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Title: Departures

Author: Adrienne Bellamy

Narrator: Sisi Aisha Johnson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-07-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Departures, from Adrienne Bellamy, has been compared to such classics as The Women of Brewster Place.

This novel is the tale of 10-year-old Amber, whose mother has all but abandoned her and her sisters in an effort to find a man to curl up with at night. Despite her abusive home situation, Amber still has other role models in her Philadelphia neighborhood. Reba, Shelia, and Lucy are three women who try to do their best for Amber, while figuring out their own relationships and desires.

Members Reviews:

Not What I Was Expecting..........

I agree with the review "Down The Stairs". The book started off great! Ambers family dramas were off the hook! Her mother Paula was crazy and as the book progressed she moved from a selfish skank to a cruel child abuser. This part of the book was fantastic. You could really feel for Amber and wonder how any woman could be so heartless towards her children. Amber suffered more than her older sister and baby Renee.

Instead of keeping focused on Amber and her family Ms. Bellamy kept swiching chapter by chapter to other characters. This is were I have the biggest complaint. The book jacket description is very misleading. Amber has little to no contact with Shelia the mother of four, Reba the mother of six or Lucy the college grad single. There was never any interaction between Amber and these women. It was if Ms. Bellamy was telling several different stories at once and there was no real connection or realistic link between the stories.

The book would have been excellent if Ms. Bellamy would have stayed focus on Ambers family. In particular Renee's dad Horace. He was a character that deserved so much more time. Instead too much of the story was spent on Sheila's live in help Lenora, her part time baby sitter Pam; Horaces baby sitter Emily and her relationship with Jared; Lucy's wirlwind romance with Kevin and so on and so on and so on........All these other people were destracting.

However, Ms. Bellamy is a talented writer and I will give her future works a chance.

Great

The book keeps you on your toe you can't just read a page at a time because every page is adding on to the story

I LOVED IT..

This is GREAT read.. it made me laugh.. cry.. and not want to put it down.. LOVED IT.. now reading the #2 I'll tell you about it.. :)

Breaking free

DEPARTURES is a welcomed change from the usual relationship fiction so readily available. This story takes place in a Philadelphia neighborhood where everyone knows each other and all their personal business. The cast of characters is a wonderful mix of people who will make you laugh out loud and think pensively.

Amber is a ten-year-old girl, who knows without a doubt her mother is going to kill her, because she hates her so much. As smart as Amber is, she cannot make her mother, Paula love her. With the pain her mother gives, will Amber be able to find true happiness?

Paula has a reputation in her circle of acquaintances. She considers herself adventuresome, but most consider her to be fast and just a little crazy. She thinks nothing of using men for money and she definitely doesn't worry about the affects her lifestyle has on her three daughters from three different men. Yet, she will experience a set back that will change her life and the life of her children.

Sheila was so mad at her husband before and after he died, that she does the unthinkable to take out her revenge and to take back her life.