My Blue Suede Shoes

The titular footwear connects these overtly inspiring tales of African-American women recovering from domestic violence in the latest effort from Price-Thompson. Desiree Cooper's opener, "Breakin' It Down," features a pair of blue suede tennis shoes that help TV host "CC" Smart, a Norfolk, Va. single mom, face the consequences of putting her career over the needs of her daughter. In Price-Thompson's "Brotherly Love," a social worker gives a pair of slingbacks to an abused teen who has aborted her baby. Stilettos become a good luck charm for an Atlanta TV news anchor accused of trying to kill her husband and his pregnant girlfriend in Stovall's "Breakin' Dishes." And Elizabeth Atkins's "The Wrong Side of Mr. Right" hits a profound closing note when a pair of old Jamaican wedding slippers inspire a woman to face the reality of her abusive Prince Charming. The perfunctory prose of all involved disappoints, but their accumulated efforts and shared subjects matter makes for a moving collection. (Mar.)