Saving Ceecee Honeycutt

A Novel

By: Beth Hoffman

Narrated by: Jenna Lamia

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2010 Beth Hoffman (P)2010 Penguin Audiobooks

Don't be put off by the narration, it works.

At first, I hated the narrator's babyish voice. I thought it might get better as CeeCee gets older but once I started to get into the story her voice seemed to fit. It became lyrical and a part of the southern culture it sought to portray. Funny, bittersweet, and lovely.

Delightful!

This book has a wonderful blend of humor and pathos. A perfect coming-of-age story. The narration added to the enjoyment of the book.

Potentially brilliant, ultimately semi-gloss

Large portions of the book struck me, resonated, evoked wonderful imagery and reader response. There were places where the language would have made F. Scott Fitzgerald proud. However, the story itself failed to maintain interest. Many of the characters appeared flat and one-sided. The situations often seemed contrived and few lines actually carried through to any sort of completion. Situational tales can be timeless and wonderful, but some semblance of plot and drive IS necessary. I struggled to finish the book, losing interest multiple times. Also, the author didn't sell me on several things, particularly some of the emotional responses (I'll not create spoilers by elaborating further). The final few chapters rang false and surreal, too cookie-cutter cute, especially amid the rest of the novel's beauty.
I wanted to love this book, and at moments I did. ..but at many others I could not.
3.75/5

Wonderfully Told Story

I thought this book had a somewhat similar feel to The Secret Life of Bees and to The Help. For instance, it takes place in the 1950s & 1960s and is told from the perspective of a young white girl. Similarly to those books, the main character CeeCee is simultaneously dealing with what's going on in her own life while making sense of life in the Jim Crow South. But, don't expect this book to be depressing. On the contrary, while there are parts of this book that will make you cry, there are also parts that will make you laugh out loud. Beth Hoffman managed to write a novel with a surprising amount of depth, yet that is thoroughly enthralling and entertaining. This isn't exactly a light read, but it's still a book you can enjoy while on a road trip or relaxing on the beach.

The narrator, Jenna Lamia, did a superb job. The majority of the story is told in the first person. And her southern accent of a young girl was perfect. She also did a wonderful job with the numerous other characters who enter and exit the story.

Loved it!

Simplicity...

Feel good, simple read. Very enjoyable. Love the characters. Great listening to it. The reader has wonderful voice inflections.

Sweet Story

Where does Saving Ceecee Honeycutt rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the top few. Not on a "favorites" list or anything, but I was looking for a feel good story, after listening to quite a few about the Holocaust, I was ready for an emotional break, and this was exactly that.

What other book might you compare Saving Ceecee Honeycutt to and why?

I chose it because I really enjoyed the person who read "Moon Over Manifest", and she reads this one as well. She really captures the perspective of a young girl...makes it very believable; brings the characters to life.

Which character – as performed by Jenna Lamia – was your favorite?

She really did "Oletta" well, I thought. But she did all of them well.

If you could take any character from Saving Ceecee Honeycutt out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Ms. Goodpepper...so interesting. I bet she would have one story after another.

Lovely fun story

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator and author both did and outstanding job. Adults and teenage girls both will enjoy this story of Ceecee's life. Despite having a hard upbringing, the story is uplifting and fun. The story doesn't' drag. I was never bored with it. I always looked forward to getting in my car to go somewhere so I could listen to this book.

A REALLY GREAT LISTEN...

I enjoyed this book so much....what a fantastic job the narrators did...I just cant say enough about this book...I laughed out loud so many times while driving down the road.....such a good story....well performed....and it needs to be a movie....Ill listen to this again for sure.....

Sweet Story

Truly fell in love with this sweet young lady. My heart ached for CeeCee at time but then I was overjoyed at all that made her happy. The narrator is just terrific. Great listen and sweet book.

Soul food

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely! I always have a couple of books going and an Audible loaded for the car, dog walks, and outside chores, so I read constantly. This book was such a joy to listen to; the narrator brought to life each character (some voices alone made me laugh out loud, let alone what they said), and the story is uplifting in a way that is much needed right now. Her life isn't easy, but this speaks to the power of relationships and connections. I have had a lifelong love of Scout Finch, but Cee Cee is for the moment my favorite child narrator in all of literature.

If you’ve listened to books by Beth Hoffman before, how does this one compare?

I have not, but I will surely seek her out from now on.

What does Jenna Lamia bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voices.... oh, the voices and richness of language.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to savor it... It's hard to start a new one after one so good!