Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman audiobook

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt: A Novel

By Beth Hoffman
Read by Jenna Lamia

Penguin Audio 9780143145547
10.06 Hours • Unabridged
Format : Digital Download (In Stock)
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    ISBN: 9781101154564

Read Beth Hoffman's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community. Steel Magnolias meets The Help in this Southern debut novel sparkling with humor, heart, and feminine wisdom 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. Watch a Video

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Summary

Summary

A New York Times bestseller

Selected for the February 2010 Indie Next List

Read Beth Hoffman's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community.

Steel Magnolias meets The Help in this Southern debut novel sparkling with humor, heart, and feminine wisdom

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.

Watch a Video

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

“This book unfolds like a lush southern garden, blooming with vivid characters, beauty, and surprises.” —Kim Edwards, New York Times bestselling author of Lake of Dreams
“A tender and touching debut. Charming, disarming, sweet as the scent of magnolias on a Southern summer night, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a true delight.”  —Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of Summer Rental
“Light as air...thoroughly pleasant reading.” —Booklist
“Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a gem of a story, lovingly told. Readers who savor books with memorable characters and Southern settings will consider this a novel to treasure.” —BookPage
“Humor, wish-fulfillment, and buckets of sentiment bulk out an innocent...debut that would work well for teenage readers.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is an absolutely delightful debut novel packed full of Southern charm, strong women, and good old-fashioned heart. From the moment you first step into young CeeCee’s unique world, you’ll never want to leave.” —Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of Night Road
“Beth Hoffman has written her heart out in this novel.” —Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author of Sandcastles
“I’d save CeeCee if she asked me! I love this bright, funny, spunky girl, the zany women in her life, and the way they enclose CeeCee in a circle of warmth and friendship that heals all hurts. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a joy to read.” —Sandra Dallas, New York Times bestselling author of Prayers for Sale
“A wonderful debut.” —Daily Mail (London)
“Anyone in need of a Southern-girl-power fix will find [Saving CeeCee Honeycutt] engaging. And it offers an invaluable reminder: even when things look bleak, a few good friends can turn your life around.” —People
“A...Southern charmer.” —Publishers Weekly
“Jenna Lamia creates delightful characterizations of twelve-year-old CeeCee; her psychotic mother, Camille; her great-aunt Tootie, and other sassy women...With vibrant Southern accents, Lamia portrays a cast of strong, eccentric women...Lamia’s vivid characterizations depict CeeCee’s adjustment to her new life with authenticity and humor.” —AudioFile
“[A] charming debut...Exemplifying Southern storytelling at its best, this coming-of-age novel is sure to be a hit.” —Library Journal (starred review)
This book unfolds like a lush southern garden, blooming with vivid characters, beauty and surprises. —Kim Edwards, bestselling author of The Memory Keeper's Daughter
In Hoffman's charming debut, Cecelia Rose (CeeCee) Honeycutt tells the story of her tragic life and the strong women who stepped in to save her. At age 12, CeeCee realizes her mother, flouncing around Willoughby, OH, in prom dresses and matching shoes, is crazy and the town's laughingstock. Her father is never home, and nothing is going to change so CeeCee buries herself in books as an escape. But her true liberation comes after her mother's tragic death when great-aunt Tootie sweeps CeeCee off to Savannah. There, a group of powerful, independent women offer the young girl love, laughter and a new chance at life. Readers who enjoy strong female characters will appreciate CeeCee, a survivor despite her heartbreaking childhood, and Aunt Tootie and her friends, all of them steel magnolias. VERDICT Exemplifying Southern storytelling at its best, this coming-of-age novel is sure to be a hit with the book clubs that adopted Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees. Interestingly enough, both novels share the same editor. —Library Journal
'Welcome to my world, baby girl' (to paraphrase Fannie Flagg's title) is what came to my mind on meeting the narrator of Beth Hoffman's delightful debut, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. Twelve-year-old CeeCee is a survivor. Alone too much, and with too much responsibility because of her psychotic mother, CeeCee is old beyond her years. When her mother dies, her mostly absent father sends her south from Ohio to Savannah under the care of her never-before-seen Great Aunt Tootie. The reader is introduced to a wide assortment of Southern women, each of whom plays a role in CeeCee's healing and coming to terms with her life. Each character also helps paint a detailed picture of the dichotomy between the 'old South' with its decaying gentry, and the changing South, where black and white are more than servant/mistress and white gloves are being exchanged for jeans and flip-flops. This lovely novel has earned the status of 'LizPick' even before it's published. —Publishers Weekly, "Galley Talk" by Liz Murphy, the Learned Owl Book Show, Hudson, Ohio

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Author

Author Bio: Beth Hoffman

Author Bio: Beth Hoffman

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Details

Details

Available Formats : Digital Download
Runtime: 10.06
Audience: Adult
Language: English

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