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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.
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Beth Hoffman was the president and owner of a major design studio in Cincinnati, Ohio. She sold her business to pursue writing full time. Beth lives in northern Kentucky with her husband and two very smart cats, in a beautiful historic home that she completely renovated.
Featured Excerpt in the Penguin iPhone App
Momma left her red satin shoes in the middle of the road. That's what three eyewitnesses told the police. The first time I remember my mother wearing red shoes was on a snowy morning in December 1962, the year I was seven years old. I walked into the kitchen and found her sitting at the table. No lights were on, but in the thin haze of dawn that pushed through the frostbitten window, I could see red high-heeled shoes peeking out from beneath the hem of her robe. There was no breakfast waiting, and no freshly ironed school dress hanging on the basement doorknob. Momma just sat and stared out the window with empty eyes, her hands limp in her lap, her coffee cold and untouched.
I stood by her side and breathed in the sweet scent of lavender talcum powder that clung to the tufts of her robe.
"What's the matter, Momma?"
I waited and waited. Finally she turned from the window and looked at me. Her skin was as frail as tissue, and her voice wasn't much more than a whisper when she smoothed her hand over my cheek and said, "Cecelia Rose, I'm taking you to Georgia. I want you to see what real living is like. All the women dress so nice. And the people are kind and friendly—it's so different from how things are here. As soon as I feel better, we'll plan a trip—just you and me."
"But what about Dad, will he come too?"
She squeezed her eyes closed and didn't answer.
Momma stayed sad for the rest of the winter. Just when I thought she'd never smile again, spring came. When the lilacs bloomed in great, fluffy waves of violet, Momma went outside and cut bouquets for every room in the house. She painted her fingernails bright pink, fixed her hair, and slipped into a flowery-print dress. From room to room she dashed, pushing back curtains and throwing open the windows. She turned up the volume of the radio, took hold of my hands, and danced me through the house.
We whirled through the living room, into the dining room, and around the table. Right in the middle of a spin, Momma abruptly stopped. "Oh, my gosh," she said, taking in a big gulp of air and pointing to the mirror by the door, "we look so much alike. When did that happen? When did you start to grow up?"
We stood side by side and gazed at our reflections. What I saw was two smiling people with the same heart-shaped face, blue eyes, and long brown hair—Momma's pulled away from her face in a headband and mine tied back in a ponytail.
"It's amazing," my mother said, gathering her hair in her hand and holding it back in a ponytail like mine. "Just look at us, CeeCee. I bet when you get older, people will think we're sisters. Won't that be fun?" She giggled, took hold of my hands, and spun me in circles till my feet lifted off the floor.
She was so happy that after we finished dancing, she took me into town and bought all sorts of new clothes and ribbons for my hair. Momma bought herself so many pairs of new shoes that the salesman laughed and said, "Mrs. Honeycutt, I believe you have more shoes than the Bolshoi Ballet." Neither Momma nor I knew what that meant, but the salesman sure thought he was clever. So we laughed along with him as he helped us carry our packages to the car.
After stuffing the trunk full with bags and boxes, we ran across the street to the five-and-dime, where we sat at the lunch counter and shared a cheeseburger, a bowl of French fries, and a chocolate milkshake.
That spring sure was something. I'd never seen Momma so happy. Every day was a big celebration. I'd come home from school and she'd be waiting, all dressed up with a big smile on her face. She'd grab her handbag, hurry me to her car, and off we'd go to do more shopping.
Then came the day when Dad arrived home from a three-week business trip. Momma and I were sitting at the kitchen table, she with a magazine and me with a coloring book and crayons. When my dad opened the closet door to hang up his jacket, he was all but knocked senseless when an avalanche of shoeboxes rained down on him.
"Good Christ!" he barked, turning to look at Momma. "How much money have you been spending?"
When Momma didn't answer, I put down my crayon and smiled. "Daddy, we've been shopping for weeks, but everything we got was for free."
"Free? What are you talking about?"
I nodded wisely. "Yep. All Momma had to do was show the salesman a square of plastic, and he let us have whatever we wanted."
"What the hell?" Dad pounded across the kitchen floor, yanked Momma's handbag from the hook by the door, and pulled the square of plastic from her wallet. "Damn it, Camille," he said, cutting it up with a pair of scissors. "How many times do I have to tell you? This has got to stop. No more credit cards. You keep this up and you'll put us in the poor house. You hear me?"
Momma licked her finger and turned a page of the magazine.
He leaned down and looked at her. "Have you been taking your pills?" She ignored him and turned another page. "Camille, I'm talking to you."
The sharpness of his words wiped the shine right out of her eyes.
