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  • Passing For black

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Linda Villarosa
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Passing For black

by Linda Villarosa (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.1 out of 5 stars (18)
Being black, the right kind of black, was difficult. It was like being in a cult--a secret society with rules as fluid as waves. . .

In the six years that Angela Wright has been with her fiancé Keith Redfield, her life has settled neatly into place. Keith, a professor of African-American history, has helped her become comfortable in her own skin. And Angela's career at Désire magazine is thriving. She's got nothing to worry about--or so she thinks. . .

Angela's best friend Mae is always there to ground her, whether they're joking about the importance of good hair or gossiping about their rival Tatiana Braithwaite--a milk chocolate Barbie with beauty, breeding, and an irritating knack for perfection. Mae reminds Angela how lucky she is to have found a successful, single brother. But when a chance meeting leaves Angela consumed with desire for an intriguing stranger, she impulsively decides to follow wherever it may lead--from outrageous underground sex parties to intimate encounters that are both torrid and tender.

Now everything Angela has come to believe about sex, love, identity, and race is called into question as this explosive new passion blows her world wide open. . .
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  1. Print length
    273 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Kensington Books
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    June 1, 2008
  6. File size
    666 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Linda Villarosa is a freelance writer and editor. She is a former editor of both the New York Times and Essence Magazine, where she wrote a number of award-winning articles. The author of Body & Soul: The Black Women's Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being, a Blackboard Bestseller, Linda has also written several other books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her partner and two children. Passing For Black is her first novel.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0018Z0BUA
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 2008
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 666 KB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 273 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0758233066
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Best Sellers Rank: #4,001,094 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.1 out of 5 stars (18)

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Linda Villarosa

Linda Villarosa

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Linda Villarosa is a journalist, an educator and a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine. She covers the intersection of race, justice and public health. She is a former executive editor at Essence Magazine, and her essay on medical myths was included in the Pulitzer-Prize winning 1619 Project. Her 2018 NY Times Magazine article "Why America's Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis" was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. Linda is a professor at the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY with a joint appointment at the City College of New York. Her book Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation was published in June 2022.

Customer reviews

3.1 out of 5 stars
18 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Keda
    2 out of 5 stars
    JUST OK
    Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2011
    Format: Paperback
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    PRODUCT WAS WORN TATTERED & TORN WITH LIBRARY STRIPS & TAP ALL OVER THE IT. WAS THIS ITEM STOLEN THEN SOLD? HECK WHO KNOWS...

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  • Michelle J.
    5 out of 5 stars
    Kept me captivated.....
    Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2018
    Format: Kindle
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    A quick read whose characters kept me captivated. Was excited to read Villanova’s fiction and was not disappointed. Look forward to more.

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  • JJ
    1 out of 5 stars
    Hidden meaning
    Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2010
    Format: Paperback
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    This book is suppose to be about a confused black woman dealing with stereotypes of being black and what that really means. Although the book does make some references to black stereotyes, the book is actually about a confused homosexual female who is trying to come to grips with the fact that she is gay and engaged to a man, and how to break the news to her black panther type mother. The back cover is completely misleading and does not describe the book accurately.

    3 people found this helpful
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  • Pia Sass
    3 out of 5 stars
    Guarded Recommendation
    Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2010
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    I feel torn about recommending Passing for Black by Linda Villarosa. This lesbian romance uses the sexual awakening of the protagonist, Angela Wright, to discuss socially relevant issues including racism and heterosexism within a minority race. This story offers glimpses of Villarosa's lyrical storytelling with sentences such as, "I watched his eyes dart around the room, and knew ego was having a shouting match with disgrace in his head." I wanted to like Angela and find her charming and elegant but she wasn't. She spoke her thoughts and worries which left me flat and disengaged. I was looking for the story's movement to reveal her emotional anguish and create tension for me by summoning my own experiences. I think this was worthwhile but not a great story.

    One person found this helpful
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  • Angelia Vernon Menchan
    4 out of 5 stars
    Whose To Say?
    Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2008
    Format: Paperback
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    Passing for Black by Linda Villarosa gives us a clear view of how confusing it can be for an African-American, trying to be a `Real Black,' whatever that means, and struggling with her sexuality at the same time. Angela Wright, a journalist is not sure who she is, sometimes feels she is not the right kind of black and other times feels she does not know how she identifies. She has chosen journalism because her mother, Janet, is a very successful reporter. Angela is engaged to successful professor, Dr. Keith Redfield, because he is a good man, and the right man for her, according to everyone, but her. As much as Angela has she feels out of sorts and is lacking something in her life. Secretly, she feels her longing for female love might be the problem. However, she has tamped those feelings for years, because she knows it is the right thing to do. Or is it? When she meets one of Keith's colleagues, Professor Cait Getty, she is immediately attracted and cannot get the woman out of her mind.

    Angela finds a way to talk to Cait, she goes on an undercover assignment to a lesbian convention and immediately she and Cait connect. Once Cait discovers Angela is a journalist, she is angered by her duplicity and decides not to see her. Of course, Angela pursues her and a tryst unfolds. Immediately, the reader is pulled into the complications surrounding this love affair, including Keith's discovery and how Angela's parents feel about her choices.

    Ms. Villarosa wrote a provocative, sometimes funny and very human account of a woman's sexual identity unveiling. The only stumbling block for me was Keith's one dimensional, almost stereotypical, bumbling maleness. I would have loved for him to be more dynamic, thus proving Angela's desires were more due to natural desires than to his inadequacies. Having said this, I truly enjoyed Passing for Black and recommend it to all readers who enjoy a well-written novel that will make them think.

    Angelia Menchan

    APOOO BookClub

    9 people found this helpful
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  • Dreadgl
    5 out of 5 stars
    tstroman
    Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2008
    Format: Paperback
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    I really enjoyed this book. There where so many levels to this book that brought about thought and dialog with my friends and family.

    One person found this helpful
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  • Lei
    1 out of 5 stars
    Misleading Cover to pull you in
    Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2023
    Format: Kindle
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    If I could get my money back I would. Why use two African American women on your covrt to pull readers in, when their is a white woman involved. I tried to read the story, but after a few chapters I just couldn't.

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  • Tee @ RAWSISTAZ Literary Group
    3 out of 5 stars
    A Triple Minority
    Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2008
    Format: Paperback
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    Angela Wright, the daughter of a doctor and television newscaster, is a successful journalist for Desire` magazine. She is engaged to Keith Redfield, a professor of African Studies, with whom she has been in a relationship for six years. She never felt comfortable in her skin because she was always teased about not being "black" enough. She is also uncomfortable with her feelings for other women, which she has suppressed for years. But meeting Cait, a white lesbian, invokes feelings in Angela so strong she can't ignore them. Her obsession with Cait leads her down a path she is not sure she wants to take.

    PASSING FOR BLACK carries a two-fold message of being black in a racist society and being gay in a heterosexual world. It is hard to fathom what is more profound in the novel: racial intolerance or discrimination due to sexual preference. Just as there is discrimination within the race, there is also intolerance within the gay community against other gays. Angela's struggles with her sexuality is no different than the tale of others. Her character came off as rather selfish at times, which didn't allow me to empathize with her, nor agree with her decisions. It also took some time for me to get into the rhythm of the book. Although Villarosa is an established author, this is her first novel.

    Reviewed by Paula Henderson

    of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

    5 people found this helpful
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