Sorority Sisters: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Tajuana Butler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Bouncy and dialogue-driven, but awkwardly written, this debut novel strives to teach its predominantly African-American, 20-something female audience how to become strong and self-confident women independent of the financial or emotional support of family and boyfriends. While certainly a good life lesson, this maturing process occurs for five college women during one melodramatic sorority rush week, and there are so many characters with predictable, public-service-announcement problems that it's a challenge to sort them all out, much less learn from their mistakes. The hapless heroines--cute ingenue Cajen Myers, spoiled rich kid Stephanie Madison, romantically torn Malena Adams, ghetto-born-and-raised Tiara Johnson and book-smart Chancey Wright--must overcome their diverse economic and social backgrounds in the process of pledging a choice sorority. While the women vie for the best look and the best guy (both of which receive an excessive amount of description), the five friends also seem to compete for "worst obstacle to success," what with Cajen's herpes, Stephanie's drug-addicted biological mother and other issues like cheating boyfriends, unwanted pregnancy and low self-esteem. These are all worthy topics, but Butler's crowd of characters commonly experience revelations that conveniently guarantee a shallow victory for all by story's end. The book aims for suspense--will all five women join the sorority? Will they commit to the right man?--but the stereotypical characters and predictable situations remain insubstantial, although perhaps entertaining and even informative for a teenage audience. (May) FYI: Butler founded Lavelle Publishing, which issued this book in 1998.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Butler writes a very engaging story about five African American college women struggling with campus life and the rigors of pledging. Cajen, Chancey, Malena, Stephanie, and Tiara come from diverse backgrounds and all have equally ambitious goals. Their decision to join the sorority and become a part of an enduring sisterhood forces each woman to utilize her unique strengths and confront her buried weaknesses. Cajen, the freshman, seduced by a more experienced upperclassman, struggles with the aftermath of a one-night stand; Chancey is the insecure girlfriend of a soon-to-be professional football player; Malena is the highly motivated and independent college student; Stephanie is the adopted daughter raised by a prominent Atlanta family; and Tiara is the disadvantaged inner-city girl struggling with her distrust of men. Each woman matures to confront her insecurities through sheer determination to survive not only the pledging process but also the rite of passage between friends and the unique bonds of sorority sisterhood. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1st edition (May 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037550415X
• ISBN-13: 978-0375504150
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #490,060 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WAY TO GO SOROR AND TO ALL THE LADIES IN PINK!, September 6, 1999

By	Yasmin Coleman (PENNSYLVANIA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sorority Sisters (Hardcover)

First, thanks to Amazon. Com for recommending this book as wellas many of the other books by first time african american authors thatI've met as a result of purchasing books via Amazon.com.

TJ has done a fine job at her first attempt as an author and I can't wait to read additional books from her. Her characters are well developed and the storyline is interesting in Sorority Girls. Sorority Girls was a page turner and I read the book in one day! No matter whether you're Greek or Non-Greek, any sister can relate to this book as it deals with friendship and female-bonding. Highly recommend to anyone and I don't think you will be disappointed.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I've read better--MUCH BETTER!, August 5, 2000

By A Customer

I felt like I was reading a pre-teen novel. The characters were very underdeveloped, she spent more time on the characters' sex lives instead of their sisterhood, and she spends a lot of time on their physical apprearance. It does not take a genius to figure out what sorority she is talking about. She makes the characters seem like a sorority is the answer to everything. They are trying to cope with major struggles in their lives but as long as they get into their sorority everything will be okay. Oh please! Ms. Butler obviously has some sort of identity crisis herself if she makes her characters this shallow! I would not recommend this book to anyone!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sophistication at It's Best, November 28, 1999

By	Cinnamon Butler (University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sorority Sisters (Hardcover)

Ms. Tajuana Butler has done the public a favor by gracing us with the book "Sorority Sisters". This past weekend I read the book while I was home for the Thanksgiving holidays. I am currently a sophomore at the University of Kentucky and am considering pledging a sorority. Yet, the book goes so much deeper than the process of pledging. It displays the everyday, real-life struggles of 5 college women and how they choose to deal with this while they are in college. Even though my time was limited over the break I always seemed to find the time to pick up from where I left off whenever I put the book down (whether it be before going to bed, in the bathroom, or on the phone). I feel that I can relate to so many of the incidents that occur in the book. You can tell that Ms. Butler spent a great deal of time researching the college atmosphere and college life in general. Upon my return from the holidays I told several friends about the book and all of them are dying to read it. I would like information on purchasing several copies and would like to know how I could contact Ms. Butler to tell her what a fine job she has done. I look forward to the next book. P.S. The "Desires of a Woman" was also very inspiring. Keep up the good work. Thank you, A huge Fan