Queen of the Cookbooks

November 1, 2016
Mississippians do their level best to cope with the minor calamities that threaten the opening of their new library.Newlywed Maura Beth McShay is about to see her dream come true. After years of serving patrons in a cramped facility in Cherico's Shadow Alley, she can barely wait for the unveiling of the new Charles Durden Sparks, Crumpton and Duddney Public Library. And since Councilman Sparks is scheduled to cut the ribbon on the Fourth of July, what better way to celebrate than with a cooking competition featuring regional specialties from across the South and beyond? Aleitha Larkin plans to offer her Chicken on the Sofa, Marzetta Frieze will dish up her famous Cheeze Ballz, and newcomer Ana Estrella is making her family's Pigeon Peas Cake, using a recipe all the way from her native Puerto Rico. When opening day draws near with nary a sign of the new library's furniture, Maura begins to fret. But her pals at the Cherry Cola Book Club (A Cherry Cola Christmas, 2015) come through with a timely substitute. Equally upsetting is a fight that breaks out during the competition between Bit Sessions and Gwen Beetles, who come all the way from Corinth only to get into a tussle over ham and butterbean soup. But with her new husband, Jeremy, at her side, it seems as if Maura can conquer all, even when a local fundamentalist church starts to picket her new library. Lee's feisty heroine makes light work of some tough problems in this small-town, small-stakes adventure.

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December 1, 2016
Lee presents the fifth book in the Cherry Cola Book Club series, a delightfully cozy novel that combines small-town politics and sky-high dreams. Maura Beth McShay can't wait to present Cherico, Mississippi, with its new, state-of-the art library, and she's put together a grand opening ceremony for the Fourth of July. Maura Beth has planned every minute of the festivities, including a country music concert, tours of the new library, and a hotly contested neighborhood cook-off. Cherico is usually a sleepy southern town, but family recipes and old grudges bring out the competitive streak in its residents. As the competition heats up, Maura realizes that not every Cherico resident is thrilled about the new addition to the town. While she works to save her new library, she draws on the help of some of her oldest friends, fellow members of the Cherry Cola Book Club. Lee's heroine is charmingly spunky and unafraid to marshal her friends and family behind her goals. Fans of Jan Karon and Mary Simses will adore the small-town setting, down-home recipes, and emphasis on female friendship.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)