July 31, 2006
Dalby's darling debut is a light jaunt around the fairy tale-like town of Second Creek, Miss., where the weather is "God's messenger service," people waltz in the aisles of a grocery store and the Annual Delta Floozie Contest packs the town square. Laurie Lepanto puts together, with the help of the Bloody Mary-swilling Nitwitts (the civic association she belongs to, comprised of wealthy widows), "another mildly amusing Second Creek solution to life" to save the local Piggly Wiggly from closing after a MegaMart opens nearby. Laurie arranges a "Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly" promotion that allows ladies to cut a rug with dashing local ballroom dancer Powell Hampton, while the store's bag boys shop for the ladies' groceries. As big-band music swings in the canned goods aisle, a romance between Laurie and Powell percolates. Second Creek is populated by the charming types one would expect: Mr. Choppy, owner of the Piggly Wiggly, is a sweet Southerner with a deep drawl and a mysterious missing finger; each of the Nitwitts are tart-sweet busybodies; and Mr. Floyce, the songwriting and joke-telling mayor, has a hidden past. Those who appreciate genteel charm should enjoy this fluffy confection.
August 7, 2006
Dalby's darling debut is a light jaunt around the fairy tale-like town of Second Creek, Miss., where the weather is "God's messenger service," people waltz in the aisles of a grocery store and the Annual Delta Floozie Contest packs the town square. Laurie Lepanto puts together, with the help of the Bloody Mary-swilling Nitwitts (the civic association she belongs to, comprised of wealthy widows), "another mildly amusing Second Creek solution to life" to save the local Piggly Wiggly from closing after a MegaMart opens nearby. Laurie arranges a "Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly" promotion that allows ladies to cut a rug with dashing local ballroom dancer Powell Hampton, while the store's bag boys shop for the ladies' groceries. As big-band music swings in the canned goods aisle, a romance between Laurie and Powell percolates. Second Creek is populated by the charming types one would expect: Mr. Choppy, owner of the Piggly Wiggly, is a sweet Southerner with a deep drawl and a mysterious missing finger; each of the Nitwitts are tart-sweet busybodies; and Mr. Floyce, the songwriting and joke-telling mayor, has a hidden past. Those who appreciate genteel charm should enjoy this fluffy confection.
Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2006
The Nitwitts of Second Creek, Mississippi, are all widows, and they're feisty and opinionated, with all the eccentricities that come with age and life in a quirky Southern town. Mr. Choppy confides that his family's store, the local Piggly Wiggly, is about to go under thanks to the MegaMart on the outskirts of town. Laurie Lepanto, leader of these (sometimes) merry widows, has a plan to save the beloved market. She arranges for the store employees to do the shopping while shoppers waltz (or fox-trot or cha-cha) to their favorite oldies through the aisles of the Piggly Wiggly. Customers are lured in, but the effort fails to save the store. All is not lost, however, when a distinctly ominous change in the weather (which always seems to act up in times of portent) brings an old acquaintance to town. This gently told tale is filled with delightfully peculiar characters, and readers will greatly enjoy their antics and the superbly conceived universe of Second Creek.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)