When her free-spirited mother dies in a tragic accident, sixteen-year-old Alexandria Lee is forced to leave her West Coast home and move in with a ...
read full description
reviews
Aug 02, 2011
Vinaya
rated it: 
No. Just no. If CoFA hadn't come along strutting its stuff, The Magnolia League might quite possibly have ended up on my Absolute Worst Book of 2011 list. Trust me on this one, Sane = Staying the Hell away from this book.
In all fairness, the book got off to a fairly good start. Perhaps even *gasp!* unique. Alexandria Lee, who prefers to be called Alex, has just come to live with her grandmother Dorothy, after her mother dies in a car accident. Dorothy is the head of a bu More...
309 comments
like
(114 people liked it)
Jan 23, 2012
Read this article about this book, which includes a pretty condescending attitude towards YA readers, and see if you'd be interested in supporting it. http://www.slate.com/id/2296056/
26 comments
like
(14 people liked it)
Oct 22, 2011
Paige
rated it: 
Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker. My copy was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley and I thank them for that.
After her mother's death, sixteen-year-old Alexandria "Alex" Lee is forced to pack up her things and move from her Mendocino, California commune to Savannah, Georgia. If all goes according to her grandmother Miss Lee's plans, Alex will become a proper Magnolia girl and take over the League's reins when Miss Lee retires or dies or something. To hel More...
After her mother's death, sixteen-year-old Alexandria "Alex" Lee is forced to pack up her things and move from her Mendocino, California commune to Savannah, Georgia. If all goes according to her grandmother Miss Lee's plans, Alex will become a proper Magnolia girl and take over the League's reins when Miss Lee retires or dies or something. To hel More...
7 comments
like
(13 people liked it)
Oct 23, 2011
Cara
rated it:
Why did I finish this book? I keep asking myself this. In the beginning I seriously thought of chucking it, but my interest got peaked in the middle but gosh it just didn't cut it. This book should have been a sure hit. I mean the premise is just too enticing to pass up. I love southern settings and there is the element of southern magic. There are secrets that need to be uncovered and our heroine isn't your run of the mill girl. But it still fell flat to me. I'm actually a little sad really tha
More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Sep 20, 2011
Readergirl
rated it: 
I was very surprised by this book, as I wasn't sure what to expect when I went into it. The basic story idea was interesting, and although it wasn't terribly unique, the author brought something new to it. I've read books before where the story takes place within a secret society of some sort, but the idea of mixing a group of Georgia ladies with a family that practices hoodoo was completely new for me. The author gave what was, to me, a very believable reason why these two groups would end u
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 08, 2012
Beth
rated it: 
Release date: May 3rd 2011!
Review copy received from NetGalley.
The Magnolia League is an unexpected joy – “orgasmic” as Alex Lee, the grew-up-in-a-commune-in-California heroine of the tale, might say. A slightly awkward but still somehow smile inducing way to begin a review? Perhaps. Totally in keeping with this book? Oh hell yeah! Judging by my indecent lack of subtlety here, you might have guessed that I loved this book. But why?
As a southern English girl, I do lo More...
Review copy received from NetGalley.
The Magnolia League is an unexpected joy – “orgasmic” as Alex Lee, the grew-up-in-a-commune-in-California heroine of the tale, might say. A slightly awkward but still somehow smile inducing way to begin a review? Perhaps. Totally in keeping with this book? Oh hell yeah! Judging by my indecent lack of subtlety here, you might have guessed that I loved this book. But why?
As a southern English girl, I do lo More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 14, 2012
Kara
rated it:
Don't let the so-so reviews fool you. I'm here to tell you that this book is fantastic and those people are crazy. I thought this book was going to be kind of ridiculous. I thought that I would have to suspend my disbelief to unrivaled proportions. Wrong! What I thought would be corny, was so very awesome! This book was probably the most fun I've had so far this year. Once I got started I couldn't stop. I just couldn't put it down! Everything else took a backseat and that is what reading should
More...
2 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Dec 27, 2011
Christina (Reading Thru The Night)
rated it:
The Short of It
Southern gris-gris makes for fulfilled debutantes.
The Long of It
Alex ‘s life took a tumultuous turn when her mother dies in an unexpected car crash causing her to leave the commune that she has loves and the boy that she’s been involved with to the slow Southern culture of Savannah. And as if that isn’t bad enough, her wealthy grandmother who expects her to refer to her as Miss Lee, expects her to carry on the family legacy and become a Magnolia. The More...
Southern gris-gris makes for fulfilled debutantes.
