Book Review: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

I absolutely loved this book.  Rarely does a book take me on such a rollercoaster of emotions.  I laughed.  I cried.  I felt angry.  While this book is not about human trafficking, the healing journey that CeeCee goes through reminded me of what I imagine a victim of sexual exploitation may go through in her healing journey.  Here is what Goodreads says:

Twelve-year-old CeeCee is in trouble. For years she’s been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille— the crown-wearing, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town. Though it’s 1967 and they live in Ohio, Camille believes it’s 1951 and she’s just been crowned the Vidalia Onion Queen of Georgia.

The day CeeCee discovers Camille in the front yard wearing a tattered prom dress and tiara as she blows kisses to passing motorists, she knows her mother has completely flipped. When tragedy strikes, Tootie Caldwell, a previously unknown great-aunt comes to CeeCee’s rescue and whisks her away to Savannah. Within hours of her arrival, CeeCee is catapulted into a perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricities—a world that appears to be run entirely by women.

While Tootie is busy saving Savannah’s endangered historic homes from the wrecking ball, CeeCee encounters a cast of unforgettable, eccentric characters. From the mysterious Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in an outdoor tub under the watchful eyes of a voyeuristic peacock, to Oletta Jones, the all-knowing household cook, to Violene Hobbs, the loud-mouthed widow who entertains a local police officer in her yellow see-through peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer.

But CeeCee’s view of the world is challenged in ways she could have never imagined: there are secrets to keep, injustices to face, and loyalties to uphold. Just as she begins to find her ballast and experiences a sense of belonging, her newfound joy collides with the long-held fear that her mother’s legacy has left her destined for destruction.

Laugh-out-loud funny, at times heartbreaking, and written in a pitch-perfect voice, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a spirited Southern tale that explores the intricate frailties and strengths of female relationships while illuminating the journey of a young girl who loses her mother but finds many others.
 

The book follows CeeCee on her journey where she begins as a broken, hurting, traumatized little girl.   Her world has crumbled away.  Her mother who has been the source of much humiliation and instability in her life has passed away and her near non-existant father wants to send her off to live with an aunt she has never met.  She is briskly ripped away from the only life she ever knew.  Once in Savannah Georgia she is srrounded by a cast of lively women who build into her and pour love into her.  CeeCee begins to heal and to blossom into the sweet, fun loving girl God created her to be. 

This book was filled with such wisdom between the pages.  I am including some of my favorites quotes here so I can remember them, but also because I can imagine some of them bringing healing to a survivor of human trafficking. 

"...I wondered if I'd ever be so lucky to have a girlfriend I'd grow old with, a girlfriend who knew my secrets, my fears, my hopes--and loved me anyway. A purple-velvet-sofa kind of girlfriend."

It's what we believe about ourselves that determines how others see us

It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty

far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be wide-awke to recognize them

"Every time you give in to your fears, you're lettin' that man win. And every time you do that, he gets stronger while you get weaker. Givin' into your fears will rob you blind. You'll end up a prisoner to that man for the rest of your life.”

"Just set up the board as best you can. We'll play with whatever we got."

it occurred to me that that's what friends should do: cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest

“...holding on to hurt and anger made about as much sense as hitting your head with a hammer and expecting the other person to get a headache.”

"Cecelia Rose, she said, reaching for my hand, "far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be wide-awake to recognize them." "Cecelia Rose, she said, reaching for my hand, "far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be wide-awake to recognize them."

"I know this is the same sky that hangs over Ohio, but the sun seems bigger here. Everything seems bigger."

She pursed her lips and thought about that for a moment. "Maybe your eyes is just more open."