Author: Sarah Addison Allen
ISBN: 0553384848
Pages: 276
Release Date: April 14th 2009 (first published 2008)
Publisher: Bantam
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Bookworms
From the back cover:
Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds her closet harboring Della Lee Baker, a local waitress who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey’s narrow existence quickly expands. She even bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them—and who has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush. Soon Josey is living in a world where the color red has startling powers, and passion can make eggs fry in their cartons. And that’s just for starters.
Brimming with warmth, wit, and a sprinkling of magic, here is a spellbinding tale of friendship, love—and the enchanting possibilities of every new day.
Review:
Sarah Addison Allen has done it again! The Sugar Queen is a magical tale of a young woman, Josey Cirrini, begrudgingly discovering who she is and what she wants in life with the help of a strange and quirky local waitress, Della Lee, who becomes a squatter in Josey’s closet. With Della Lee’s help, Josey slowly stops finding comfort in hoarding candy and romance novels and soon begins to build friendships and relationships that will change her life in unexpected but wonderful ways. The characters of The Sugar Queen were well done and each was unique and interesting. Josey’s inability to escape her humdrum life and the passive aggressive abuse of her mother is frustrating but not unbelievable. Chloe’s and Della Lee’s struggles with men will be all too familiar for some women, making these characters easy to relate to. And Ms. Allen’s ability to weave magic into every day events is charming and her ability to capture moments of love and friendship in uncommon ways is refreshing.
The story line as a whole was a bit too perfectly coiffed; everything very neatly fell into place and there were many coincidences that were a tad hard to believe. However, the story is full of magic and enchantment so that it almost seems right for everything to wind up wrapped up in a nice little package at the end. So, if you are open to a great story, a fast read and finding enchantment in every day life, The Sugar Queen is for you!
5 comments:
I love love LOVED this book! I am so psyched that she has another book coming out (I can't remember if it's soon or not).
It was a bit too perfectly coiffed, you're right, but at the same time, that's one of the things that made it so amazing.
I agree, there were some frustrating things about Josey, but in a weird way, these are what made her so believable.
Nice review. I enjoyed this book, as well!
This is going on my "to read" list on goodreads.com! Thanks!
Excellent review. This sounds like a fun book that I'll have to check out.
Loved your review! I'm a newbie to Sarah Addison Allen but truly love the magical worlds she creates :)
Post a Comment