THE COTTON QUEEN

Author: Pamela Morsi ISBN: 0778322696 2/2006 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: MIRA

I am not, nor will I ever be, the kind of woman who wears pearls with her apron while cooking meat loaf for her husband. But when I was a kid, my mother, Babs, prepared me to be the next June Cleaver—teaching me lessons that belonged to another era. Another world, practically. My mother's world. I couldn't wait to leave home and get away from her. But now, well... let's just say life hasn't turned out quite as I'd planned. And heaven help me, I'm going home. ~ Laney Hoffman—Cotton Queen, 1975 It's funny—all I ever wanted was to teach my daughter, Laney, how to be a lady so she could find a good husband and take her rightful place in our community. But Laney has always remained convinced that my life and my ideas are, well, pathetic. She has no idea—no idea!—what it is to lose a husband, to watch your dreams wither while keeping a smile on your face for the neighbors. Now, that is a talent. Laney is probably too smart for her own good, but being smart hasn't kept her out of trouble. Thank heavens I'm here to help pick up the pieces. ~ Babs Hoffman—Cotton Queen First Runner-Up, 1956

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I really wanted to like Pamela Morsi's THE COTTON QUEEN. All I can say is that I found the book to be depressing. I even put it down a couple of times, just because I really didn't want to read it anymore. I know Pamela Morsi is a really good author; I just had a hard time getting through her latest book.

Right at the beginning of the book we meet Babs Hoffman. She lives with her aunt and uncle, and is an exceptional student and a good person. She marries her high school sweetheart and becomes a military wife. They have a baby, and for a bit all is well. However, her husband dies unexpectedly, and her life is never the same. Not only does Babs have to deal with the loss of her husband, but she doesn't get on well with her in-laws, moves away, gets raped, marries without love to protect her reputation and her daughters, and it pretty much doesn't get better for her, either. I just had enough of reading how Babs had to continually keep picking up the pieces of her life—bad experience after bad experience. I felt for her daughter, Laney, especially when she reaches young adulthood and wants be independent. She wants to go to college and not have to depend on marrying a man to take care of her. Babs, however, feels she's making the wrong choices. She doesn't want her daughter to have to live the way she had to, and wants to do anything she can to ensure her daughter will have a happy life. At the end of the book, it was nice to see that the bond of mother and daughter was never broken.

I'm going to pass on recommending THE COTTON QUEEN, unless this type of story is the kind you want to read.

Julie Kornhausl