Review: Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt: A Novel by Beth Hoffman is the charming story of a young girl, Cee Cee Honeycutt,  and the second chance she is given at a real childhood by her Aunt Tootie and the cast of characters from their Savannah neighborhood.  Pre-teen Cee Cee lived with her mother in Ohio and tried to manage despite her mother's mental illness and her preoccupation with her days as a Southern beauty queen.  Cee Cee's mortification at much of her Mom's behavior is made all the more poignant by her very evident love for her mother.  When her Mom dies unexpectedly and her father, absent even before her mother's death, makes it clear he cannot care for his young daughter, Aunt Tootie arrives from Savannah and takes Cee Cee home with her.

Cee Cee enters an entirely new world when she arrives in Savannah - she meets Tootie's eccentric neighbors and friends and her Aunt's housekeeper, Oletta.  Each of these women take special care of Cee Cee and provide her with excellent models of strong (if a little crazy at times) women.  With time, Cee Cee is able to shed the shroud under which she has lived while dealing with her mother's mental illness, her father's indifference to her and ultimately the loss of her mother.  It is inspiring to see her blossom under the care of these southern women.

Author Beth Hoffman has created a lovely cast of characters in this novel which reminded me a bit of "Steel Magnolias".   It is a wonderful read and one I did not want to see end - I wanted to enjoy more of the adventures of these women and see Cee Cee continue to flourish under their care.  I can't wait to see what the author has in store for us in new novels!