Never Sit Down In A Hoopskirt is a novel that was hilariously penned by Cricket Rumley about southern debutantes. Whenever I read a book set in the south, I always feel the need to talk about how exotic the south is to me. Seriously, t he only southern place I have been is Orlando, Florida and I imagine that isn’t exactly THE REAL SOUTH. I feel a bit of a special connection to the south as my parents raised me on a steady diet of country music, so it might as well be a magical land.
Never Sit Down In A Hoopskirt
In the Alabama town of Bienville, an elite group of young women are chosen to represent the town as Magnolia Maids. Essentially this is a debutante group. Jane Fontaine returns to town after being kicked out of multiple boarding schools. She reluctantly joins the Magnolia Maids at the request of her awesome grandmother. Jane really isn’t into the Maids and pretty much just wants to get out of it, but when a certain lady who is coaching the Maids wants Jane and a few non-traditional looking maids out, Jane decides to take the challenge head-on and stay with the Maids.
What I LOVED about Never Sit Down In A Hoopskirt And Other Things I Learned In Southern Belle Hell was the main focus on friendships and the group dynamics between the girls. I loved how Ashley and Mallory, the two traditional Magnolia Maids/Southern Belles acted as a foible for Jane. They pretty much represented the old guard, and yes, they do get angry when there’s a new ruler in town. Hilarity definitely ensues between the two groups.
However we come to learn that Ashley and Mallory are products of their environments. And what’s interesting is that Cricket Rumley actually does something to address racism and classism, it’s not just swept under the rug, we actually see it existing.
I will say though, Never Sit Down In A Hoopskirt is a victim of an unfortunate cover. I wonder if readers would be encouraged to pick the book up because the cover looks so young. And that saddens me because this is a great book with humor and heart.
Disclosure: Received for review.
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This sounds really cute! Glad to hear that racism and classism were addressed too – the friendship story alone would make me want to read it, but the fact that it deals with real issues is an added bonus. Nice review!
I saw the cover of this somewhere and did think it looked cute but kind of young. Love the title though. Sounds like a fun romp to pick up…P.S. as a Floridian I can vouch for your sentiment that Orlando is NOT the south, lol. And if you travel to south Florida you’ve officially left the country…practically south america down here š Too hot for southern belles
this book sounds HILAR!! especially since i have seen first hand from an outsiders perspective what the south is actually like. and man i want to be a debutante!! i want to wear fancy dresses and be a southern belle and make some awesome peach cobbler to impress the men folk and make my granmama proud. HAHAHAH i love the south.
Bizarrely, I see the cover image as a brain. You know, one those pink models for learning about the parts of the brain. Despite having seen this cover several times already, it wasn’t until I closely examined the illustration AT THIS VERY MOMENT that I realized that it’s a hoopskirt.
This sounds like a fun book! The south feels exotic to me as well. š
Yeah, I was prejudiced against this book because of the cover, even though I liked the title but it sounds like I need to pick it up! Enjoy a good story with Southern-isms and humor.
Mary @ Book Swarm
I took a major chance with this book when I was offered a chance to review it. It’s nothing like I normally read, but something about the summary and the cover just called to me, so I said yes. I read it in a heartbeat and couldn’t stop laughing. This was brilliantly written and yes, I agree, the relationship dynamics in the story were great. They made the book for me.
The cover is rather chick-litish, but something about the campiness of it makes me like it for the story. š
I actually love the cover. Don’t know why, exactly–maybe because it’s got a bit of a retro thing going on. And a pink dress. Also I would read this book just based on the fact that the author’s name is Crickett. For some reason that’s sounding like the most awesome name ever right now. I’m glad you liked it–I’ll def have to check it out!
This book sounds awesome and I am happy to hear its more adult than the book suggest so it might be for me!
Great review! I agree with you about the friendships. That really impressed me that such different girls could work together and even the mean girls became nicer in the end. I was expecting it to be stereotypical but it was not. My one complaint with the book (other than the cover) is that they make a really stupid decision towards the end of the book that should have serious consequences but only get a slap on the wrist-Jane doesn’t seem to comprehend just how badly things could have gone. I don’t like “after school special” type books but I was disappointed by how the situation was handled, even more so by how Jane reacted.
I really love this cover it is very unique and cute. I would def pick this book up to see what it was about from the cover š