Customer Reviews

Sweet Magnolia: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Using the rich culture of New Orleans as a backdrop, SWEET MAGNOLIA dives into a story about a well-to-do family who has lived their lives shrouded in deep generational secrets. The Ledouxes have lived on Magnolia Lane among the elite for many years. Their family secrets have been kept silent mostly by the resilient efforts of the family matriarch, Hannah, who is now dead. A wedding is about to take place that will bring the family together again with an opportunity to right some misunderstandings as they air a little dirty laundry and provide room for some serious spiritual healing.

After Summer's wedding to the man of her dreams, her super model sister, Misa, decides to move closer to home. Although the two sisters dance around one another, it easy to see that they both share something in common that is festering within their souls and eating away at their hearts. While Summer turns to God to help her with her emotional issues, Misa turns to alcohol and men. Unfortunately, an argument and an accident one dark, rainy night will be the spark that finishes unraveling years of secrets and misunderstandings.

Norma L. Jarrett has an eloquently written book about a family in crisis as they work through some very tough issues and toward reconciliation and forgiveness. Years of miscommunication have fostered mistrust, resentment and shame among the Ledouxes. Jarrett closes in on mental illness, giving it a very distinctive flavor that lends itself to open discussions on this often taboo subject. She uses original characters, heart-wrenching dialogue and a splash of humor to focus on how sweet life really was on Magnolia Lane.

Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I read the first book "Sunday Brunch" and I loved it. This book was also great. I read a lot of romance and "Christian Fiction" This one is at the top of my list. It was not judgmental or overly preachy. It was humorous and a fun read. I will recommend this one to my friends

Although the book was well written, it was a bit slow. The plot was good and interesting, it just lacked excitement

"The plantation home on Magnolia Lane had been the family gathering place for several generations. The big white columns and massive entryway boldly invited quests to a rich tradition, a mansion full of antiques that represented all the charm of New Orleans. 'There's a different between a house and a home,' Hannah would say. For Summer, the stately structure was definitely a home, worn and welcome in all the right places."

SWEET MAGNOLIA is the story of Misa and Summer Ledoux, two sisters as different as night and day. Beautiful, flamboyant Misa is a jet-setting internationally-known model based in New York City, while unassuming Summer is a computer engineer and devout Christian living in Houston . Despite their outward differences, both sisters are struggling with similar problems and it is only through love and trust that they can reconcile and truly heal.

SWEET MAGNOLIA is also the larger story of the Ledoux family, a well-to-do African-American family based in a mansion "painted soft pink, symbolic of money by New Orleans standards." In the wake of matriarch Hannah's death, the Ledouxes have to come to terms with Hannah's role in each of their lives and with the secrets that can't help but be revealed.

This book is aptly classified as religious fiction by the publisher. Jarrett's faith infuses SWEET MAGNOLIA enabling her to create a profoundly moral novel, by which I mean a novel with morals. However, the focus on faith and morality can seem a little overbearing for readers unaccustomed to Christian fiction. Nevertheless, SWEET MAGNOLIA is a worthwhile read. Jarrett does a good job depicting a range of family relationships and does not shy away from difficult topics like mental illness.

Published by Harlem Moon in June 2006, Jarrett's second novel has already garnered much attention. In May 2006, SWEET MAGNOLIA was featured in USA TODAY's "Critic's Picks" for summer reading. Additionally, ESSENCE magazine published an article about the novel in July 2006 when it was selected as the third ESSENCE Book Club pick.

Norma Jarrett is the author of SUNDAY BRUNCH and COFFEE TABLE QUOTES FOR THE CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN. She is currently working on her third novel, which will also be released under the Harlem Moon imprint.

This book was very run of the mill. I could predict everything that eventually happened. None of the characters seemed to leap off of the pages. I didn't find the novel to have very much depth. I like books that are page turners where I'm anticipating a character's next move, and that was not the case here.

this book started out slowly and gradually gained my attention; if you have a sibling - specifically a sister and things aren't so good between you - this book will speak to your heart - i enjoyed it.

