GOOD HAIR

When a Newark girl meets an upper-crust Boston boy, sparks fly, backgrounds clash, and readers enter the rarely observed world of the Black elite -- a.k.a. the "Talented Tenth" -- in this glamourous, poignant, funny debut novel by Benilde Little, the former arts and entertainment editor at Essence. Alice Andrews is living in Manhattan, working as a reporter in Newark, and spending her free time desperately trying to forget her most recent relationship, with Miles, the smooth-talking investment banker she had mistakenly anointed Mr. Right. Then, on an airplane, she meets handsome Jack Russworm, a third-generation Harvard-educated doctor. With his perfect teeth and good luggage, he shows all the potential for being the real thing. The new romance seems to be going well, but the issue of their different backgrounds keeps popping up. Clair, Jack's mother, seems frosty to Alice. Jack's ex-girlfriend, Sherry Steptoe, the poster girl for Black American Princess-dom, is a constant reminder of all that Alice is not. Amid the bougie clubbiness it is difficult for Alice to reveal who she really is, while Jack appears oblivious to it all. Or is he? Benilde Little offers us a delicious, closely observed, eye-opening look at the world of upper-class Black Manhattan in this novel that is alternately humorous and touching, sexy and bold.

Benilde Little Benilde Little is the Former Arts & Entertainment editor of Essence and a contributing editor to Heart and Soul. She has also written for People, InStyle and the Newark Star-Ledger. She has been a critic on "A&E Revue," a frequent guest on BET's "Our Voices," and has appeared on the "Today Show," as well as numerous other national talk shows. She was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, graduated from Howard University and did graduate work at Northwestern University. She lives in norther New Jersey with her husband, Clifford Virgin III, and their daughter, Baldwin.