The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Title:  The Sugar Queen

Author:  Sarah Addison Allen

Date Published:  2009

Publisher:  Bantam

Pages:  294

ISBN:  978-0553384840

Source: Purchased

I loved, loved, loved this book!  It is the story of Josey Cirrini who lives alone with her wealthy mother.  Josey is in her late 20's and still lives with her mother out of guilt.  Over the years she has lost track of herself.  Josey no longer knows who she is.  She  has almost turned into a recluse and the highlight of her day is a visit from the mailman.  But, then a local girl named Della Lee comes into her life.  She shows up in Josey's closet.  She tells Josey that she will only be there for a few days because she can't go back to her abusive boyfriend. There are many reasons why Josey doesn't like this plan, but the main one is that this closet has a secret door that leads to her secret stash of candy! The last thing Josey wants is for her Mother to find out about the secret stash, becasue God knows that her Mother is already critical of her enough.  During Della Lee's stay, many things change for Josey.  Some good and some not so good, but everything that goes on is very interesting and brings some much needed excitement into Josey's dull existence.  Josey learns a lot about herself, her mother, and her dead father.  This is a great story to welcome winter because it is set in the snowy season of North Carolina.  Also, every chapter in the book is named after a type of candy, and the candy name is actually tied into the chapter topic.