lynn Harris, but ran out to pick up a copy of MAMA DEAREST in hopes of seeing it hit #1 on the NYT Bestsellers List.
In case you missed it, check out our Online Tribute & Celebration.
MAMA DEAREST by E. Lynn Harris
Karen Hunter Publishing, September 2009
400 Pages, Hardcover, $25.99
ISBN-10: 1439158908
ISBN-13: 978-1439158906
Book Description
New York City, you’ve been warned: Yancey Harrington Braxton is back. The ambitious singer and actress is fired up to move past her recent professional and personal setbacks — including an explosive romance with NFL tight end John Basil Henderson — and prove her talents are stronger than ever. After being out on tour, Yancey realizes what she really wants is to star in her own reality TV series, and she’s even found a rich and well-connected lover to make it happen. There are, however, two women fierce enough to derail Yancey’s plans with ambitions of their own: Madison B., a hot new bombshell taking the music industry by storm, and Ava Middlebrooks, who happens to be Yancey’s own mama dearest. READ MORE
LET’S CHAT!
Jump in and share your thoughts as we talk about Yancey, Ava & the crew.
RAWSISTAZ Literary Group was founded in 2000 to support and promote the work of African-American authors. The groups, on and offline, represent close to 600 readers, writers, aspiring writers, and others interested in literacy and the impact on our communities.
Welcome, welcome, everyone!! Let’s get things started for our discussion by sharing with us your favorite character, overall thoughts on the book, and/or least favorite scene.
AS A NOTE — Please hit “Reply” under the person’s comment you want to reply to as it’ll keep the discussion/thread a bit cleaner. Thanks!
-Tee
With this book, I didn’t really have a favorite character. The book was entertaining and I enjoyed it, but something was missing for me and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it while reading. Maybe it had to do with how cruel/selfish Ava was. As a mother, I couldn’t relate, so I would definitely give her the vote for least favorite character.
-Tee
You know I love anything that E. Lynn Harris writes. I can always count on him for a good story, but in this book, Ava was a “hot mess”. I mean, how do you treat your child the way she did?
–Brenda
Ava was ruthless and I couldn’t wait until she got hers….LOL!! I even thought of an actress that would play her character very well…..Jenifer Lewis…I love her as an actress.
Sharon, that’s an excellent actress to play Ava
I ditto that, or Angela Bassett.
-Tee
I so agree..grrrr
What did everyone think of the book?
I didn’t comment earlier because I had already posted my take, but definitely stop back through when you finish and let us know what you think.
-Tee
I enjoyed the book even though at times I wanted to strangle Ava. There was a sadness to this book that I felt as a mother because of the relationship between Ava and Yancy. Madison I really worried about not knowing if she was going to be her grandmother’s clone. Thank goodness her father was in her soul.
I liked the book enough just for entertaining purposes. To me…it seemed the story was rushed. I love his earlier work much better.
The ending portions did feel a bit rushed and I knew from the beginning Ava & S. Marcus were behind everything. That part was too predictable and there was really no real closure for S. Marcus realizing that Ava was actually the one who he should’ve had it out for. And, Yancey sure didn’t ask any questions when she met him did she? LOL. I would’ve been Googling and everything to get more info, especially since he seemed sooooooo nice.
I did like that Yancey and Madison were able to build their relationship at the end, but I wondered why no one had already figured out who she was (Madison), especially since she was going by Madison B and looked like Yancey. Yancey had used Yancey B as a stage name too didn’t she?
-Tee
Yes, he didnt work through that (E.Lynn) for me as well.
I’ve been reading the limited edition on Google books, but my copy hasn’t come in the mail yet.
LOL, look at you all in the mix and haven’t finished. Be careful though because there will be spoilers. (As a librarian, you’re probably okay with spoilers, huh?)
-Tee
Yeah…I’ll still read the book. LOL!
See, I knew it!
A few questions:
1) What did you think about the relationship between Ava & Yancey? Was it more of the same thing we’ve seen in previous books or did you feel Ava was over the top this time around?
2) How did you feel when you found out Yancey was struggling and pretty much broke? Did it help or hurt her “image” or did it make the end of the book that much more enjoyable?
3) What did you think about S. Marcus from the beginning? At the end?
