"Cooper's work reminds us of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston." -- Alice Walker "[Cooper] tells stories that move and dance about people who pop off the page to lodge themselves firmly in the reader's affection." - Publishers Weekly "Cooper knows how to 'talk' her stories to us, as though each of them is told by a kindly and concerned friend. The sound of them is lovely, memorable, haunting." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Gutsy and familiar.Cooper's power comes from sticking to her instinct, which is to tell a story, plain and simple." -- The Washington Post "Ms. cooper is as down-home as Zora Neale Hurston, thank you, and blooming into as skilled a storyteller.

Cooper's characters are the folk heroes of black culture.Tales of triumph that give you reason to keep reading." -- Essence "These stories are jazzy, clubby, folksy, small towny, populist, perky, and if you don't like them, you must be in an absolutely unshakeable bad mood." -- Carolyn See, Los Angeles Times "Both men and women are treated with such bemused love that these tales of passions gone astray are transformed into celebrations of life." -- MS.