The Long of It
Alex ‘s life took a tumultuous turn when her mother dies in an unexpected car crash causing her to leave the commune that she has loves and the boy that she’s been involved with to the slow Southern culture of Savannah. And as if that isn’t bad enough, her wealthy grandmother who expects her to refer to her as Miss Lee, expects her to carry on the family legacy and become a Magnolia. The More...
Dec 26, 2011
drey
rated it: 
drey’s thoughts:
Alexandra Lee is sixteen years old and orphaned when her mother’s van goes off a cliff. Two months later, she is moved to Savannah, Georgia, to live with her grandmother. Going from hippy to southern belle is a culture shock to say the least, and she doesn’t intend to acquire any of the seemingly-effortless gentility that her grandmother expects of her.
Then she finds out that not everything that glitters is gold, and all the gentility in the world doesn’t hide th More...
Alexandra Lee is sixteen years old and orphaned when her mother’s van goes off a cliff. Two months later, she is moved to Savannah, Georgia, to live with her grandmother. Going from hippy to southern belle is a culture shock to say the least, and she doesn’t intend to acquire any of the seemingly-effortless gentility that her grandmother expects of her.
Then she finds out that not everything that glitters is gold, and all the gentility in the world doesn’t hide th More...
Dec 07, 2011
Hira
rated it:
"The Magnolia League" by Katie Crouch received this three-star rating from me for being a fairly fast-paced, somewhat thrilling book, that makes for some good and mindless entertainment. Also, because I felt like the author had done a pretty good job of researching "hoodoo" practices, and representing them well in her novel.
That being said, I also found the novel to be slightly superficial, rife with stereotypes, and incredibly hedonistic. In what world is it okay f More...
That being said, I also found the novel to be slightly superficial, rife with stereotypes, and incredibly hedonistic. In what world is it okay f More...
Oct 14, 2011
Contrary to several reviews, I found this book interesting.
As has been said, the skinny-charm/pretty-charm halfway through the book was degrading towards larger, different women, but it certianly did not ruin the novel for me. However, that being said, the pretty-hoodoo was what Alex wanted. She was unhappy with herself. It taught her something that I think will come in use later: beauty is fleeting, and obtaining beauty in a herb-jar comes with a price. Through her sudden attractiveness, More...
As has been said, the skinny-charm/pretty-charm halfway through the book was degrading towards larger, different women, but it certianly did not ruin the novel for me. However, that being said, the pretty-hoodoo was what Alex wanted. She was unhappy with herself. It taught her something that I think will come in use later: beauty is fleeting, and obtaining beauty in a herb-jar comes with a price. Through her sudden attractiveness, More...
Oct 09, 2011
Emily (You Are Beautiful)
rated it:
Concept/Ideas: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Storyline/Plot: 3.5/5
Overall rating: 4/5 stars
So I'm completely torn. When I first thought of what I was going to rate this book, I was thinking a 3/5. But, as I really began to think about it... it more deserves a 4/5. What happened with me, is that honestly, I'm not a fan of books with magic in it, blah, spells, potions, blah (Except for Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins). But other than that, it wasn't too bad. They kept the magic at a g More...
Characters: 4/5
Storyline/Plot: 3.5/5
Overall rating: 4/5 stars
So I'm completely torn. When I first thought of what I was going to rate this book, I was thinking a 3/5. But, as I really began to think about it... it more deserves a 4/5. What happened with me, is that honestly, I'm not a fan of books with magic in it, blah, spells, potions, blah (Except for Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins). But other than that, it wasn't too bad. They kept the magic at a g More...
Oct 04, 2011
Cindy
rated it:
Alexandria Lee has had a rather unconventional upbringing. Raised on a commune in northern California by her mother, she has learned to work hard, live simply, and use herbs to cure her ailments. But when her mother dies in an automobile accident, Alex leaves her refuge to live with her grandmother in Savannah, Georgia.
As head of the Magnolia League, Mrs. Lee is a powerful figure in her southern town, and she wants Alex to learn proper manners and take her place as a member of the leag More...
As head of the Magnolia League, Mrs. Lee is a powerful figure in her southern town, and she wants Alex to learn proper manners and take her place as a member of the leag More...
Oct 03, 2011
Hylary
rated it:
Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!
Sixteen-year-old Alex Lee has always lived on a communal farm in the mountainous woods of Mendocino, California with her mother. The farm values community and togetherness, and Alex and her mother help support the other residents by selling herbal tinctures her mother concocts. One terrible day, however, Alex's mother is killed in a car accident. Alex soon finds out that she is being s More...
