Customer Reviews

Crossing the Line

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I dare you to read this book.

Yes, CROSSING THE LINE is entertaining and Ms. Castoro's humor, phrasing and understanding of Southern living is on the mark, but this book will make you uncomfortable. Why? Because you will come face-to-face with your prejudice.

Perhaps you are not as tolerant as you thought you are? Not to be confused with the ignorance of racism, this is strictly about comfort levels.

How many times have you heard someone say, "I'm not prejudiced, but-?" On the other hand, maybe you subscribe to the good-enough-to-hire-but-not-good-enough-to-marry philosophy when it comes to race, love and relationships. Maybe you are too PC and negate the issue of race to the point where you refuse to acknowledge it in a person thereby making them nonexistent. They have no race, no culture, and no identity.

Thea Morgan has heard it all. Not only has she heard it, she is living it. Thea suffers with dignity the not-so-subtle snubs of being "light, bright, and damn near white" in the black community, while in the white community she is PC'd into non-existence by people who "don't think of her as black." She has, understandably, built walls about her for protection and she defends herself better than Tyson did with Lewis. She can give as good as she gets. Yet this does not mean she is any less vulnerable to the gut-wrenching blows life throws her way.

Then there is Thea's daughter, Jesse. How does she come to terms being from a biracial home? Jesse is the quintessential teenager testing her boundaries against authority while trying to establish her own independence and identity. But how can you define yourself if you have to choose one heritage over another? What if others insist to do it for you? We may never know exactly how Halle Berry or Mariah Carey dealt with similar issues at Jesse's age, but here is an excellent basis for assumption.

Finally, there is Reverend Xavier Thornton. He is, perhaps, the most charming but illuminating representation of a black man I have encountered in a book in a long time. Here is a man willing to take the responsibility for his actions without seeming like he is putting on a hair shirt or trying impress the ladies. This brother is genuine. "We need to stop breaking our arms patting ourselves on the back" he says and the sermons he preaches in this book will make you do that.

How will Thea reconcile her feelings about the past she shares with Xavier and allow herself to have a future with him? Has society's racial beliefs and expectations segregated them out of the right to be happy?

This is trademark Laura Castoro. She puts her characters in situations where you think the resolution is simple and obvious. Yet Ms. Castoro always keeps her stories grounded in reality so while there may be this breathtaking romance, you are still reminded there are bills to pay, children to discipline and crises to overcome. This lovefest has a price.

The characters in CROSSING THE LINE are real. Ms. Castoro's far-reaching insight borders on the clairvoyant. These people are not perfect, they are not superheroes, but they possess amazing strength. Race or gender does not matter. This could be you or someone you know. The story is true but the names have been changed to protect the (not so) innocent.

However, Laura Castoro crosses her own line in this breakthrough novel. Ms. Castoro has written dozens of novels under the name Laura Parker-mostly romance and historical romance-but CROSSING THE LINE cannot be easily pigeonholed. Her story transcends the color barrier and deserves to transcend the barrier of genre that most writers subject themselves to. This book is as hard to compartmentalize as it is hard to put down.

CROSSING THE LINE is a novel about family, race, and faith but all of these issues revolve around one topic-relationships.

Write on, Ms. Castoro.

What is Black and White and red all over? If you said a newspaper you would be wrong. It is Crossing The Line, a novel by Laura Castoro. Black is the color of his skin, White is the color of hers and Red is the color of their love.

In Crossing The Line, Ms. Castoro introduces us to Thea Morgan, a fair skinned Black woman, who could easily pass for White and made the choice to marry White. All was right in her world until her husband dies and leaves her with a teenage daughter to raise. At her sister's wedding she finds herself in the company of her first love, Xavier Thorton, an All American football player, affluent and prominent minister, and a dark skinned African American. Realizing she is still drawn to him, and he to her, causes her to have face some unresolved issues of the past that she thought were all behind her and introducing new ones that she wasn't ready for.

This book quickly gained my attention and moved at a pace that kept me reading. Ms. Castoro's ability to develop characters is highlighted in Xavier's and Thea's complex personalities showing their many layers; the prominent layer for Thea being a Black woman with White skin and that for Xavier being an ex-football player now prominent minister. Ms. Castoro creatively wove together an intricate past for these characters with what proved to be an overwhelming present.