Dad shook his head and pulled a beer from the refrigerator. He huffed and puffed out of the kitchen, kicking shoes out of his way as he headed for the living room. I heard him dump his wide, beefy body into the recliner, muttering the way he always did whenever he was in a bad mood. Which, as far as I could tell, was pretty much always.
My father didn't smile or laugh very much, and he had a limitless gift for making me feel about as important as a lost penny on the sidewalk. Whenever I'd show him a drawing I'd made or try to tell him about something I'd learned in school, he'd get fidgety and say, "I'm tired. We'll talk another time."
But another time never came.
He was a machine-tool salesman and spent much of his time in places like Michigan and Indiana. Usually he'd stay away all week and would come home only on weekends. And most times those weekends were filled with an unbearable tension that sprung loose on Saturday night.
Momma would get all dolled up, walk into the living room, and beg him to take her out. "C'mon Carl," she'd say, tugging at his arm, "let's go dancing like we used to. We never have fun anymore."
His face would turn sour and he'd say, "No, Camille. I'm not taking you anywhere until you straighten up. Now go take your pills."
She'd cry and say she didn't need any pills, he'd get mad, turn up the volume of the TV, and drink one beer after another, and I'd run upstairs and hide in my bedroom. Whole months would go by and I'd hear only an occasional kind word pass between them. Even less frequently I'd see them touch. Before too long even those things faded away, and my father's presence in the house faded right along with them.
Momma seemed glad that Dad stayed away so much. One day I was sitting on the floor of her bedroom cutting out paper dolls while she sat at her vanity and put on makeup. "Who needs him anyway?" she said, leaning close to the mirror as she smoothed on bright red lipstick. "I'll tell you something, Cecelia Rose. Northerners are exactly like their weather—cold and boring. And I swear, none of them has one iota of etiquette or propriety. Do you know that not one single person in this godforsaken town even knows I'm a pageant queen? They're all a bunch of sticks-in-the-mud, just like your father."
"You don't like Daddy anymore?"
"No," she said, turning to look at me. "I don't."
"He doesn't come home very much. Where is he, Momma?"
She blotted her lips with a tissue. "That old fool? He's not here because he's down at the cemetery with one foot stuck in the grave. And that's another thing. Never marry an older man. I mean it, CeeCee. If an older man ever sweeps you off your feet, just get up and run away as fast as you can."
I set down my scissors. "How old is Daddy?"
"Fifty-seven," she said, rubbing a smudge of rouge from her cheek. "And look what he's done to me." She scowled at her reflection in the mirror and shook her head. "I'm only thirty-three and I already have lines on my face. Your father is nothing but a Yankee liar. I can't tell you how many promises he made just so I'd marry him and move up here to this god-awful excuse for a town. But all those promises amounted to nothing but a five-hundred-pound bag of dog breath."
As I was about to ask her what that meant, a strange, icy expression moved across her face. She gazed down at her wedding picture and slowly lifted it from the vanity. With her tube of lipstick she drew a big red X over my dad's face, then shrieked with laughter, fluffed her hair, and walked out the door.
slosch
Posted Tue Oct 13 00:00:00 EDT 2009
I Also Recommend:
Got my hands on a pre-pub ARC and I must say, I feel very fortunate indeed to have this early sneak peak. The characters are so real, you close the book wanting more; in fact, I miss them - Aunt Tootie, Oletta, Mrs Odell - they were my friends too. CeeCee is a young girl we can all relate to, with her normal fears and blunders and her good-hearted soul. The writing is phenomenal - don't speed read or you might miss an important piece of the landscape of this delightful novel. For a first-time novelist, Beth Hoffman has hit a homerun right out of the park. She takes you from tears streaming down your face to nervous anticipation, relief and outright joy and then does it again, all in what seems to be the blink of an eye. Be sure to set aside enough time to read the entire book in one sitting - yes, it's that kind of feel-good read. I'll definitely be in line to get a signed hard copy in January and plan to re-read it several times.
18 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.M5
Posted Sat Jan 30 00:00:00 EST 2010
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a joy.
With a history in literary criticism, I tend to be a tough reader--often digging into post-modern and modernist texts rooted in darkness and frustration (Ian McEwan, Philip Roth, and Virginia Woolf are favorites). Saving CeeCee Honeycutt was a beautiful departure.
Ms. Hoffman's novel is playful, insightful, wise, and thought-provoking. She raises issues of motherhood, parenting, mental illness, race, life experience, and true human connection within a truly pleasurable read. There is a well-tuned balance of readability and depth.