Sixteen-year-old Alex Lee has always lived on a communal farm in the mountainous woods of Mendocino, California with her mother. The farm values community and togetherness, and Alex and her mother help support the other residents by selling herbal tinctures her mother concocts. One terrible day, however, Alex's mother is killed in a car accident. Alex soon finds out that she is being s More...
Sep 26, 2011
Marya
rated it:
Thrilling! I found a YA fantasy books for girls that WAS NOT about vampires, werewolves, or necromancers!! Instead, it was about Southern Debutantes, California hippies, and Gullah-speaking hoodoo practitioners. That fact alone netted it one star on principle.
Alex, the heroine, was raised by mother, a true herbalist, in a hippie commune with strong community values. Her mother's death forces her to re-evaluate the commune, and she realizes that the commune's leadership is much more int More...
Alex, the heroine, was raised by mother, a true herbalist, in a hippie commune with strong community values. Her mother's death forces her to re-evaluate the commune, and she realizes that the commune's leadership is much more int More...
Jul 28, 2011
What happens when you take a dreadlocked, vegetarian, California girl from a communal farm and plop her down in an antebellum southern mansion in Savannah, Georgia?
Apparently, hoodoo is the answer.
I'll talk more about hoodoo (no that isn't a typo for voodoo, I really did mean to type hoodoo).
Alex is your typical hippie raised on a communal farm by her sweet single mother. The farm grows tomatoes, herbs and marijuana. Alex has never been to school and she's never bou More...
Apparently, hoodoo is the answer.
I'll talk more about hoodoo (no that isn't a typo for voodoo, I really did mean to type hoodoo).
Alex is your typical hippie raised on a communal farm by her sweet single mother. The farm grows tomatoes, herbs and marijuana. Alex has never been to school and she's never bou More...
Jul 26, 2011
D.
rated it:
I have to admit, this book disappointed me a lot. I had seen it and read the inside flap, and I was very excited to read it. When I actually did, however, it was a let-down. I could not relate to the characters at all. It wasn't that the situation was something that I could never imagine happening in real life; the new girl in a small town story is very common. However, the main character was very boring. She was characterized interestingly; the person inside of her seemed really cool. However,
More...
Jul 26, 2011
Arthistorychick
rated it:
I always thought I would very much enjoy living in the Deep South but Katie Crouch’s The Magnolia League pretty much changed my mind. This young adult novel opens on a communal farm in California where we find sixteen-year-old Alexandria Lee happily living the hippie life. As far as Alexandria is concerned life is perfect and she has everything she needs including an adoring mother, a working knowledge of herbs and organic vegetables, and an awesome collection of vintage t-shirts. Fate of cou
More...
Jul 26, 2011
Ms-Heather
rated it:
Review of audiobook:
Newly orphaned Alexandria "Alex" Lee moves from the Rain Catcher Farms commune in California, where she and her mother were herbalists, to her grandmother's mansion in Savannah, Georgia. The transplant is difficult. Alex is out of touch with modern culture and is very vocally against the money and power of the Magnolia League, her grandmother's social set. Alex would rather spend time working for others, giving money to charity, etc. But over time she starts to More...
Newly orphaned Alexandria "Alex" Lee moves from the Rain Catcher Farms commune in California, where she and her mother were herbalists, to her grandmother's mansion in Savannah, Georgia. The transplant is difficult. Alex is out of touch with modern culture and is very vocally against the money and power of the Magnolia League, her grandmother's social set. Alex would rather spend time working for others, giving money to charity, etc. But over time she starts to More...
Jul 20, 2011
Kaylyn
rated it:
I almost stopped reading this book after chapter 1, basically because it opened up with the main character complaining to you about how much she hates sweet tea, and then about a page later, you learn that she's smoking pot. Yeah, not the best way to start a story. But here's what it's really about:
Sixteen year old Alexandria (Alex) Lee is forced to leave her home, an organic farm commune in California, after her mother dies in a tragic car accident. She moves in with her grandmother More...
Sixteen year old Alexandria (Alex) Lee is forced to leave her home, an organic farm commune in California, after her mother dies in a tragic car accident. She moves in with her grandmother More...
Jul 19, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
There is something about novels set in the south that hook me. Maybe it's the southern charm, the slow drawl, the heat, the history, or the drinking but I'm magically drawn to it like a fly to honey. So not only did this novel have the perfect setting but there was also Hoodoo. What is Hoodoo you ask (don't worry I had to look it up too)?
According to Merriam-Webster it is "a body of practices of sympathetic magic traditional especially among blacks in the southern United St More...
According to Merriam-Webster it is "a body of practices of sympathetic magic traditional especially among blacks in the southern United St More...
