The Same Sweet Girls

by Cassandra King

Book Overview

The new novel by the celebrated author of The Sunday Wife chronicles the lives of a tight-knit group of lifelong friends. None of the Same Sweet Girls are really girls anymore, and none of them have actually ever been that sweet. But this spirited group of Southern women, who have been holding biannual reunions ever since they were together in college, are nothing short of compelling. There's Julia Stovall, the First Lady of Alabama,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401300383
• ISBN13: 9781401300388
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.4"
• Age Range: 18 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Postsecondary to Grade 12

Customer Reviews

great insight to women friendships

I loved this book almost as much as "The Sunday Wife" I hated to put it down.It was so real as each of the women were so different but so loyal to their little circle no matter what.I think Cassandra King is delightful.

better than .....!!!

I was so glad I picked up this book. personally i liked this book better than the ya ya sisterhood. To me it seemed like it had a little bit more to hang on to. I thought the characters were well developed and I couldn't put it down, always wondering what would come next. this is a definitely a have to read.

new favorite

This is my new favorite book. I really enjoyed reading the point of view of several characters and really " got to know them" over the course of the book. I passed it along to others who felt the same. If you are interested in true female relationships, this book will touch your heart AND your funny bone. Excellent!

Makes you glad you have friends

I just had to purchase this book! I grew up as one of five very close southern girls. Our little group formed in elementary school and we still are very close and we're all 33 now! This book makes you look forward to growing old with close friends. I really appreciated the way the author kept writing from the views of each of the women and honestly loved each character, save one, but that's self explanatory. You MUST read this book if: 1.You're a southern woman who has a close group of friends that you've grown up with or plan on growing older with 2.Ever relied on your friends for major life problems 3.You're wishin' you had such a girly girl group! Do get this book and enjoy it!

Cassandra King takes her writing to a new level

I marvel at women I know who still are friends with girls they knew in college, high school, junior high and even grade school. Many still have "girlfriend getaway weekends" with these pals where they do regular catchups on each other's lives. Others share weekly or monthly phone chats or emails. They have celebrated each other's weddings and children together, and yes, often shared many tears. While I have lots of girlfriends, I do not have a posse of girls who I have traveled through life with. Thus, when a book like Cassandra King's THE SAME SWEET GIRLS comes along, I read it as a voyeur trying to get a handle on why these relationships thrive and what nourishes them over the years. The jacket of the book told me that King belongs to a real life Same Sweet Girls group, which reunites every year. Reading this book I know she is writing from the experience of being a lifelong girlfriend not just in name, but from the heart. While I have never been a girlfriend like this, King has created characters who I related to, and enjoyed, and she crafted a story that I was eager to get back to each time I was called away. There are six "same sweet girls" --- Corinne, Julia, Lanier, Astor, Byrd and Rosanelle. We quickly learn that Rosanelle is not one of the original six, but rather she has "replaced" Dixie Lee who died in a tragic accident. Readers are told that these remaining women felt that being five was not as complete as being six and the loss would be too huge unless they "filled in the gap" with someone else. The women are paired like they were as roommates and certain bonds within the groups are tighter than others, much as you see when any group of women gathers. They meet twice a year for a reunion where they celebrate their traditions of electing a queen complete with a hokey ceremony and costumes. Sure it's corny, but you can visualize them taking part in it. As the book begins the SSG are 48 years old, have been friends for 30 years since the day they all started college at a women's Methodist school, and are looking upon their upcoming "big birthday" at 50 with nostalgia and a sense of what has been done --- and a longing for what is missing. Each of these women has something to complete or correct, as the book opens. How they will do that is how the story takes its shape. Narration comes from Corinne, Julia and Lanier, and they relate the stories of Astor, Byrd and Rosanelle. These three voices at the beginning are not distinctive enough for me, but as the story fleshes out they each do adapt separate styles and tones that work and allow the reader to hear them more clearly. Corrine is a well-respected and well-known gourd artist. As an aside, creating this character to not just be an artist, but rather one with a specific talent, King gives readers background on this art and why it is special, which lends another dimension to the book. Julia is the first lady of Alabama who is trapped in a world of datebooks, schedules and responsi