4) Back to Ava…could you imagine a mother treating her daughter in the manner she did Yancey? Did you feel sorry for her or want to issue a beatdown? What about Yancey? Was she a pushover this time around?
5) How did you feel about Basil & Raymond making an appearance in the book?
Here are my answers and there may be a few spoilers:
1) Ava and Yancey’s relationship is pitiful. I actually felt sorry for both of them. I know I have a meddlesome mother at times, but she is not such a glamour hog that she would try to diminish me or get rid of me for her on sake. My mom is always pushing her kids to shine as bright stars, sometimes even if she has to get the flashlight herself. I thought Ava was well over the top this time. How does a mother conspire to have her daughter’s life by getting her set up for a crime and then taking over her house and with no regret or remorse (Shaking head).
2) The fact that Yancey was broke and struggling, made her seem much more human. Don’t get me wrong now, Yancey had some of her mother’s ways too.
3) In the beginning, I thought Yancey was onto something good with S. Marcus. But he started getting a l’il shady by the middle of the book. When he gave her the bag to keep with money in it, I wanted to jump through the pages and say, “girl, don’t you do it. It’s a setup!” He had lost all credibility with me by the end of the book, even though he should’ve been on Ava’s case.
4) Ava was an arctic blast in this book, but I was surprised at what a pushover Yancey was. She obviously had some compassion for her mother to let her stay with her after getting out of prision. I thought Yancey should have stood up to her more. Yancey was so concerned about herself and her life, she couldn’t see what was going on around her.
5) Basil and Raymond were a nice touch to this book. Raymond has always been my favorite character of all E. Lynn Harris’ characters.
–Brenda
I agree with Brenda and would add..no way in HAIL could a man give me a bag of money like that for the reasons he stated.
I thought Ava and Yancy’s relationship was almost unreal. I mean, how could a mother set out to run her daughter’s life on purpose. Ava was just beyond over the top.
I think it helped her image because it somewhat humbled her.
I knew he was too good to be true, but I think Yancy should have been suspicious when he gave her all that money.
Girl, look Ava needed the beatdown of all beatdowns. She was ruthless and cruel. Yancy needed a backbone….she was getting on my nerves too.
Sharon,
Yes, I agree with you about Ava, she was ruthless and cruel.
Brenda
So far it seems okay.
I’ll admit I hadn’t read E. Lynn Harris in a long time. But this book wasn’t the E. Lynn Harris of old. It seemed a bit rushed. I knew early on that S. Marcus was up to something and when introduced to Ava, I knew it had something to do with her. The relationship between moither and daughter was a hot mess. As an adoptee looking for my birth mother, I appreciated the storyline about Yancey and Madison B. It was a quick read but not his best work.
Rosa
Thanks so much for chiming in, Rosa!
What did everybody think about the storyline between Madison B and Yancey? And, if we must lets throw Ava into this mix also with what she tried to do?
–Brenda
Somebody already said it…HOT MESS. Yancey seemed a bit weak in this novel, but I liked her growth at the end.
Madison, I liked that her father raised her and that she had a good heart. I also appreciated her moments of being a teenager. What I didn’t get though was her best friend and the hint that she was gonna steal the show or betray Madison down the road.
Ava? Too much.
-Tee
I thought Madison was going to be the young “Ava Middlebrooks” there for a minute, but I’m glad her father instilled some human decency in her. I liked how Yancey was with her at the end also.
Ava–already said my piece about her.
–Brenda
I thought we were going to have a little Ava too!! I had forgotten about Lyrical. I am so glad she turned out to have good sense. But she seemed to be a necessary part of the story.
I didn’t really think that with Madison. I liked her from the beginning and think she did well to balance her feelings. It was like she wanted to act like she didn’t care, but she really did and in way that really helped Yancey (no matter how predictable it was).
I was surprised Ava didn’t come up with a scheme to get some of Madison’s money.
-Tee
I think she did have a scheme, but never got a chance to use it when she could not get close to her at the signing.
I agree Tee !!
I haven’t read a lot of E. Lynn Harris’ books and while I appreciate the quick read, it was a little predictable at times. Ava was just over the top completely and needed much more than a beatdown. Yancey should have stood up to her mother on soooo many occasions, but she didn’t and I didn’t quite understand why. She knew her mother was beyond selfish and would stop at nothing to ruin her….
