SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT

Jenna Lamia creates delightful characterizations of 12-year-old CeeCee; her psychotic mother, Camille; her great-aunt Tootie, and other sassy women. When CeeCee’s mother dies, Tootie shows up from Savannah in her vintage Packard to bring CeeCee home. With vibrant Southern accents, Lamia portrays a cast of strong, eccentric women: Miz Goodpepper, who bathes in an outdoor bathtub; Violene Hobbs, who entertains the police chief in a yellow negligee; Mrs. Hobbs, who has a traveling brassiere, and Oletta Jones, Tootie's housekeeper, who soon becomes CeeCee's confidante. Lamia's vivid characterizations depict CeeCee's adjustment to her new life with authenticity and humor in this coming-of-age story. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2010]