Review by Booklist Review
Firmly ensconced back in the family home in South Carolina's Lowcountry, Caroline Wimbley Levine' s life would be perfect were it not for the drunken escapades of her hopefully soon-to-be-ex-sister-in-law, Frances Mae. In love with another woman and exasperated by his wife's drinking, Caroline's brother, Trip, has repeatedly asked Frances Mae for a divorce, which only fuels her alcohol-induced antics. When an under-the-influence accident endangers the life of their youngest child, Frances Mae is sent off to rehab rather than face jail time. Her absence gives Caroline and Trip's girlfriend, Rusty, the opportunity to turn Trip's pack of she-wolf daughters into young ladies a Herculean task, considering the girls think Rusty a potential stepmother worthy of the Brothers Grimm. Unfortunately, it will take a tragedy to fully bring the lessons of grace, honor, and tradition home to this next generation of Wimbley women. Reprising the characters introduced in Plantation (2001), Frank creates a richly atmospheric tale of a loving, if dysfunctional, southern family.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Here's one for the Southern gals as well as Yankees who appreciate Frank's signature mix of sass, sex, and gargantuan personalities. In this long-time-coming sequel to Plantation, opinionated and family-centric Caroline Wimbly Levine has just turned 47, but she's less concerned with advancing middle age than she is with son Eric shacking up with an older single mom. She's also dealing with a drunk and disorderly sister-in-law, Frances Mae; four nieces from hell; grieving brother Tripp; a pig-farmer boyfriend with a weak heart; and a serious crush on the local sheriff. Then there's Caroline's dead-but-not-forgotten mother, Miss Lavinia, whose presence both guides and troubles Caroline as she tries to keep her unruly family intact and out of jail. With a sizable cast of minor characters with major attitude, Frank lovingly mixes a brew of personalities who deliver nonstop clashes, mysteries, meltdowns, and commentaries; below the always funny theatrics, however, is a compelling saga of loss and acceptance. When Frank nails it, she really nails it, and she does so here. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
More folksy love, marriage and magic in Frank's (Return to Sullivan's Island, 2010, etc.) winning book.Caroline Wimbley Levine is at loose ends. The daughter of Wimbley matriarch, Miss Lavinia, she has returned to Tall Pines Plantation to take charge of the family home and, apparently, the lives of her relatives. The lowcountry of South Carolina may have limited romantic possibilitiesneither of Caroline's major beaus (a barbecue chef and a local cop) tempt her to remarrybut its limited social circle is full of complications. The major one is her brother Trip's troubled separation from the falling-down drunk Frances Mae, a woman both Caroline and her mother had disapproved of from the start not because "she was a low class red neck slut from nowhere" but because "she was greedy, jealous, small-minded, petty and mean-spirited." The main conflict begins when Frances Mae crashes her car with her young daughter as a passenger, forcing Carolineand an unwilling Tripto take action. But as Caroline tries to channel Miss Lavinia's voice, she tends to hear only the old prejudices. While Frances Mae, a woman whose unrefined accent is made clear through her slurred protestations of "I love yew" when the extended family enacts an intervention, is hardly sympathetic, Caroline has a few lessons to learn about tolerance and commitment, too. Joined and amply supported by Frank's usual colorful lowcountry crewparticularly the ancient Miss Sweetie and the magical Millie SmoakCaroline makes it through this particularly bumpy summer a little wiser and a lot happier. Although a particularly providential accident is necessary to bring about the usual happy ending, this chatty first-person tale of friendship, love and toothsome Southern food shares the appeal of its predecessors.Family complications and Southern charm bolster a proven formula.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