I figured Madison would come around eventually but she had to be a “teenager” for a moment. But I would sure love to meet Madison’s Dad! He seemed like a specimen……LOL
And I agree that Jennifer Lewis would play a good Ava.
LOL, ditto, ditto sis. I really liked his character.
I admit that I didn’t read the book and am not familiar with the characters, but from the discussion it sounds like Ava was a real piece of work! The kind of person that you love to hate and if she was I can understand the ‘beatdown’ comments.
Ok, what about Lyrical (I think that’s her name), Ava’s friend from prison? What did everyone think of the character Lyrical? Did anyone get the impression that maybe Ava and Lyrical had something going on while they were on lockdown?
–Brenda
Originally, I thought Ava and Lyrical were “lovers” in prison. But now thinking back on it, I think Lyrical may have been infatuated with Ava’s bigger than life personality. Ava sure didn’t treat her right after they got out. Ava was a nightmare. I got mad at Yancey on several occasions for not standing up to Ava or putting her butt out.
Rosa,
I thought the same thing about Ava and Lyrical. I got the impression that Lyrical looked out for Ava while in prison, and Ava, in turn, took “care” of her in prison. Ava sure made a lot of promises to Lyrical and I don’t think she lived up to any of them.
–Brenda
Okay, some more questions for ya.
- What did you think about Lyrical and her part in the story? I liked her in-your-face attitude and that in the end, she stood up to Ava.
- What about Madison B’s friend? Did you think something was going to happen that would make her question her loyalty? It was almost like a set-up for a follow-up book or for something to go down further in the book, but it was never touched on again.
- Was it too coincidental that Yancey and Madison both had reality shows? It didn’t really bother me since reality shows are the norm now. I did see the part as Yancey playing Madison’s mother on the show as a bit predictable, but I liked how it ended.
-Tee
- What did you think about Lyrical and her part in the story? I felt like there may have been more history with Lyrical and Ava. I really wanted to see her go at Ava hard with all that she found Ava was trying to do to her own daughter
- What about Madison B’s friend? Did you think something was going to happen that would make her question her loyalty? Somewhere in the Madison B story I got the impression that I was looking at the beginning of next spinoff from this series, but like you Tee, I noticed it was never addressed again.
- Was it too coincidental that Yancey and Madison both had reality shows? Knowing what Madison was Yancey daughter and there was no relationship between them, something had to bring them together. I thought a reality show was a pretty good way. I just didn’t like how they both seemed to want to use the other. I was looking for Ava to be a bigger role, albeit a more destructive one, in the their reunion.
–Brenda
I’m currently reading it and while i love, love , love E Lynn Harris i have to say that if i’d never read anything about Yancy and Ava i’d swear they were two drag queens. when ELH came to Dallas the last time and talked about this book he was so excited and i was too b/c i ready for some more drama. I’m going to go out on a limb and say someone tampered with this book. it’s not his style and the person it’s told in really leads me to believe the editor or somebody besides ELH is responsible for this
Lesley, it felt “different” to me too, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
What made it drag-queenish to you? I must’ve missed that or maybe I just don’t know what you mean by that. LOL. Elaborate for us.
Definitely let us know what your final thoughts are when you’re finished.
- Tee
i thought for sure that Ava and Lyrical would have a knock down drag out confrontation with Ava killing Lyrical or something almost as bad. If Ava was willing to kill her own daughter, then killing Lyrical to get her out of the way would have been nothing to her. It seemed like all of the storylines were left unfinished, with the exception of Yancey and Madison B. Too much information was left out. I wondered what happened when S. Marcus found out that it was Ava that had been with his father and not Yancey. I wondered what happened to Lyrical’s boyfriend. I expected Ava to kill him or get rid of him somehow so she wouldn’t be found out. This book caused me to do too much guessing with no answers given in the end.. I also thought maybe ELH may have been ill when he wrote this book and couldn’t give his best.
I didn’t think about Ava killing Lyrical or S. Marcus, but yep…that would’ve been something I would’ve had liked to read, simply because it is so Ava-ish. On the flip side though, Ava didn’t really think anyone else had an up on her, so she probably didn’t even care. Flaunting around like she was on the A-list and all….LOL. She was a trip.
-Tee
I like Lyrical’s ghetto fabulous character and the way she had a “moral streak” because of her issues. Fitting ending with all the problems of the book.