New York Times bestseller – Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
“Exemplifying Southern storytelling at its best…”
★ Starred Review from LIBRARY JOURNAL—Lesa Holstine, Glendale P.L., AZ
“This is one of those books that has that “it” factor…Saving CeeCee Honeycutt has all the components necessary to hit the bestseller list right out of the gate, become a book club favorite and the first novel everybody will be talking about in 2010. It’s simply the best book with which to start a new year.”
—Jamie Layton, —BOOKREPORTER
“A debut of uncommon grace that beautifully illuminates the power of female friendships, it will have you laughing out loud…and leave a satisfying lump in your throat.” —BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB
“Saving CeeCee Honeycutt will have you shedding tears from the beginning, so brilliantly rendered is CeeCee’s situation…. Destined to become a book club classic.”
—THE VOICE, American Library Association
“A Peach of a Novel …” —LADIES HOME JOURNAL
“Hoffman is the rare kind of author who can write both authentic characters and vivid settings using all five senses, and I felt wrapped in the world of Savannah while I read. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is southern women’s fiction at its finest.”—BOOKS AND MOVIES
“This novel moved me to tears … brilliant dialogue … don’t miss this heartfelt, uplifting read.”—NOVEL ESCAPES
“Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a gem of a story, lovingly told. Readers who savor books with memorable characters and Southern settings will consider this a novel to treasure.”
—Trisha Ping, —BOOKPAGE
“With an abundance of Southern Charm and a colorful cast of characters, Beth Hoffman delivers a delightful read about the struggles of a 12 year old girl named CeeCee Honeycutt. As the story unfolds the reader is treated to a wonderful journey of love, family and friendship…an excellent debut novel. —PRINCETON BOOK REVIEW
“If you read just one book this summer, read Beth Hoffman’s “Saving CeeCee Honeycutt.” — Barbara Bell, SAN JOSE EXAMINER
“This lovely novel has earned the status of ‘LizPick’.”
—Liz Murphy, owner of the Learned Owl Book Shop, Hudson, Ohio.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY “Galley Talk”
“There is a long line of Southern women writers who are beloved for their fictional masterpieces – Margaret Mitchell, Harper Lee, Fannie Flagg, Rebecca Wells, to name a few. With her debut novel, “Saving CeeCee Honeycutt,” Beth Hoffman stands poised to join the ranks of these cherished authors with a sweet Southern story of growing up and coming home…”
— Sharon Galligar Chance, Senior Book Reviewer – WICHITA FALLS TIMES RECORD NEWS
“Saving CeeCee Honeycutt will please any reader who enjoyed Steel Magnolias or Fried Green Tomatoes.”
—Barbara McIntyre, AKRON BEACON JOURNAL
“For those who loved Steel Magnolias and The Help, and authors like Fannie Flagg and Rebecca Wells, this book will be a treat. Great characters with terrific voices, strong plotting … “
—Carol Fitzgerald, co-Founder/President, THE BOOK REPORT NETWORK
“CeeCee Honeycutt is a sweet, perceptive girl with a troubled family, and this story of the summer that transforms her life is rich with hard truths and charm. This book unfolds like a lush southern garden, blooming with vivid characters, beauty, and surprises.”
—Kim Edwards, bestselling author of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
“I absolutely loved this book … I would not be surprised if Beth Hoffman’s Saving CeeCee Honeycutt becomes an American classic – it is that good!”
—Stuart Ross McCallum, author of Beyond my Control
“SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT is a confection so delightful readers will not be able to put it down. Beautifully written, brimming with decency and humor, and sparkling with a cast of women who are by turns wise, generous, and deliciously eccentric, this book is a joy to read. Beth Hoffman has written a debut novel to be savored.”
—Connie May Fowler, award-winning author of The Problem with Murmur Lee and Before Women had Wings
“A tender and touching debut. Charming, disarming, sweet as the scent of magnolias on a Southern summer night, SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT is a true delight.”
—Mary Kay Andrews, bestselling author of Deep Dish and The Fixer-Upper
“From a talented artist with the written word, Beth Hoffman has given us a gift. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a gem … A beautifully written novel to be savored.”
