Summary: Twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt is in trouble. For years, she has been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille-the tiara-toting, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town-a woman trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen. But when Camille is hit by a truck and killed, CeeCee is left to fend for herself. To the rescue comes her previously unknown great-aunt, Tootie Caldwell.In her vintage Packard convertible, Tootie whisks CeeCee away to Savannah's perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity, a world that seems to be run entirely by women. From the exotic Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in her backyard bathtub and uses garden slugs as her secret weapons, to Tootie's all-knowing housekeeper, Oletta Jones, to Violene Hobbs, who entertains a local police officer in her canary-yellow peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer.
Laugh-out-loud funny and deeply touching, Beth Hoffman's sparkling debut is, as Kristin Hannah says, "packed full of Southern charm, strong women, wacky humor, and good old-fashioned heart." It is a novel that explores the indomitable strengths of female friendship and gives us the story of a young girl who loses one mother and finds many others. -- Pamela Dorman Books/Viking
Remember a few days ago when I telling you about SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT by Beth Hoffman? I absolutely loved this book and it's already one of my favorites for 2010. If you missed my raving review, you can read it here.
Well thanks to the author (who is absolutely awesome, by the way) I have two autographed copies of SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT to giveaway. To enter, all you have to do is tell me one of your favorite Southern novels. You have until Thursday, January 28th at 11:59 p.m. EST to leave your comment (with a valid email address), and I will randomly pick the winners the following day. This contest is open to those of you with U.S. and Canada mailing addresses only. Good luck!!!
I have always loved Faulkner, so ABSOLAM, ABSOLAM would definitely be one. But I'm also a huge fan of both Pat Conroy and James Lee Burke who write beautiful books set in the south. Of Pat Conroy's my favorite is probably LORDS OF DISCIPLINE and Burke's would be LAST CAR TO THE ELYSIAN FIELDS
ReplyDeleteI like Moon Women by Pamela Duncan!
ReplyDeletedelilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com
Well, I would have to say my favorite Southern Novel is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
ReplyDeleteAnd I've been avoiding reading the stuff about this book, because I know if I look I'll want it... too late :-)
so I'll throw my name in the hat for this one. ibetnoonehasthisdamnid@yahoo.com
I loved Gone With the Wind.
ReplyDeletefitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com
That's tough but probably one of Pat Conroy's books - if I HAVE to pick one, The Prince of Tides. (But I really love many more than just one...)
ReplyDeleteI really liked Denise Hildreth's Savannah series. They are southern chick lit!
ReplyDeleteI read your review and added this one to my wish list!
ReplyDeleteI have so many favorite southern novels..Plantation by Dorthea Benton Frank hasn't been listed yet so I will. :)
waitmantwillie AT hotmail DOT com
I so want to read this! I guess for a favorite Southern novel I will also go with To Kill A Mockingbird.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the contest!
nbmars AT yahoo DOT com
My favorite is The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.
ReplyDeletelag110@mchsi.com
hmm The Scandolous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc.. :) Great summer read..
ReplyDeletepinkflipflops44 at gmail dot com
I enjoyed Seaview Inn by Sheryl Woods
ReplyDeletemsboatgal at aol.com
I haven't read many Southern novels, but I have to agree with thekoolaidmom on "To Kill a Mockingbird." Great, great novel.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved Fannie Flagg and one of my faves is Standing in the Rainbow. Cece looks great! Thanks for the chance to win.
ReplyDeleteJHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com
I've got this posted at Win a Book for you Julie. No need to enter me.
ReplyDeleteSo tough to choose...I'm going with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
ReplyDeleteI loved the series by Mary Kay Andrews.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say Fannie Flagg, Standing in the Rainbow, Fried Green Tomatoes. She is an amazing writer.
ReplyDeletermj8373 at gmail dot com
Anything by Lee Smith, really, but I'll say _Fair and Tender Ladies_
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway1
Sunny(nospace)Lee[at]gmaildotcom
I am midway through Beautiful Creatures and love it! I also just finished Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter by Lisa Patton and fell head over heels in love with it!
