Leaf Me Alone While I Read This Book!

A perfect evening!  A brownie with nuts AND chocolate chips!

My favorite homemade teabag!

And a Tea-rrific book!  (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

 I received this book in the mail from the publisher just before Christmas break.  I could hardly wait to read it but well, it was Christmas and I was swamped in pre-Christmas activities so I didn't read it right away.  I put it in my stack of  'to read' books that I had brought home from school and then put it off because I knew it would be good and wanted to get the assigned reading out of the way!  I read it this weekend and I was right--it was sooo good!  I stayed up till 1:30 Saturday night reading away!

CeeCee Honeycutt and her momma live up north.  Her dad is a traveling salesman and away for days at a time, leaving CeeCee to take care of her psychotic mom.  Her mom is a transplanted Southern Belle and a former Vidalia Onion Queen.  As an adult, CeeCee's momma is Goodwill's best customer, purchasing every tattered prom gown and pair of dyed to match shoes that make their way into the store.  She parades around town in the dresses, humiliating her daughter and making her the butt of cruel jokes at school.  On the last day of school before summer vacation, CeeCee heads for home, relieved to be free from her schoolmates.  Her life changes when she arrives home and discovers that her mom was hit and killed by an ice-cream truck, leaving her red satin pumps sitting in the middle of the road.

The day of the funeral, CeeCee's great-aunt Tootie from Savannah, Georgia arrives, inviting CeeCee to come live with her and that everything will be alright.  Soon, CeeCee finds herself in Georgia, being cherished and cared for by her wealthy aunt and the housekeeper Oletta.  She finds herself in the midst of Southern Hospitality at its finest, is befriended by the lady next door (who isn't much of a proper lady!) and is immersed in the warmth and love of a family for the first time.

You've gotta read this book.  You'll laugh.  You'll cry.  You'll be wondering when then Beth Hoffman will be releasing another book!   If you love Southern fiction, (think Fannie Flagg, Rebecca Wells) this is one for you.  If you haven't become a fan--start here!  For heaven's sakes, what are you waiting for???

Order Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman.  It goes on sale tomorrow!