Title: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
Author: Beth Hoffman
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Web: http://bethhoffman.net/
Date of Publication: (October 26, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0143118579
Pages: 320 pages
Format: Audio Book
Setting: Willoughby, Ohio (1967) and Savannah, Georgia
About the Book: (from Goodreads.com)
For years, twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt has been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille. The tiara-toting, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town, Camille was a woman trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen. But when she is hit by a truck and killed, CeeCee is left to fend for herself. To the rescue comes her previously unknown great-aunt Tootie in her vintage Packard convertible.
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About the Author: Beth Hoffman was the president and owner of a major interior design studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, before turning to writing full time. She lives with her husband and two cats in a quaint historic district in Newport, Kentucky. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is her first novel.
My Review: I selected to listen to this audio of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt based on some reviews I had read. This audio was narrated by Jenna Lamia . She is an amazing narrator. She plays all the characters with very distinct and believable voices, especially the pre-teen CeeCee. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt was a joy to listen to!
CeeCee is the narrator of the story and her voice is very appropriate for her age. Don’t you hate when you read a book that is narrated by a child, but the dialogue doesn’t sound like a child! This is not the case with Saving CeeCee Honeycutt.
I really enjoyed all the characters in Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. CeeCee herself is a strong, compassionate girl. CeeCee in many regards ended up parenting her mother, Camille, more than Camille actually was able to parent her. CeeCee was a reader and enjoyed books and the escape they offered her from her daily live. I could really relate to that, as a child I also used reading as an escape.
Camille, CeeCee’s mother, suffered from mental health issues. She was an interesting character and well developed. I could just see her an the Vidalia Queen. After Camille’s death, Aunt Tootie comes to Willoughby, Ohio to see CeeCee. In my eyes this is the moment in which CeeCee is saved by her Aunt. Tootie gives CeeCee an opportunity for a new life, where CeeCee is able to be a child and have friends.
Aunt Tootie is from Savannah, Georgia and is a proper southern woman. The descriptions of Georgia are rich and lush and just delicious. I love old homes as does Aunt Tootie. She saves and restores old homes validating the history of those homes. The strong female relationships portrayed in Saving CeeCee Honeycutt are amazing.
Themes throughout Saving CeeCee Honeycutt included family secrets, stigma of mental illness, abandonment, love, acceptance and strength of family/friends. What an amazing cast of strong lovely women that came into CeeCee’s life just at the right time.
My Rating: 4/5 – highly recommended – drove around the block a few times not wanting to have the story end. Looked forward to getting into the car to hear some more! Great Audio.
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Happy Reading!
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