THE SAME SWEET GIRLS

Laura Hicks gives a top-notch performance in this tender story of six middle-aged women. After college, the women meet every year to reconnect. When their lives hit rocky times, the SSGs provide each other with balance and sanity. Hicks's accents, rhythms, and pacing precisely capture Corrinne, a successful gourd artist with an abusive ex; Julia, the exemplary wife of the governor of Alabama; and Lanier, a smart-alecky nurse trying to get her life on track. Secondary characters appear as vivid as the principals. More than a story about friendship, Cassandra King's third novel slips into the heart of Southern culture, revealing its seductive and conflicting messages. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE/JULY 05]