—Pamela King Cable, author of Southern Fried Women
“Reading SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT, I barely stopped laughing, even as my heart broke and broke again for CeeCee. She goes through the wringer with Southern grace, but you never forget all she’s lost, and you never lose sight of her courage and deep resources. Beth Hoffman has written her heart out in this novel that will clearly be the first of many.”
—Luanne Rice, bestselling author of The Geometry of Sisters and The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners
“SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT is an absolutely delightful debut novel packed full of Southern charm, strong women, and good old-fashioned heart. From the moment you first step into young CeeCee’s unique world, you’ll never want to leave.”
—Kristin Hannah, bestselling author of True Colors and Winter Garden
“I’d save CeeCee if she asked me! I love this bright, funny, spunky girl, the zany women in her life, and the way they enclose CeeCee in a circle of warmth and friendship that heals all hurts. SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT is a joy to read.”
—Sandra Dallas, bestselling author of Prayers For Sale
“Hoffman’s sensitive treatment of dealing with grief and living life on one’s own terms was inspired and inspirational … this book is a gem.”
—Terry Gilman, Ladies, Lunch, & Literacy, review from Pages Books and Mysterious Galaxy
“I loved Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. Having lived in the South most of my life and visited Savannah quite a few times, Beth got the rhythm and the feel of the Savannah just perfect. This book is about the power of love and acceptance. It’s about learning to believe in yourself and learning to trust others. I was sucked in right from the start and just had to know how CeeCee would cope with the loss of her mother and moving to a new environment.”
—Kathy Roberts, owner of Bermudaonion’s Weblog
“First and foremost, I think SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT is just a wonderful novel. I absolutely fell in love with CeeCee … My heart broke over and over again for her, yet I could see her underlying strength and intelligence. I just knew that there was hope … This is Beth’s debut novel and I promise you that it is definitely a winner. She has created extremely memorable characters and her descriptions of Savannah and the South are just beautiful! I can’t recommend SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT enough …”
— Julie Peterson, owner of Booking Mama
“CeeCee is an absolutely wonderful character … It’s difficult to write a convincing child without making her too precocious or unbelievably smart. However, Hoffman pulls it off like an expert … touches on a lot of different serious issues … including mental illness and racism, yet they never drag the book down. Hoffman doesn’t shy away from these problems, but she manages to tackle them in such a way so that the innate goodness of this book remains intact. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a wonderful read that I definitely recommend.”
—S. Krishna, owner of S. Krishna’s Books
“Beth Hoffman created a heartbreakingly real world in her novel Saving CeeCee Honeycutt … Although Hoffman uses humor to lighten the story, she does not sugar-coat the Savannah of the late 1960s or the hardships of CeeCee’s childhood. Among the more serious themes addressed in the novel are racism, marriage, women’s roles, mental health care, and parenting … The novel can be read on different levels and touches on several important topics, making it an obvious book club selection. The story is sure to lead to informative and lively discussion. Rating: A. ”
—Beth Fish Reads, owner of Beth Fish Reads
“…to craft an incredibly compelling opening line, to compassionately create all kinds of characters, and to brace the reader’s heart with the lightest touch of humor during the most dramatic or tragic moments, are qualities that many will celebrate. You have gently given me—and the world—a voice of strength in a time when impermanence and fear seem to prevail. Your voice, your characters, your gift of storytelling help the reader, in my humble opinion, to remember, “I am MORE.”
—Sharon Orlando, Youth Services Librarian, Watchung P.L., Watchung, NJ
“Saving CeeCee Honeycutt reminds us, no matter what our trials, we are carried along by a spiritual force which manifests itself in those around us.”
— Christi Craig, owner of Writing Under Pressure
“Lovers of Southern fiction and coming-of-age tales will fall in love with CeeCee Honeycutt and the friends she makes in Georgia, and those of us with a sweet tooth will savor every recipe and dish Oletta lovingly prepares in Aunt Tootie’s kitchen.”
—Meg Snider, owner of Write Meg.com
“Beth Hoffman, has this smooth prose that captures the idiosyncrasies and nuances of southern life and style. The cast of characters is vivid in personality, feminine intelligence, and southern charm. Hoffman also manages to convey a hard core of strength and determination beneath her sweetly loving and exuberant female characters. This seemingly simple story of a newly motherless girl taken in by her great aunt is truly superb. It is both laugh out loud, and cry in the dark, a multi-dimensional story wrapped in the façade of a light and easy read. This is one of those books that you put down, and then pick right back up because you must find someone else to read it and enjoy it with you.”
