Customer Reviews

The Sugar Queen

5 star:		(118)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Much like her charming debut novel Garden Spells (Bantam Discovery), Sarah Addison Allen's Sugar Queen is a blend of food and magic. Josey Cirrini is fast approaching thirty. She's a plump, painfully shy recluse who hides in her closet stuffing herself with junk food and reading romance novels to find solace from her overbearing mother (the two live together). While her mother Margaret was a classic Southern belle, Josey is mousy and timid, with no friends, no love life, and no dreams. She's expected to stay and care for her mother.

But Josey's dull, predictable life is turned upside-down when bad girl Della Lee mysteriously appears in her closet, smack-dab in the middle of her stash of moonpies, pecan rolls, and Little Debbie snacks. Della Lee is Josey's opposite: she lives fast and hard, has been arrested for solicitation, and seems to be on the run from someone. The only problem is that she refuses to leave the closet.

Desperate to be rid of her, Josey agrees to do several favors for Della Lee, which starts her on a journey of self-discovery regarding her family's past. Della Lee becomes a sort of fairy godmother responsible for giving Josey a newfound sense of confidence, and encouraging her to pursue her infatuation with hunky, injured mailman Adam, who's hiding out from his own secret.

Allen cleverly themes each chapter title around Josey's love of sweets, with the candy names reflecting various plot points: SweeTarts, Sno Caps, Sugar Daddy, Mellowcreme Pumpkins, Candy Hearts, and Mr. Goodbar all make guest appearances. Her talent lies in the clever interplay of characters and fate, with a strong Southern sensibility.

I could identify with the cowed Josey slowly coming out of her shell as she creeps out from under her mother's shadow; but Allen deftly paints Margaret as more than a cardboard caricature of an ice queen. We discover why she is so bitter, and while it doesn't make her likeable, it does make her a more believable character. Likewise, the supporting cast (including the North Carolina ski resort setting) is equally well-drawn.

As I mentioned in a review of Allen's Garden Spells, she possesses that unique brand of magic found in Joanne Harris's Chocolat and Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies, blending sensuality, food, and little sprinkles of magic to create a luscious read.

I adored Garden Spells by this author and admit to fearing she wouldn't be able to replicate in The Sugar Queen that same quality of writing that makes me feel as if I'm floating through the story. But she definitely did! I have a hard time defining how Allen's writing differs from other authors. Her characters are so well drawn you fall for them instantly and root for them, even with their flaws. The smattering of magic she includes just works for her, where it might seem contrived if used by another author. I think each of her characters has a bit of magic inside them, whether they know it or not.

I found the book to be surprising in some places, including the ending, which I had only partly predicted, and the part I didn't predict left me in tears. A wonderful, highly-recommended book! I truly wish the author could write faster, as it was over far too soon.

If this author continues writing in this shimmery other world way I could become her most avid fan. I thought Garden Spells was wonderful and if you suspend your staid, logical way of thinking and just flow with the story of this book you will hate for it to end. This was excellent reading and not nearly long enough. I will buy all of the author's books as long as she continues in this mystical way.

This book, which I read within 24 hours, was light and delightful, with a twist that surprised me. Again, the author uses (but not too much) magical realism. It is so subtle that the reader believes. As a book-lover, I especially loved how books just "appear" in this story.

In another author's hands, this book could have been overwritten. I like Allen's concise way of writing, her character development, and the sprinkling of magic. I liked this even more than "Garden Spells".

A good story!

I found it very difficult to get through this book. The text was sophmoric, and the plot was too pat and predictable. I added a point to my original two point review because the ending did redeem the story somewhat. Somehow I was so aggrivated with the inane thought processes that resulted in such poor communication between the various love interests that I didn't see it coming. Definitely a young chick book.

I think I'll give this book to my 17 year old granddaughter. She'll like it.

Having read the exquisite "Garden Spells" by Allen, I had to sample the delicious "Sugar Queen." It was MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM good!!!!

Josey Cirrini is twenty seven, slightly plump, and living at home with her overbearing, controlling mother. Mommy dearest demands most of Josey's attentions so to regain a semblance of balance, Josey has a closet filled with divine treats.....candies, cookies, and confections, oh my. Because her Mom demands that she stay thin, she must hide within her closet to eat these delicacies. One morning, while going in for a sugar fix, Josey is astounded by unexpected company. Della Lee, the town "give me some sugar, Baby, and I will make it sweet wine" kind of gal, decides to lodge in Josey closet after a brawl with a visceral boyfriend. Josey's life suddenly does an about turn, and, boy, does she take a ride on the rails of magic and genuine reality. We readers are with her for every twist and turn rooting for her escape from Mommy prison.

Sarah Addison Allen has such an excellent ability to blend magic realism with realism. Her characters are well etched, well developed, leaving you to exalt the underdogs and chide the villains. Be careful though as all of Ms. Allen's characters have potential for both. Her prose is lovely. And her setting in the NC ski town left me breathless from description.(I didn't even know NC had skiing)

I await her next book with great avarice. She is earning my "must read this author's books" status and I now long for Allen's next offering.

Sarah Addison Allen's follow up to Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, has many of the same elements: lonely women, food, isolation, and magic. Set in the North Carolina skiing town of Bald Slope, we meet Josey, who's been enslaved to her hateful mother's whims since she was a child, and Chloe, whose life has been upended by the admission of her boyfriend that he slept with someone else. These two young women, who seemingly have nothing in common, meet and become fast friends, helping one another grow, learn forgiveness, and find love. Throw in Della Lee, an abused woman who turns up in Josey's closet one autumn morning, and Adam, the mailman for whom Josey secretly pines, and you've got a mix for odd relationships that somehow come together in the end.