ReplyDeleteemily DOT wittenberg @ gmail.com
I really liked The Fixer-Upper by Mary Kay Andrews. Or pretty much any other book by MKA :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
meah56 AT gmail DOT com
I can't pick one so.....Garden Spells or The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great book!!
I've read Secret Life of Bees 4 times - its the most beautiful book I've read ever!
ReplyDeletePlease enter me!
wlcgrad (at) yahoo [dot] com
I saw many of my favorite Southern novels on the list, including Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Secret Life of Bees. :-)
ReplyDeleteFor my pick, I'll go with Gail Godwin's novels, including A Southern Family.
Put me in for this one, please! I enjoyed "The Fixer Upper" by Mary Kay Andrews!
ReplyDeletejonitathebookchick(at)gmail(dot)com
That's a tough one. Ten years ago, I would have said Gone With the Wind. Recently, I read my first Pat Conroy (South of Broad and fell in love. Then there's the great To Kill a Mockingbird. Do I have to pick just one?
ReplyDeletejmchshannon (at) gmail (dot) com
Gone With The Wind, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and The Prince of Tides. Or any Faulkner.
ReplyDeletelitandlifeATgmailDOTcom
Thank you for doing this giveaway! One of my favorite Southern novels would be the classic "Gone with the Wind".
ReplyDeleteamusedbybooks@gmail.com
just saw this the other day, looks wonderful, my most recent fave southern novel was actually a sookie sookhouse book,does that count?ha
ReplyDeletewheresmyrain@yahoo.com
I love Pat Conroy's writing, so I would have to pick Prince of Tides. It is one of my favorites. I also really enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees.
ReplyDeleteWinterWrite (at) gmail (dot) com
My favorite Southern novel is probably To Kill a Mockingbird.
ReplyDeleteamandarwest at gmaildotcom
Gone with the wind Thanks
ReplyDeletechocolate and croissants at yahoo dot com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOops, forgot to mention my book. I loved the Spoon River anthology. Er, it might not count as a novel, since it's in poetry. I also love To Kill a Mockingbird.
ReplyDeletemitcham DOT beth AT gmail DOT com
To Kill A Mockingbird is my all-time favorite southern novel. The Sookie Stackhouse books are my favorite recently read southern novels.
ReplyDeletemcelhra1(at) yahoo dot com
I am so wanting this book. Southern women authors are my favorite. I like many of the books already mentioned, but really enjoyed reading Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes.
ReplyDeletekimbaldwin74 at yahoo dot com
This book sounds amazing! My favorite Southern novel is Gone With the Wind - haven't found anything to supplant it yet. Thanks for the contest, Julie!
ReplyDeletemeghankk at gmail dot com
Oooh, that is a tough one! To Kill a Mockingbird? The Help? Gone With the Wind? Prince of Tides? Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? Speaking of which, anything set in Savannah has instant atmosphere. What a charming place! I must read this book. rnawrot at cfl dot rr dot com
ReplyDeleteOne of my all-time favourite southern novels is Child of God by Cormac McCarthy. Great characters. I would love to win this book.
ReplyDeleteskfurlotte@gmail.com
This book sounds wonderful. I've enjoyed several 'southern' novels by Dorothea Benton Frank, but probably my favorite novel of this genre is The Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway.
I LOVED The Secret Life of Bees, but there's another favorite of mine, but the title is escaping me. I'm going to have to get back to you on that one, this is really going to bother me!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved Fannie Flag's Fried Green Tomatoes.
ReplyDeletelaura(at)laurafabiani(dot)com
In my "salad" days, it was Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
ReplyDeleteNow, I always think of The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy.
cyeates AT nycap DOT rr DOT com
I would have to say Fried Green Tomatoes or The Secret Life of Bees.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great book - I would love a chance to win it!
alannakurt at gmail dot com
Thank you!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is definitely 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. It has more meaning to me now that I'm a law school student than ever.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book. Please enter me.
linds84@gmail.com
I read Gone With The Wind for the first time in eighth grade, for the second in ninth, for the third....I so love that book, I'm sure I do not exaggerate to say I've read it a dozen times in my life.
