Howdy Bookworms,
Ah, comfort fiction. For me, it typically involves gardening, women supporting one another, and more often than not, it’s set in the South. Sure, sometimes it’s a little on the sweet side, some might argue it’s downright syrupy. Luckily, I never met a dessert I didn’t like, so sweetness is absolutely my thing. I just read Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
Cecelia Honeycutt has had a rough go of it. As a young girl in Ohio, she plays witness to her mother’s devastating descent into mental illness. Her father is absent as he’s a travelling salesman, so when CeeCee’s mother’s antics move from the eccentric into the psychotic, she is left to handle things on her own.
CeeCee finds her refuge in the library and in the arms of her elderly neighbor. She struggles to deal with her mother making trips to the grocery store in full pageant regalia and withers under the stares of her classmates. Having an untreated mentally ill mother doesn’t make you particularly popular, as it turns out. Then one day, everything changes.
CeeCee’s father arranges to have her move in with her Great Aunt Tootie, a woman she’s never met. She’s uprooted and re-installed in Savannah, Georgia. Aunt Tootie is pretty much the sweetest woman alive, and CeeCee takes to Oletta (Aunt Tootie’s cook and housekeeper) immediately. Unfortunately, a few weeks of good home cooking and affection can’t make up for a childhood rife with neglect. CeeCee slowly learns to accept and acknowledge her past while allowing the love of her new found life to heal her tortured soul.
What can I say? I’m an absolute sucker for this kind of book. It’s the type of novel that leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy about humanity. If you liked The Secret Life of Bees
Have you ever met a novel that makes you feel good about humankind? What are some of your favorites?
*If you make a purchase through a link on this site I will receive a small commission, which I will probably use to buy more books. Honesty. It’s what I do.*
Melinda
Haven’t read any of them 🙁 Ok, I will take note of your recommendations. The story sounds nice.
Words For Worms
LOL, it’s okay, don’t feel pressure. Read what you like, darling.
Megan
Read this over the summer, on the BEACH no less, and yet … while it was a charming read, I found it lacking in plot. I kept thinking, “What is the point of this story? Why am I reading it?” I confess: I never finished it. 🙁
Words For Worms
I will give you that it was more atmosphere driven than plot driven. It’s okay. Not all books are for every reader. I still like you!
Megan
WHEW! We still have “ME Before You” and “Tell the Wolves I’m Home” 😉
Words For Worms
YES, because YES! (BTW, zazzle does not make hankies. Poo.)
Andi (@estellasrevenge)
I need to add this one to my shelves for when I need a pick-me-up comfort read. Sounds like just the thing!
Words For Worms
I think it’s a very Andi book!
Ashley F
This is one of those books that based on the title alone, I would probably NEVER read but I’m liking the sound of it.
Words For Worms
I think you might really enjoy this one. I avoided it for a long time thinking it just sounded kind of ridiculous, but it turned out to be a winner. Hmmm. Perhaps “don’t judge a book by its title” should be a thing now that I rarely see covers in digital-land?
Ashley F
Good idea! I’ve always loathed a cheesy cover but I think authors do themselves a disservice when they name their books something ridiculous.
Monika @ Lovely Bookshelf
I love that term, “comfort fiction.” Hmmm… I think Sarah Addison Allen’s books tend to be that way for me. 🙂
Words For Worms
I’ve been hearing a lot of SAA love lately 🙂
Sarah @ Sarah Says Read
Katie, have you read Sarah Addison Allen’s books yet? She does really awesome magical realism kind of Southern comfort books. Garden Spells was just fantastic, and The Sugar Queen, and The Girl Who Chased the Moon. She has a new one out too, Lost Lake, that I haven’t gotten to yet but I can’t wait to!
Words For Worms
I JUST finished The Peach Keeper this weekend. I liked it, but I have a feeling I’d dig some of her other stuff even more. It has a very Alice Hoffman-y vibe, but lighter. I like the sounds of the Sugar Queen, because I have a sweet tooth.
Amy
This sound right up my alley, mainly because your description of it reminds me of The Help, which is one of my all time favorites!
Katie @ Doing Dewey
This sounds like a great sort of book for comfort fiction. I haven’t read any of the books you mentioned, but this is a type of book I’d like to read more of 🙂
Allison @ The Book Wheel
I’m going to go out on a limb here and ask whether you’re a Sarah Addison fan? My guess is yes.
Words For Worms
I recently read The Peach Keeper and found it charming ;).