selecting books: update on a (so far) failed search

Kristin:
Lorene Cary certainly came to mind. I haven't read it, but many friends have also loved The Color of Water.

Linda-Susan:
I don't know why but Rosa Guy's two novels (neither set in Philadelphia) might be worth looking at.  One is called Friends, but the one I'm really thinking about is Edith Jackson.  This latter one is about a women who raises her younger siblings and, at age 17, is ready to start out on her own, but she makes mistakes that have consequences for her.  The novel has a good ending, but it talks about accountability, maturation, and the burdens many poor women and women of color have to negotiate.  Guy was from Trinidad and just died in June. 

Florence:

• Tumbling, by Diane McKinney Whetstone. “Captures a tightly knit African-American neighborhood in South Philadelphia during the forties and fifties. Its central characters, Herbie and Noon, are a loving but unconventional couple whose marriage remains unconsummated for many years a Noon struggles to repossess her sexuality after a brutal attiak in her past.
• Substitute Me, by Lori L. Tharps. Tharps is an Asst. Prof. of Journalism at Temple University. Her most recent book, “Substitute Me” tells the tale of two women in New York city, an educated nanny and her employer, and their own challenges and journeys of self-discovery. Tharps pulls much of her content from her own experiences as a well-educated African American woman.
• An Angry-Ass Black Woman, by Karen E. Quinones Miller.  “This is the author’s memoir about a girl growing up poor in Harlem during the 1960’s and 1970’s and, facing obstacle after obstacle, grows up to become a successful author.” It was selected as one of the top 5 street lit books of 2012.
• Zachary's Wings, by Rosemarie Robotham.  “A love story set in Philadelphia that features class conflicts, race, and sexuality issues.”