Bebe's by Golly Wow!

Joe follows the commercial success of He Say, She Say with an exuberant if unambitious tale of love discovered in the nick of time by two lonely, 40-something African Americans living in Chicago. While attending graduation ceremonies at a local college, fireman Isaac Sizemore spies mature Bebe triumphantly accepting her diploma, taps her on the shoulder and makes a date. Isaac is single in one sense--his wife left him several years ago. But there is a jealous woman in his life--Isaac's 13-year-old daughter, Dashay, an aspiring rap artist who isn't looking for a new mom. As Isaac and Bebe try to make their love work, they suffer through several comically horrific dates, as well as Dashay's attempts to thwart their developing romance, all of which Joe relates in the alternating voices of the three principals and Bebe's best friend, Sandy (who faces love and career troubles of her own). These voices are crisp and full of fun, even if most of the characters share Isaac's confessed inability to tell the difference between ""meaningful conversation and talking shit."" Underneath all the jive (e.g., ""I'm divorced by force, think love is from above, like my books long and my brewskis in a short glass""), there's a sweet core of sentimentality that will no doubt strike a chord with many readers who have hoped for a second chance at love. (June)