A Family Affair

From Publishers Weekly

Major reunites some of the cast from his popular debut, Good Peoples (2000), in another engaging if predictable tale that explores the erosion of trust and commitment among the members of an African-American family. Jasmine, a 17-year-old teenager blossoming into womanhood, is adjusting to living with her Aunt Peg and Uncle Leonard Moore in Camden, N.J. Jasmine views her successful cousins, Amir and Myles, and their beautiful wives, Marisa and Kenya, as role models and yearns to find a soul mate of her own. But first she's got to test the rules. Abandoned by her parents, Jasmine is troubled by adults and their refusal to understand her feelings about trust. She's determined to be her own person, in spite of the strict rules set by Aunt Peg, and she's also reluctant to recognize the benefits of a good education. Major is especially adept at highlighting the conflicts between the older and younger generations. Conscious of the poor choices made by Jasmine's mother, especially involving men, Peg will do whatever is necessary to ensure that her niece avoids a similar fate. Things get complicated when Jasmine meets Darius, a young man with a troubled past, and Peg and Leonard's relationship seems to be heading south. Older teenagers interested in romance, the target audience for this novel, will be drawn by the inviting jacket art, depicting an attractive African-American couple.
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From Booklist

In this sequel to Major's first novel, Good Peoples (2000), Myles and Marisa Moore are recently and very happily married. Meanwhile, Myles' attractive, intelligent, and strong-willed teenage cousin, Jasmine, has moved in with his parents. She is very enamored of Marisa, although her circumstances have made her angry and bitter. Myles' brother, Amir, and his wife, Kenya, share in the family's concern for Jasmine, especially when Darius, a resident of the halfway house that Kenya runs, is released at 18 and begins to date Jasmine. Marisa convinces Jasmine that if she is determined to date Darius, then she must introduce him to the family and not sneak behind her aunt's back. The family's woes are compounded when Myles' and Amir's father is caught cheating. Now the brothers and their wives must show tough love for the rebellious Jasmine and also provide unconditional support for their mom as she rebuilds her life without her husband of 40 years. A loving portrait of a family sharing good and bad times. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.