— Heather Christman, Warwick’s, La Jolla, CA.
“CeeCee’s honesty and curiosity are charming, and she captured my heart; Aunt Tootie’s generosity of her time and material goods is inspiring; every woman brings her own lovable eccentricity to the neighborhood. But it is Tootie’s housekeeper and friend, Oletta Jones, whose strength will stay with me the longest; she shows a combination of self-confidence, tenderness, and vulnerability that nicely dovetails the treasures that CeeCee is discovering within herself. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt. Readers and book groups looking to escape the winter doldrums would enjoy a virtual trip to the Savannah that welcomes CeeCee; like me, you might never want to leave. After you read the novel you’ll want a purple velvet couch of your own.“
—Dawn Rennert, owner of She Is Too Fond Of Books
“A sad, but hopeful story with memorable characters you will not easily forget. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is an amazing debut novel. It is one of those rare books that will stay with you long after the final page is turned. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.”
— Diane, owner of Bibliophile By the Sea
“This is the first book to actually make me laugh and cry. When it is sad, be prepared to have your hankies at the ready, and when it is funny, still keep those hankies handy as you will be crying with laughter…”
— Vivienne Dacosta, owner of Serendipity (UK)
“Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a story quilted with the patterns of vibrant characters whose lives become intricately connected to the emotional healing of 12-year-old CeeCee. Beth Hoffman’s first novel is a tribute to the strength of women who have survived tragedy and loss to become beacons for others who suffer from emotional scars.”
— Nancy Baker, The Blue Marble
“This novel focuses on the power of love and acceptance and how important it is to let go of the past and soar towards the future. Learning to love ourselves, believe in ourselves and trusting others can happen more easily when we let go of the things that can haunt us. I believe that Saving CeeCee Honeycutt will be a winner this year and is a book to watch. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”
— Bonnie, owner of Redlady’s Reading Room
“Set in Savannah in the 1960s, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt touches on some of the racial issues of that time, but it does so in a wonderfully deft way that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. More than anything, this book is a story of mothers and daughters…of all kinds; also one of love, faith, friendship and forgiveness – in all its forms. Once you find yourself among its pages you will be transported, along with CeeCee, to the warm breezes of Savannah, laughing and crying with them along the way. When the journey comes to the end, you will be sad to leave them behind and wish you could stay forever.”
V MAGAZINE—Brenda Seward, owner of Simple Pleasures Books, Ashland, VA.
“I loved this debut book! Beth Hoffman’s voice is unique and rings true. She’s the real deal in southern fiction.”
— LaDonna Paulette, co-owner of Magical Musings
“I LOVED SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT! A true southern story with great characters that come to life and who the reader will love! You won’t want to leave them at the end of the book. One of my best customers who recommends books to all her friends and reading groups, couldn’t put it down and is already recommending it. This one will be a word of mouth hit, just like The Help.”
—Kathy Kinasewitz, Best of Books
“Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman will make you laugh, cry and remind us of true kindness. A debut Southern novel full of strong women and a generous extended family reads like the first bite into a warm juicy peach on a sultry summer afternoon. I hope you fall in love with young CeeCee as much as I did.”
—Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT
“Beth Hoffman spins a sweet Southern tale of a young girl leaving her past behind and starting over with an aunt and her cook in Savannah. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is every bit of a good read as the note-worthy authors who have sent their hearty endorsements…”
—Emily Bell, Page & Palette, Fairhope, Alabama
“12-year-old Cecelia is sent to her Great Aunt Tootie’s home in the deep South, where old manners and lifestyle prevail. CeeCee finds help resolving issues about her mentally ill mother and seemingly uncaring father from her eccentric aunt, a wonderfully wise black housekeeper, and their assorted friends and family. With characters who feel very real, this is a lovely story told with humor and compassion.”
—Susan Wasson, Bookworks, Albuquerque, NM
“A heartwarming novel, full of quirky characters and a sweet, gentle, read that keeps you turning the pages with a smile on your face.”
—Sheryl O’Sullivan and Nancy Dayton, Willow Books, Acton, MA