Like the smell of sweet magnolias, reading one chapter just wasn't enough. Summer and Misa are sisters who have seen their share of pain. How they deal with the pain is like night and day. One sister sees life through rose colored glasses, while the other likes to chase away the bad things with living a fast life. Both learn that they must learn to trust God in all areas of their lives. The main setting is New Orleans. Jarrett's descriptions make you feel as if you're right there with the characters. This is one book I highly recommend.

This second masterpiece by Norma Jarrett - is Norma on a whole new level - this is Norma depicting another layer of her intense talent - It takes an extremely talented writer of profound creativity to do what Norma has done with this piece of work...she has shown between her two books, Sunday Brunch and Sweet Magnolia, that she is vast in depth and skill level; therefore not limited in her writing sytle and audience. If Norma is still growing as a writer (which I'm sure she is as she should be) then, my, my I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for her next release!

Ever since Summer Ledoux was a little girl she wanted to get married at her family's New Orleans estate-the Ledoux Mansion. But when she returns home for her nuptials she finds that her prestigious and well-guarded family name is steeped in dark secrets and a legacy curse that haunts her every night. Although Summer quells this curse through her spiritual connection to Christ, she prays that her older and misguided sister, Misa will seek His refuge before its too late.

Misa Ledoux knows that her supermodel days are almost over. So when she receives Summer's wedding and family reunion invitation she returns to Magnolia Lane hoping that this opportunity will be beginning of a fresh start for her. But her anxiety attacks and addictions to booze and bad men may destroy her future before it begins. Her caustic behavior with the family further strains her relationship with Summer-- the only person who could possibly help her through her depressive bouts.

Jarrett writes beautiful prose. Her close attention to detail, t romantic scenes, and New Orleans cultural references create an sweet, southern genteel mood for this story. Yet, the constant flashbacks and episodic chapters slow the story's pace. Too many surprises and secrets add so much drama that it clouds the central themes of redemption and family responsibility from greater view.

I read about this book in Essence Magazine this summer, and being from New Orleans, I was especially interested in this story about a strong southern family and two New Orleans-bred sisters with deep secrets. My own sister and I were raised in New Orleans, although we don't have any threatening secrets, we do have a particular affinity for Magnolias. Altogether, I was very eager to read SWEET MAGNOLIA.

SWEET MAGNOLIA is primarily the story of sisters Misa and Summer Ledoux, and their affluent, well-intentioned, but misguided family. The Ledoux family is a loving, meddling, handsome family living in New Orleans and Houston, and everyone in this family is keeping secrets. The members of this family are all very strong Christians, so I would actually call this novel Christian or faith-based fiction.

I enjoyed the novel, but I must admit that I was disappointed in a few things. First, the writing was never smooth or subtle. I think there was too much dialogue and not enough description, narration, or backstory. As a reader, I felt like I was subject to a lecture on every point -- religion, relationships, family, sisterhood, marriage -- and I would have prefered a less obvious way of addressing these issues than dialogue. Entirely too often it felt like the whole objective was to teach the lesson, not to move the plot along.

Second, I was prepared for really deep, shameful, shocking secrets. All of the secrets were disappointing to me, none sufficiently huge or shocking enough to rupture an otherwise strong family bond. This family clearly loved each other, so what was the point in keeping secrets? And I never understood why so much was kept secret. I never understood why Misa and Summer felt compelled to keep so many secrets from each other. The conflict over the secrets sometimes felt forced.

Third, while the novel was very spiritual, it didn't feel very emotional. And I wanted it to, because I really liked Misa and Summer.

Overall, I love positive, motivational stories, and share the author's belief that unconditional love, forgiveness and faith are vital to family bonds and to healing. So I liked the book, and I don't regret buying it. I actually think that with a few tweaks SWEET MAGNOLIA would make a great black movie. In the meantime, read it if you want a good, easy read, but skip it if you need high-quality, literary, stylistic storytelling.