I liked the magical realism of this book, and in particular the way books seemed to follow Chloe around. I also liked Josey's emerging personality, and her awareness that she needed more than her mother could provide. Helena the maid was also an interesting character with her charms and strange ways of speaking. Despite all these fun situations and characters, I never did feel a deep emotional connection as I did with Garden Spells. I began to suspect where the story was heading early on and while I found it delightful, I was a little letdown to find out I was mostly right. However, this is a light engaging story that I enjoyed and can recommend to those who like their chick lit with a dash of magic.

The Sugar Queen is the story of Josey Cirrini, a twenty-seven-year-old woman who lives at her mother's beck and call in a North Carolina ski town. Beaten down by her mother's constant criticism, Josey resorts to hiding sweets and paperback romance novels in her closet, the only source of pleasure she finds in her dreary existence. All that changes when one day she finds a woman hiding out in her closet. Della Lee Baker, a woman with a "reputation," is hiding from something in her life that she isn't quite ready to face yet. She moves into Josey's closet and together the two of them begin to try and change Josey's miserable existence (albeit unwillingly, in Josey's case.)

Della Lee steers Josey toward Chloe, a sandwich shop owner, who is despondent as well. Josey finds her first true friend in Chloe, much to her mother's dismay. As Josey begins learning how to live her own life, she must cope with her mother's constant disapproval, as well as trying to change her image in the eyes of the town - after all, she's not that misbehaving nine-year-old girl anymore. Along the way, she finds happiness in the most unexpected places, as well as the truth about who she, Chloe, and Della Lee really are.

The Sugar Queen is a syrupy sweet tale of love and self-discovery. It is definitely cheesy in some places, and a lot of the book requires the reader to suspend their disbelief in order to the read. The novel rails on about how Josey was the worst child - she threw tantrums, broke things on purpose, etc. - but after her father died, she realized how awful she had been (at the age of nine, mind you) and vowed to make it up to her mother. Eighteen years later, the town still judges her on how she acted as a child. It is hard to believe she would not find forgiveness in that amount of time.

Elements of magic within the story add some character but take away from the story's connection with reality. Chloe has a special connection with books, for example. They magically appear whenever they think she needs to take a certain direction in her life. However, the magic isn't as much of an issue as the unbelievable plot points. It gives the novel a certain quirkiness and makes it unique.

The main issue with the novel is its similarity to Allen's previous work, Garden Spells. While Garden Spells was a delightful novel, it would have been nice to see something a little different in her follow-up. That being said, The Sugar Queen is still an enjoyable book that is definitely worth reading.

Underneath it all, The Sugar Queen is a simple and sweet book about a woman who doesn't know how to live. It definitely is a feel-good novel, and as long as you are willing to go with it rather than questioning every unlikely thing that happens along the way, you will enjoy it. I look forward to Allen's next work, though I hope she changes up the formula a bit this time.

Josey Cirrini's small act of defiance is the horde of junk food and romance novels she keeps secreted in her closet. It provides her a place to retreat and recoup when the pressures of being one of "the Cirrinis" becomes too great or her mother's criticisms too harsh. Otherwise, she is the grown daughter of Margaret Cirrini, widow of Marco Cirrini, the founder of Bald Slope Ski Resort. A faded Southern bell, Margaret has very exacting standards for Josey. Living together in the big house with their housekeeper, Margaret wants to present a "just so" image to the town's people. Josey may have her secret acts of defiance, but Margaret's word is law.

One morning Josey is awakened with a sense that her world is a tiny bit tilted....and discovers Della Lee Baker hiding out in her closet. Why Della Lee, a hard luck waitress from town is in her closet is a mystery. She tells Josey she needs a place to hide out. After a bit of mutual blackmail, Josey allows Della Lee to remain, for the time being, little knowing that soon her whole world will begin to change. Guided by Della, Josey begins to expand her world and make friends. She sees a world for her that doesn't include being at her mother's beck and call. Margaret , however, is not amused.



Sarah Addison Allen has crafted a quirky, magical gem of a book. The language is beautiful and the characters a delight. There are several intertwining story lines that weave together seamlessly. What I enjoyed the most is each character stayed true to their selves and there were no false notes.

Affluent semi southern belle Josey Cirrini has one big problem. She is THE SUGAR QUEEN of the south; unable to resist candy and cakes. Since her mom the great dictator demands she must stop eating sugar, twenty-seven year old Josey feels like a kid as she hides her stash in a secret compartment inside her closet.

Battered Eat and Run greasy spoon waitress Della Lee Baker takes refuge in Josey's hideaway. Worried about her uninvited guest, Josey tries to make the haven a bit more comfortable for her soaking wet unwanted guest who explains she took a dip in the nearby cold river. Meanwhile Josey relooks her lifestyle starting with her philandering father Marco, developer of Bald Slope Ski Resort, and her secret attraction for the mailman Adam Boswell while Della Lee becomes her streets wise fairy godmother helping Josey with her insecurities starting with the best grilled cheese sandwich in town and ending she hopes with Adam.

This whimsical charming romantic fairy tale is an engaging tale as tough Della Lee harangues, bullies, and coaxes Josey to go out and get him in spite of her mom's objection to a working class son-in-law. The story line is driven by the relationship between Josey and Della Lee though the other key players are complete especially how they connect to and from the titled character. On top of all that is the mystery of Della Lee. Readers will appreciate this engaging tale and seek and want to read Sarah Addison Allen's magical previous novel (see GARDEN SPELLS).

Harriet Klausner