The Sugar Queen

Josey didn’t have everything. She had only money. And she would give that away, that and everything else she had, every grain of sugar, for the one thing she wanted most in the world but would never have.

Josey Cirrini had a privileged childhood. Her father built the ski resort that turned Bald Slope, North Carolina into a prosperous, year-round vacation destination. She had money and connections, but she was considered a terribly behaved, spoiled child by one and all. At the time the reputation was well earned. Her relationship with her mother was always strained, and Josey feels it is because she was so horrible to her mother when she was young. After her father’s death Josey had no friends and her mother was her only family, so she made the decision to become a dutiful daughter. She doesn’t even dare breathe without her mother’s approval, and yet her mother is still cold and unaffectionate. Josey bottles up all her wants and needs and hides them away, just like the candy in her closet. It’s her sole act of rebellion, the only thing that helps her cope –a compartment in her closet full of candy, soda, and other sweets. But Josey shares that secret with no one. Most people in town formed their opinions of her long ago when she was an ill behaved child. She’s a little plump and self conscious, too. Josey is terrified of what people would think if they saw her eating anything, let alone indulgent sweets, so she hides away in her room and devours sweet snacks whenever she’s feeling stressed or depressed, and that’s pretty often.

She smelled like cigarette smoke and river water.

One day Josey opens her closet to find Della Lee Baker, a waitress who has seen the rougher side of life. At first Josey only lets her stay because Della Lee threatens to reveal her secret food stash, but Josey quickly becomes fascinated with this strange woman who has chosen to live such a different kind of life, so careless, so free of all restraint –the opposite of Josey’s life in so many ways.

Through her association with Della Lee, Josey also meets Chloe Finley, the owner and operator of a small café in town. Chloe has recently broken up with her boyfriend because he confessed to a one night stand with another woman. Josey, who has never had a true friend, comes along just when Chloe needs someone to turn to, and the two women bond quickly. Chloe coincidently happens to know Adam, the handsome mailman whom Josey has been pining after for quite some time.

As in all of Sarah Addison Allen’s novels, the characters’ lives intersect in surprising ways. Like The Peach Keeper, this story also contains a few mysteries, and like Garden Spells, there is a suspenseful moment near the end of the book that sure to keep the pages turning.

If I see you again tonight I’m putting you both in the toilet. (Chloe to the books that keep hounding her)

To date Allen has published four books. I have read all of them, and I’m sad to say this one is my least favorite. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a lovely story, and I still really enjoyed her writing style. I’ve narrowed down my disappointment in The Sugar Queen to two things. The first is that the magic was not as understated in this book as it is in Allen’s other three stories. While I’m totally charmed by the idea of books appearing to a character just when she needs them, I thought the way the books were practically stalking Chloe was almost comical, and when she could basically hear them moving around her home like little creatures, I found it pretty creepy. I was also disappointed that the books were all nonfiction. I thought that they would be fictional stories and Chloe would have to read them and find out what they were trying to tell her. (Sigh. Wouldn’t that have been cool?) And for goodness sake, Chloe is supposed to have this special relationship with books, but she reads almost nothing for the entire length of the story!

The second thing that bothered me was the outrageousness of anyone being okay with a stranger living in her closet. I’ve learned to expect the unusual form Allen. Magical realism does require the reader to suspend disbelief somewhat, but the closet squatter was just a little too out there for me.

So what did I like about the book? I really enjoyed the slow reveal of two plot twists. I can’ t be more specific without spoiling the story, so I’ll just say they both involved what Della Lee was doing in Josey’s closet. Much like The Peach Keeper I wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen, but I had a pretty good idea. I had just enough doubt in my theories to keep the story interesting. Allen is brilliant that way. It seems there are always a few little misleading details that make me think I might be wrong.

Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people’s legs like house cats. It was magical, this snow globe world.

Allen’s female friendships usually outshine the romances in her novels. I thoroughly enjoyed the Josey/Della Lee dynamic; they were like The Odd Couple. So delightfully different, it led to many funny moments. But I felt the Josey/Chloe relationship needed something more. Adam, however, is my favorite male love interest so far. He is flawed, but beautiful, and he grows as a character during the story. And the scene where he defends Josey made me want to cheer out loud. Actually, I think I did do a little fist pump. J

She wanted to argue, to fight, to stop this constant feeling of having no control over anything except what went in her mouth.

If you are already a fan of Sarah Addison Allen’s work, then you will most likely enjoy this book, too. But if you haven’t read anything of hers yet, read Garden Spells or The Peach Keeper first. I blame the problems with this story on the old sophomore curse. Garden Spells, Allen’s first novel, was so original, so subtly magical and full of warmth. It was always going to be a tough act to follow. Sugar Queen seems like the book where Allen was working out her style. By the time she got to The Girl Who Chased the Moon she had really hit her stride, and The Peach Keeper was very well crafted, too. I’m still a huge fan of Sarah Addison Allen, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. Her storytelling is consistently full of warmth, gentle humor, and enchantment.

Sometimes what’s inside [books] will change your life, but sometimes you don’t even have to read it. Sometimes it’s a comfort just to have a book around. ‘Why do you buy books you don’t even read?’...For the company, of course.