I am amused by the criticisms here [amazon] of characters who are not fully formed, as I think that is rather purposeful. This novel is not one written to explore the many nuances of the various female characters. Rather, it is about the ideas of influence, insight, and a community of women. Each of the singularly fabulous characters has a life to which we, as readers, are not privvy. We, like CeeCee, see only slivers of lives that have been steeped in a wide variety of influences. In many ways, this is what true human experience is--knowing the parts of people they choose to show us or that we peek at through the bushes without them knowing.
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a moving tale about female friendship and admiration--about finding new paths, moving beyond loss, and growing up at all ages. It is one of those books you read and then want to send to each of your best friends.
A truly enjoyable and lovely book.
13 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.RoseMorris
Posted Tue Feb 09 00:00:00 EST 2010
I've never written a review before, but I had to write one for this book! I stayed up half the night to finish it because I couldn't stop reading. The writing is beautiful and the characters are living/breathing people.
CeeCee is a very smart little girl living in Ohio with her mentally ill mom and her dad who is rarely home. In fact, she has never really known a true childhood because she's been taking care of her mom for a long time. In order to push away her painful life, CeeCee reads books constantly. The author painted a picture of CeeCee's life that was painful but was also very funny at times.
After something very sad happens, CeeCee is sent to live with her aunt in Savannah and that's when her life changes in the most wonderful way! There's a housekeeper/cook named Oletta and the friendship that happens between Oletta and CeeCee is the most touching friendship I've ever read about. And there are lots of women both black and white and young and old who help CeeCee heal and eventually forgive all he things that happened to her in Ohio.
As the mother of a very smart 13 year old girl, I really appreciated and admired the author's way of developing CeeCee's character. I laughed and I cried while reading this wonderful book and I slowed down reading when I got to the last three chapters because I didn't want the story to end!!!
This is a book that has so much depth and it made me think about all the women I've known from childhood to the present.
I wish I could give this book 10 stars!
Thank you,
Rose Morris
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.sweetpeaSP
Posted Mon Apr 19 00:00:00 EDT 2010
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Cecelia Rose Honeycutt is a darling 12 year old girl struggling to find her place in a small town in Ohio. CeeCee's mother, the former beauty queen, is slipping into madness, severe mental illness. Her father is never around because he can't cope with his wife's illness. All CeeCee wants is a friend, and to be accepted by her peers but with her mother's peculiar behavior she has become an object of scorn and ridicule. When CeeCee's mother is struck and killed by a truck her great aunt takes CeeCee to her home in Savannah, Georgia. Aunt Tootie is a pure delight, a kind, warm Southern lady, who has only CeeCee's best interests at heart. Thus begins the story of CeeCee's new life in Savannah, surrounded by people who care about her and want only what is best for her. I loved this book. This is tragic at times but heartwarming and insightful, even funny and filled with hope. Wonderful!
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sat Feb 06 00:00:00 EST 2010
in the wake of reading "the help" this book lacked any kind of depth. it was pleasant enough to read, and very predictable. it is the type of book i would recommend for someone sitting in an airport, waiting for an appointment or when you just want something light to read.
4 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Jun 24 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I read this book aloud to my eighty year old mother who can no longer see to read. We laughed, we cryed, we thoroughly enjoyed this book. Each character was described so well, we could picture each one. Loved this book, waiting for more from this author.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.In "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt," Beth Hoffman paints an amazing portrait of life in 1960s Georgia, capturing a certain unusual gentleness of the time, with the social and political upheaval of the world a long way from the beautiful bubble CeeCee inhabited. You can almost smell the sweet magnolia blossoms and the fresh peach preserves in every word. She has also captured the rarified glory of sweet female friendship that is so indicative of women raised in the South. (That's not to say Northern gals don't have close friendships, it just different below the Mason-Dixon line, sugar!) This is gorgeous and glorious novel that celebrates the indomitable strengths of those female friendships and how very much those friendships are cherished.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Jun 24 00:00:00 EDT 2011
A book you wish you could read for the first time again
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Mar 11 00:00:00 EST 2012
I found myself wishing I lived in Savannah, Georgia on Gaston St. The characters were lovable, vibrant and so colorful! The cover of the book attracted me and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved this book. When you miss the characters at the end of the book, then you know it was a great read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Feb 24 00:00:00 EST 2012
1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Sep 12 00:00:00 EDT 2010
"Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" by Beth Hoffman, is a story about a twelve year old girl whose mother becomes metally ill; stuck in her past, believing she is still the 1951 Vidalia Onion queen pageant winner. When CeeCee discovers her mother has been killed, she has no where to go, until her mysterious great Aunt Tootie Caldwell comes into the picture. She take's CeeCee to her home in Savannah, where she meets all sorts of interesting people, and seems to be in a world completely run by women. From her new neighbors, to the local police officer, there are laughs that go along with every character you come across. While CeeCee makes new friends and has all sorts of adventures, she is still haunted by her mother's death. Along with Aunt Tootie and her friends, they help to clear up CeeCee's past and give her a brand new present. They are the only ones who can save sweet little Cecelia Rose Honeycutt from her fears. With every page you turn, you will either be laughing or crying the entire time. This is a heartwarming story, mostly based around the theme of "girl power." I highly recommend it. Once you start, you will not be able to put it down!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Hoffman's debut novel is chock-full of interesting ladies and will leave you wanting more! The interactions between the sweet (and not-so-sweet) old (?) ladies in this novel is on the "truth is stranger than fiction" level of characterization - the characters would be corny if it weren't for the fact that you know somebody JUST LIKE THAT somewhere in your life. The whirl of genteel southern ladies and their garden club socials is an alien world for most of us, as it is for the title character. Her assimilation to this new world and the life lessons she learns from the ladies she meets along the way are an entertaining and uplifting read. I wish it were longer!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2010
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The characters in this book are fantastic and so real I felt like I knew them. CeeCee, a little girl of 12 who had a rough life until her mother died, was so perfectly developed that I could hear her voice in my head. Oletta, who was the cook and became a friend to CeeCee, is the best character in any book I've ever read. EVER! The setting was perfect and I loved how the author described Savannah, it made me want to get in my car and drive there right away. Also, the writing style is beautiful and very tight and clean. I can't say enough good things about this book, it is the best I've read in a long time.
I loved how it made me laugh and think, and I cried a few times too. I don't want to reveal too much and ruin it for anybody else, but the wisdom that is shared with CeeCee is really unique and special. I underlined so many sentences, and that rarely happens when I read a book! I hope Ms. Hoffmann writes more.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu May 06 00:00:00 EDT 2010
I am truly surprise that this was Beth Hoffman's first novel. The book is an amazing read. It has an amazing story line, her writing style she has brings the characters alive, and makes you feel like you know them personally. You will find yourself, shocked, laughing, and maybe a tear or two, while reading this great story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu May 06 00:00:00 EDT 2010
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt had me captivated. I loved everything about this book. I felt as though I was right there along with them. Everytime I had to put the book down I could not wait to get back to them. I did not want the book to have and ending. I want to know more about CeeCee and her life. Thank you Beth Hoffman for writng such a heart warming captivating story. I absolutely loved it :-)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun May 02 00:00:00 EDT 2010
This book was so heartwarming. It has joined my list of my all time favorite books!! A must read.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2010
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is such a heartwarming story. While reading this charming book, I found myself pulled in through the pages and smack dab in the middle of Savannah, Georgia. This story had me giggling so hard at times, but then lost in thought pondering over a small life lesson that the author Beth Hoffman was able to slip in every now and again, that made you say to yourself, oh my goodness, I never thought of things that way. When I finished the book I held it to my chest and just hugged it. (Never before have I found myself hugging a book!)
Thank you Beth Hoffman, for writing such a lovely story, that warmed my heart the way this book did. This is a book that I will find myself visiting time and time again. It has been placed into my personal "Life Book".
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.What a wonderfully delightful book . . . such a fun read! I am usually a bit cautious about a first time author, but I thouroughly enjoyed this book - laughing loudly at some passages and with tears running down my cheeks at others. I anxiously await futher offerings from Ms. Hoffman.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Apr 09 00:00:00 EDT 2010
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Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman was the first download to my new Nook. What a good book to initiate my e-reading! My heart broke for CeeCee as she tried to save her mother. She didn't even know that she needed saving herself. When she arrived in Savannah, I could empathize with how those first few days might have felt for her.
In our lives, it is rare to have someone love us as our mothers do. CeeCee missed out on the love of her own mother, yet had three wonderful women love her as a daughter.
Set mainly in Savannah, some attention to local details was included in the story. I wanted to travel to Savannah just to experience the hospitality and culture there.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Tue Mar 23 00:00:00 EDT 2010
For years now I have stayed away from fiction after reading too many books with flat characters and uninteresting plots. This book reminded me of why I fell in love with fiction in the first place- For me, it's the romantic ride of settling into your comfortable clothes, finding that most comfortable place to sit with your favorite drink in hand, and your beloved book in your lap; and waiting, just waiting to delve into a world of colorful characters while experiencing emotions ranging from sheer hate and despair to soaring hope, optimism and love. Tears, laughing out loud and soft little girl like giggles accompanying you along the way.
This book brought it all back for me and was such a joy to read. It is one I'll likely read again and again. Thank you Beth Hoffman, for helping me to find my love of fiction once again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
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. ...