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Who Asked You?
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Who Asked You?
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Who Asked You?
Audiobook10 hours

Who Asked You?

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

When Who Asked You? begins, Trinetta leaves her two young sons with her mother, Betty Jean, and promptly disappears. BJ already has her hands full dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams--all the while holding down a job delivering room service at a hotel.

Her son Dexter is about to be paroled from prison; Quentin, the family success, can't be bothered to lend a hand; and taking care of two lively grandsons is the last thing BJ thinks she needs. But who asked her?

LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 17, 2013
ISBN9781101630785
Unavailable
Who Asked You?

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Reviews for Who Asked You?

Rating: 4.28645835625 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

96 ratings20 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Trinetta leaves her two young sons with her mother, Betty Jean, and promptly disappears. B.J., a trademark McMillan heroine, already has her hands full dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams, all while holding down a job as a hotel maid.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Terry does it again!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Really good read...
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was thrilled to find this book on the shelf at my local library. I had no idea Terry McMillan had a new novel! I have been a fan of her writing since I read Mama years ago.Who Asked You is the story of Betty Jean Butler, a woman in her 50's struggling with her husband's Alzheimer's, one son in prison, a daughter addicted to drugs, and another son (a successful chiropractor) who is ashamed of his family. Add to this her two sisters, one overly religious, one overly judgmental (and both with problems of their own). When her daughter drops off her two young sons with Betty and never comes back, Betty is really put to the test.Told in turns from the point of view of each of the main characters, this story is hard to put down. McMillan is an amazing writer- her characters are fully rounded and believable. You can't help but love them all. Well, all except Arlene maybe....I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to her next novel.Read this book if...*you love Terry McMillan*you love women's fiction*you love African-American fiction
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Funny, sad, tragic, and every page is appealing. Each character is well-drawn and it's not long before it feels like I know them personally. Like many siblings, the sisters are so different from each other with each having a unique view of what is regarded as the right thing to do. The differences between living in a "nice" neighbourhood or in "the 'hood" plays out in much of this family drama of mixed races. The main character, Betty Jean, was my favourite, a grandmother who brings up her daughter's children and suffers the most from her dysfunctional family. This was my first book by McMillan but there will be more.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was not familiar with Ms. McMillan's writing before reading this book. This is the engaging story of the trials and tribulations and their families with a couple other characters mixed in. The positives of the book is that it is effortless to read and the pages just fly by. Also, there is a good deal of humor mixed into the drama. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character which sometimes took me a while to the gist with the new persona's point of view. Also, the majority of this book takes place in "the Hood" but all the characters have a better grasp of the King's English than I do. One of the son's Dexter. composes an eloquent letter to his mother with not one hint of dialect after several years in prison (where he is when he writes it) which leaves me scratching my head. On the whole, however, this is a good story and a well written book..
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't get into her last one but maybe I'll give it another try because I liked this one so much. It's about three sisters - Betty Jean, Venetia and Arlene - and also many other characters, including Betty Jean's grandchildren, her friend Tammy, and more. The story had a somewhat slow start but once it took off I was really into it. Terry McMillan has a great ear for dialogue and her writing is chatty and insightful at the same time. I'm looking forward to her next novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In California there are three sisters: Arlene, Venetia and Betty Jean. These three women have husbands, children, grandchildren and friends which in the end made me feel like I had awakened under a giant family tree and each branch had a story to tell me. In the novel each character is given a voice. For example, one chapter is named Quentin, another is named Nurse Kim. It is like the story is too encompassing to be told by one voice. Each character needed to have their own say about the circumstances of their lives. In Who Asked You? by Terry McMillan it is easy to experience the growth or lack of growth in that person's life.The problems these characters face are manifold and at the same time ordinary: legal problems, grandparenting problems, weight problems, disagreements between siblings, racial difficulties, money problems, addictions, death, etc. All are here in this novel. Somehow the novel is not overpowering neither does it seem like a gumbo soup of situations the author had never faced or heard about in her daily walk of life. Each situation, each character seems touched with the magic wand of reality.I did have problems with the relationship between Nurse Kim and her elder patient, Lee David. I couldn't imagine what went on would really go on with two people so different in age. It especially shocked me that Nurse Kim enjoyed it. Yuck! This part felt a bit like slapstick comedy. Perhaps, Terry McMillan gave me the chance to breathe and laugh at a really silly situation.One situation I appreciated among many in the novel is the one with Omar and his mother, Arlene. It takes years for Omar to admit he is gay. I expected Arlene, his mother, would love him, kiss him and say it is a family affair.I love you anyway. I expected this reaction because it seems families are all happy and in La La Land when a brother, son or daughter choose the gay lifestyle on t.v. I think this is not really true. I think we have candy coated every situation where someone comes out gay. I am sure there are families where the mother or sister or whoever might act like Arlene.Arlene did not immediately fall into her son's arms. First, she became angry. It took a while for her to accept his new truths, his new lifestyle. It caused a nasty disruption in the family too. One sister, Betty Jean, slapped the other sister in the face because Betty Jean did not tell Arlene she knew Omar was gay for years. This seemed all very real to me and not lopsided. I'm sure families accept or don't accept new lifestyles in different ways because we are uniquely different in our experiences no matter that we are blood.Families are not perfect systems. Families are made up of people who grew up together or lived together for a very long time. Then, chose their personal directions. Families are not to be likened to a set of identical twins. We may look alike as siblings. I may act like mama. You may act like daddy, but overall we are completely different. It's like a new creation comes forth from the arms of the family. This is beautiful especially when diversity can be accepted and love is unconditional. I think Terry McMillan