Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt

I have a thing for Southern novels. I've kind of mentioned it previously, but it bears repeating. I have a wish list for new Nookbooks which seems a mile long, and because it's hard to find time to sit down and read often, I don't purchase books until I need a new one.

One of the books on my list was "Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt" by Beth Hoffman. After I read "The Help" -- which I just adored! -- I wanted something similar and this book kept popping up in the "if you like this, you'll like this" lists. And my sister-in-law read it and recommended it. So I put it on my wish list and it has remained there in a sea of books.

Earlier this summer, I ran to our local KMart for a few things and there, in a discount book bin (which I had never noticed previously -- I'll be looking for that bin again!) was the book. It was $5 -- so much cheaper than the Nook version! (In fact, less than half price of the Nook version!)

Now, I've been trying to be a good girl and not purchase hard copies of novels for me as much, because they were contributing to my home's clutter. (Don't say visit the library because sometimes I do, but it can sometimes take me weeks to get through a book with means remembering to renew, renew, renew...) Unless I thought I would read a book more than once -- like a Laura Ingalls Wilder book! -- or they are given to me, or cost pennies second-hand, I really avoid buying hard copies. They are just so expensive! But $5 was such a steal that I couldn't pass it up. And I'm so glad I did, because I will definitely read it more than once.

I just LOVED this book. It's about a little girl, Cee Cee Honeycutt, who has a mom with severe mental illness and a father who has basically checked out of her life. Many things occur, which I will let you find out, but eventually she goes to live with her aunt in Savannah, Ga. There, she meets a quirky cast of female characters and tries to come to terms with her previously awful childhood.

It is a very sweet and lovely book, and the characters just melted my heart. I will definitely be reading it again! And I'm saving it for Big Girl. I think it is a book she will love, but because of some adult issues in it she'll have to wait a while to enjoy it.

This was author Beth Hoffman's first book. I can't wait for her second. She is working on it right now and it should be out early next year.

I'm working on getting through another Fannie Flagg book right now. I'm almost done, and I'll share a quick review when I'm finished.