ReplyDeletetatamagouche AT netbundle DOT ca
I loved both Gone With the Wind and Scarlett.
ReplyDeleteBethsBookReviewBlog AT gmail DOT com
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Gone With the Wind.
ReplyDeleteI like books that make you laugh at out loud. And I always enjoy the South.
Thanks Julie.
jennygirl73(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Hmm, I'd say The Lost Hours by Karen White.
ReplyDeletedevourers.books(at)gmail.com
Just one??? How do I choose?
ReplyDeleteHands down, Gone With the Wind.
I haven't read many. Aside from Gone with the Wind, how about Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews.
ReplyDeletecarolsnotebook at yahoo dot com
I loved Fried Green Tomatoes and Widow of the South. Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteareallibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com
I actually can't think of a southern novel that i've read..... maybe this will be my first? :D
ReplyDeletehaleymathiot@yahoo.com
I don't think I can pick just one. Of the books I read in 2009 (this way I narrow down the possibilities exponentially) The Help, South of Broad, and Mudbound were all great.
ReplyDeleteAPSkap (at) comcast (dot) net
My favorite is When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin.
ReplyDeleteOh, so hard to pick just one, but I'll go with PRODIGAL SUMMER by Barbara Kingsolver. I just LOVE that book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance to win a copy of SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT - I've heard so many good things about it, I can hardly wait to read it.
geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com
I really want to win this ---my favorite southern novel is Mermaid's Chair.
ReplyDeletetbranco (at) hughes (dot)net
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe remains my number one favorite Southern story.
ReplyDeleteDaisy Fay and the Miracle Man is a very close runner up. I cannot get enough of Fanny Flagg!
I would have to say any Pat Conroy book especially South of Broad.
ReplyDeleteEmily3534 at hotmail dot come
I am a HUGE Pat Conroy fan. My husband loves all the James Lee Burke books. Also love Ann River Siddens books. To pick one I would have to say Beach Music by Pat Conroy. Please enter me in your giveaway. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI am drawing a complete blank on Southern novels!! so I'll just list one of my favorite books. "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer. Very interesting book!
ReplyDeletejullpete(at)yahoo(dot)com
I like Sweet Home Carolina by T. Lynn Ocean and am looking forward to reading Southern Lights by Danielle Steel :) *Thanks* for the giveaway!
ReplyDeletetheluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com
You can't beat the classic Gone With The Wind.
ReplyDeleteseriousreader at live dot com
I think Gone with the Wind is probably the classic, but I also really like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and The Secret Life of Bees.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Cold Mountain. It's my favorite book ever, let alone my favorite Southern novel.
ReplyDeletemrs.may1013@yahoo.com
this is tough...i'd have to say its s tie between cold mountain, to kill a mockingbird, and the sookie stackhouse novels! all different genres, but each so good for what they are!
ReplyDeleteDolphinV27@aol.com
secret life of bees ftw!
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome giveaway--I would love this book, and so would my mom, my neice, and my grandmother! My favorite southern novel is "Charms for the Easy Life," by Kaye Gibbons. It is written with such ease and style. I love the characters and the theme of southern women's strength, gentility, and stick-together-ness! AWESOME, AWESOME book!!!
ReplyDeleteMarci
june_spirit2628@hotmail.com
Great Giveaway. I read this serious from Readers Digest with the Bodine Family from Georgia. It's an inspirational Romance series. I love this giveaway.
ReplyDeleteFried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg. I will never forget that book.
ReplyDeleteGone With the Wind is my favorite! I also really like To Kill A Mockingbird and The Secret Life of Bees.
ReplyDeletemittens0831 at aol dot com
Definately The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. Loved it!