Although I enjoyed reading this novel, I felt that there were some situations that were left undeveloped and I had unanswered questions. I was also a bit disappointed that the line that was crossed (noting the title) was not the primary aspect of the story. Nonetheless, it proved to be an entertaining read.

Kotanya
APOOO Bookclub

Though successful at work, Theadora Morgan struggles with her personal relationships. Her almost sixteen year old daughter is giving her a hard time over trusting her with boys. Her Aunt Della is giving her a hard time over attending her sister's third wedding though Thea and Selma are far from being close to one another. Her white in-laws want their granddaughter raised Caucasian-American though their son is dead and Thea is half African-American.

Thea attends Selma's wedding where the worst yank occurs as she meets her first love African-American minister Xavier Thornton. Ignoring her deep feelings that still exist for Xavier, Thea tries to live up to the image that her extended family expects of her even though they pull her in different directions. However, Xavier refuses to drop out this time as he knows he loves Thea, but she harbors a secret that will probably end several of her relationships if it surfaces.

Laura Castoro provides more than just an enjoyable relationship drama as she digs deep into the issue of racial classification in a world that is increasingly rainbow-ethnic. The story line centers on Thea as the pivotal point with several spokes going from her to various other characters. Because the under siege Thea seems so real, fans will feel for her daily plight as everyone tries to paint her to fit their by the numbers portrait of her. In turn she makes the novel as she learns you can't please everyone so it is time to start with yourself. CROSSING THE LINE is a powerful contemporary relationship drama that showcases the abilities of a wonderful author.

Harriet Klausner

The premise of this novel is interesting and unique. The heroine is a light skinned black woman who is the widow of a white man. A new love, a black man this time walks into her life and shakes it up. Love, race, class and family expectations all SHOULD make for a riveting novel. It doesn't work out that way. The heroine is too weak and pliant for my taste and the romance just didn't ignite. There is too much preaching in this novel as well. I know that the author was trying to make a point but she didn't have to bore me with it. Nice try though.

A powerful story of one woman's experience in the world--or rather in both worlds,as Stephen L. Carter refers to them; the darker nation and the pale nation. Laura Castoro's novel feels very honest and real. Everyone may recognize the heroine's rebellious teenage daughter and the hero's protective family! This is women's fiction with lots of interesting family relationships, but the book is very romantic, too, with a compelling and complex and, um, quite sexy hero.

Really enjoyed this book. The plot and characters were both believable, something not often found in women's fiction. I loved Thea because she was "real." No phony, cardboard character here. She was strong, but like many females, doubted both her strength and identity.
Loved the focus on family values and love. When all is said and done, this is what we're left with. And as this author so aptly wrote, despite the struggles and heartache to get there....it's worth it in the long run.

Thought the race issue was very tastefully and realistically written about. Written with sensitivity and insight.
This book gets a 5 star and I highly recommend it. Do yourself a favor and curl up to meet Thea,the sexy and sensitive Xavier, her daughter Jesse (a typical teen) and her delightful and entertaining, Aunt Della in addition to some other wonderful characters.
Looking forward to Laura's next book.

"Crossing the Line" is a riveting story that encompasses all the major life themes: love, money, power, fame, race and death. The characters are extremely well written, definitely not flat, one dimensional book characters, especially Thea and Xavier the main characters. Ms. Castoro weaves a rich story that draws the reader into each character's experience and leaves you crying, frustrated, cheering or laughing with them. This book also portrays the race issue from a perspective that is foreign to most of us and it allows the reader to examine his or her own biases and stereotypes. Excellent!
-ES

This was actually a good book with a great story line. I think it's only because the author is fairly new she made it a little to wordy. It could easily been 50 pages less and I would have still gotten the picture and enjoyed it more.

I had to go back and read sometimes because the phrases confused me. This book mainly focused around Thea a very fair skinned sister who had gone through many twists and turns throughout her life. But in the end I think everything worked out with everyone around her. All of the trials she'd been through, she deserved some final happiness in her life as well as Xavier.