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Southern Belle Seeks Solace In Closet Of Sweets And Pals

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By MARY PATRICK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 1, 2008

"The Sugar Queen," by Sarah Addison Allen (Bantam Books, $22)

In her second novel, Allen provides a charming example of Southern "chick lit." For her south-of-the-Mason-Dixon-line setting, she picks the fanciest house in a small North Carolina resort town peopled with fantastic characters and sprinkled with a little quirkiness and magic.

Lead character Josey Cirrini is a poor excuse for a Southern belle. The 27-year-old is the only child of the wealthiest family in town, but she has settled into a miserable existence of living with and caring for her hypercritical widowed mother.

Her only solace is her secret closet stash of sweets, travel magazines and romance novels. She also has a crush on her mailman, the only English-speaking, non-AARP member with whom she has any contact.

The book opens with Josey's discovery of a waitress - with a bad reputation! - living in her closet. The hard-boiled Della Lee Baker, trying to escape her own unfulfilling future, makes it her business to tutor Josey on how to improve her life because "clearly, it is not the closet of a happy woman."

Through Della Lee's machinations, Josey befriends Chloe Finley, a sandwich-maker who attracts books - they appear whenever she needs them. The women soon realize they have a connection that goes beyond mere friendship, one that involves a rich and mysterious man, Marco Cirrini. And one of the three women might actually be a ghost looking to get on the fast track into heaven.

It might not be everyone's cup of chick lit, and it's miles from the urban sophistication that marks much of the genre. But those willing to give Allen a chance will discover a deliciously quirky story with enough plot twists to keep readers' attention.

Mary Patrick of Tampa is a freelance writer.

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