ReplyDeletepicnut1512@yahoo.com
the oldest confederate widow tells all tops the list but there are many, many more!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. :0)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
librarygrinch at gmail dot com
One of my favorites is "Chasing Fireflies" by Charles Martin. Please enter me in your giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Sandee61
Muzzley56[at]aol[dot]com
I have to say the Yah Yah Sisterhood books have got to be my favorite. From reading your comments about Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, it sounds like my kind of book. I have added it to my reading list.
ReplyDeleteTo Kill a Mockingbird would be the best followed by Gone with the Wind.
ReplyDeletemystica123athotmaildotcom
Favorite would HAVE to be To Kill a Mockingbird!!!!
ReplyDeleteI loved The Secret Life of Bees and anything by Mary Kay Andrews!
ReplyDeletemaurajoyce@gmail.com
I really enjoyed "Shades of Gray" by Jessica James. It shows how hard it was during the Civil War to know which side your heart was with.
ReplyDeleteseknobloch(at)gmail(dot)com
I absolutely loved Tender Graces by Kathryn Magendie. Karen White also writes good Southern fiction. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDelete--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
diaryofaneccentric at hotmail dot com
My favorite southern novel is "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by Mildred D. Taylor, set in Mississippi in the Jim Crow South. This is an amazing book, one which I have read many times.
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in this giveaway!
saemmerson at yahoo dot com
Sarah E
What a fun giveaway. It is a toss between Fried Green Tomatoes (which I just started to re-read) and Gone with the Wind.
ReplyDeleteLLizann75 at Yahoo.com
I love reading any of Jill Conner Browne's Sweet Potato Queens books!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite southern novel of all time is Gone With The Wind. It just can't be beat. Please enter me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net
To Kill A Mockingbird and Gone With the Wind are absolute favorites. My new fav. is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. A must-read!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great giveaway! I love the book Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood! I would love to read this book you are giving away, sounds great!
ReplyDeleteGreat question but hard to answer! I'm going to go with "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a terrific giveaway and thank you to Beth Hoffman!
Amy
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
My favorite southern novel is Gone with the Wind.
ReplyDeletewolfcarol451(at)gmail(dot)com
I just read about this book in my People magazine! I would love to win an autographed copy!! As for southern novels, I really enjoyed Gods in Alabama and The Help. Keeping my fingers crossed on this one!!
ReplyDeletecassandrawebb82@yahoo.com
It would have to be Gone With The Wind
ReplyDeleteGone With the Wind of course. ;-) But Lee Smith's Fair and Tender Ladies is also a wonderful southern novel.
ReplyDeletewhitreidsmama at yahoo dot com
I have to go with Gone With the Wind. It's such a great story!
ReplyDeletePlease enter me into your contest.
jasmyn9[at]hotmail[dot]com
My favorite southern novel is Gone With The Wind. cardshark42(at)hotmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteSecret Life of Bees would be my fav! Staciele(at)netins(dot)net
ReplyDeleteGone with the Wind is the only Southern novel I've ever read and I loved it!!!!
ReplyDeletewandanamgreb(at)gmail(dot)com
New fav - The Help
ReplyDeleteOld fav - To Kill a Mockingbird
librarianapril at gmail dot com
"Anne of Green Gables", "The Color Purple", and Jesse Stuart novels such as "A Penny's Worth of Character"
ReplyDeletenancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
Hard to say, but it would be either Cane River or In the Garden of Good and Evil. Maybe even Conroy's The Water is Wide.
ReplyDeleteThe Garden of Good & Evil :)
ReplyDeletedeborah150 at hotmail dot com
To Kill a Mockingbird. Such a beautifully written classic.
ReplyDeleteThis book looks wonderful! Definitely adding it to my to-read list. :)
To Kill a Mockingbird is my favourite.
ReplyDeletedsandyboy@gmail.com
Gone With the Wind.
ReplyDeletewalkerd@primus.ca
My favorite is "The Help"
ReplyDeleteThanks ~ megalon22 at yahoo dot com