wanted me to remain focused on the fact that the happiness of each individual is what is important.For me, this is what the author wrote in many different ways through the lives of her characters. Do not expect all the people in a family to make the same decisions about how to live out life. In life, family branch away from each other like tree roots only to come back to the family circle wounded in different ways. Come to find out Arlene had suffered a pain quietly for years dealt her by a first cousin.This is why she was so bitter.Do strive for unconditional love which can see overlook the differences and continue to love through all the days of the family. Do not expect unconditional love to to glide down from the sky like a graceful bird. First, there is shock and maybe all the reactions of a grieving person because whom they thought they loved ten years ago is a different person today. Expect the fallout. Wait for it to go away. Then, realize it is fair and alright to continue loving your family no matter what other people might say or think. I think Leo Tolstoy wrote it best in a quote from Anna Karenina."All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina terrymcmillan
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Terry McMillan is one of my favourite authors. I loved the realistic characters in the book. It had the happiness and sadness of real life. I was a bit unsure about the extremely happy ending. Not sure Mr. Heaven was very true to life.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a first-rate production of, for my money, one of McMillan's best books. McMillan is a complex and dangerous writer who never shows off and is never predictable. Some of her books have been read as manifestos for self-discovery and breaking free from relationships. Here, she tells a moving story of people stuck in relationships and situations they cannot cast off just by hitting the road with a convertible. The result is a funny, sad and very hard to peg novel about women and men living in Los Angeles in the first decade of the new millennium.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great family story about real life events. Different from Terri's norm but that's what makes it great ❤❤
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of her best. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were so real and multi dimensional
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The characters had be involved immensely! I love it!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book kept reminding me of Waiting to Exhale, because it was just as good as that one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The story was great but the audio voices were confusing b/c you have different people reading the same characters. So I often forgot who was talking and made it hard to follow.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Really good book I love when they get actors to narrate books it really brings the story of alive.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great book!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Nice Family story. Everything turns out ok
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    narrated by Terry McMillan, Phylicia Rashad, Michael Boatman, and Carole DeSantiThe basics: Who Asked You? is the story of Betty Jean, a hardworking hotel room service worker, and her family and friends. As the novel opens, Betty Jean's daughter Trinetta drops two of her three children, each of whom has a different father, for Betty Jean to care for indefinitely. Betty Jean is already struggling with caring for her ill husband, who has a daytime nurse care for him while Betty Jean is at work. One of her sons is in prison. The other never visits and rarely communicates. Her two sisters are always eager to share their opinions. Betty Jean's main source of support is her best friend and neighbor Tammy, who faces family struggles of her own.My thoughts: How Stella Got Her Groove Back is one of my all-time favorite novels. I have read it more times than any other novel in my adulthood. Perhaps because I first read it in high school and re-read it throughout college and my early twenties, I foolishly assumed I had outgrown McMillan. Who Asked You? felt like reconnecting with an old friend, and it reaffirmed my love for Terry McMillan and her ability to create so many life-like characters in a singular narrative.I was instantly enchanted with this novel and its characters. The novel opens in Betty Jean's voice, and she orients the reader (or listener in my case) to this extended cast of characters beautifully. While there is a large cast of characters, I was never confused and never struggled to tell them apart. Even more remarkably, although Betty Jean is perhaps the core character, as all other characters have a connection to her, she is not the main character in a traditional sense. There are so many narrators who make the story even more rich and layered. The reader sees the motivations and reactions of all the characters, even when they lack self-awareness.Audio thoughts: I realize more and more how much I enjoy multiple narrators in a book with so many narrators. Phylicia Rashad voiced the older black women, Terry McMillan voiced the younger black women, Carole DeSanti voiced the white women, and Michael Boatman voiced all of the men. Initially, I expected each narrator to only voice one character, but I soon realized how many narrators McMillan was utilizing. One particular delight: Phylicia Rashad narrating a character's thoughts about not measuring up to Clair Huxtable. The narrators all handled scenes with laughter, pain, and wisdom beautifully. DeSanti's narration left me cold at first, but as the novel went on, I think it made sense.The verdict: Who Asked You? is simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. Listening to this novel was like hanging out with friends so close they might as well be family, and I have missed their presence in my life since I finished this novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow! One of the funniest books I have ever read! I am sure the print would have been excellent; however, with this type of book, nothing better than a talented writer and excellent performers-- which are made for the character's part. Each of these performers were five star quality, and you could envision each unique character within each setting.

    I had purchased the book; however, had to drive from West Palm Beach, FL to Amelia Island, FL (south to north) and from there to North Carolina---could not wait to start so purchased the audio for my road trip. I had to buy the audio, as could not wait--have read all Terry McMillan's books and when I listened to the audio sample - I knew this would be the ideal book to listen to on my iPod for the long trip.

    It exceeded all my expectations and more. Turned out, it rained the entire two days of travel and I did not even mind, as I laughed out loud at all the funny characters and it made the time go by faster. I actually finished the entire book about an hour before I reached my destination. I could not even listen to another book, as wanted to just bask in the wonder of this incredible book and smile as I wanted to meet each one of these characters.

    I loved all the many different characters! My favorite character was BJ, and of course the banter with her sisters, nurse Kim and sassy neighbor Tammy. Oh, the guys! Loved them Luther, Omar, Ricky and Quinten. It was hard to choose a favorite as each of them had a take away and a story to tell.


    If you love humor, wit, family drama- this book is for you. Terry McMillan has a winner and can easily see a movie --can only imagine the cast!

    Tyler Perry needs to be all over this on OWN. Would definitely listen to this again! Ideal for the car or road trip – never a dull moment!