Jun 29, 2011
Erin
rated it:
This book has all the ingredients to push my reading buttons - Savannah, one of my all time favorite cities, hoodoo/magic, a hippie chick for the main character- I love all these details. Somehow though, I didn't love this book. I really wanted to though.
This book somewhat reminded me of A Great and Terrible Beauty- secret societies, magic, popular girls bordering on mean girls. I think that Beauty had better character development and was overall done better, but both book More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jun 11, 2011
Miranda
rated it:
I wanted to LOVE this book.
When I saw this book on the shelf of my local Barnes & Noble, I got incredibly happy.
I was happy that there was a book that was going to be focusing on hoodoo.
The book isn't bad, but I wouldn't say it was that great either.
I didn't feel any connection to Alex or to any of the characters.
I didn't care about the storyline.
Also, what the hell is up with these stereotypical Southern characters?
I live an hour away from S More...
When I saw this book on the shelf of my local Barnes & Noble, I got incredibly happy.
I was happy that there was a book that was going to be focusing on hoodoo.
The book isn't bad, but I wouldn't say it was that great either.
I didn't feel any connection to Alex or to any of the characters.
I didn't care about the storyline.
Also, what the hell is up with these stereotypical Southern characters?
I live an hour away from S More...
May 29, 2011
Rachael
rated it:
After the death of her mother, sixteen-year-old Alex is forced to leave her home on a commune in northern California to move in with her grandmother in Savannah, Georgia. Alex knows that she doesn’t belong there; her dreadlocks and ratty clothing make her stand out horribly in her grandmother’s exquisite mansion. And so, Alex immediately starts making plans for escape. She refuses to take part in the Magnolia League, Savannah’s elite debutante society, but what she doesn’t know is that she might
More...
May 20, 2011
Pam
rated it:
Alex grew up in a commune in California, a life she thought was perfect until her mother dies in a car wreck and she is left alone. Soon she is sent to live with her grandmother in Savannah, Georgia, and finds that she is very out of place. Her grandmother is the head of the Magnolia League, a secret society within Savannah that rules the town. At first Alex thinks it is some type of social club, but soon learns that it is a secret group that relies on the magic of hoodoo, an African American fo
More...
May 19, 2011
Ruby
rated it:
This review was first posted at http://www.rubysreads.com.
Someday, I'm going to read a book where a character that comes from California but isn't from a hippie commune. I'm just saying. Some day it's going to happen.
The Magnolia League--which I keep accidentally calling The Magnolia Legacy--tells the story of Alex. Before her mother died, Alex lived on a commune in Northern California, where her mother was an herbalist and she grew dreadlocks in More...
Someday, I'm going to read a book where a character that comes from California but isn't from a hippie commune. I'm just saying. Some day it's going to happen.
The Magnolia League--which I keep accidentally calling The Magnolia Legacy--tells the story of Alex. Before her mother died, Alex lived on a commune in Northern California, where her mother was an herbalist and she grew dreadlocks in More...
15 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
May 17, 2011
I loved this book. It was so different than anything I’d been reading recently. There’s mystery, there’s magic, there’s good characters with depth and motivations, and there’s much drama.
At the crux of it this book is about a girl, Alex, becoming disenchanted with life. The first half of the book has her being hit with disappointment after let down after disaster after tragedy. I was very intrigued by Alex’s character, not having met anyone like her in young adult fiction before. She More...
At the crux of it this book is about a girl, Alex, becoming disenchanted with life. The first half of the book has her being hit with disappointment after let down after disaster after tragedy. I was very intrigued by Alex’s character, not having met anyone like her in young adult fiction before. She More...
May 11, 2011
D.C.
rated it:
I found The Magnolia League on the shelf at my local bookstore, and was intrigued by the teaser. Being born and raised in the South, I'm always attracted to tales of the "deep south." I'm a hard sell on the subject, but this book didn't disappoint! The Magnolia League is a great read! It takes you through the mysterious culture of hoodoo, mingled with and enriched by that haughty, yet attractive society known as "southern aristocracy." There have always been whispers of even
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 09, 2011
Danica
rated it:
Southern belles, hoodoo magic, a spunky (if somewhat annoying) female lead...what's not to like? The Magnolia League ended up surprising me because I figured I would like it based on the summary; however, I didn't realize how much it would suck me in and force me to want to keeping reading until I'd finished the book. I enjoyed the writing, the references to Southern debutante culture, and the characters. Especially the characters.
Alex Lee, our spunky and annoying heroine, is a bi More...
Alex Lee, our spunky and annoying heroine, is a bi More...
Apr 30, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
Alex is a California girl. She and her mom live on a commune, and life is perfect. She's got friends and a secret boyfriend...things seriously could not be better. And then her mom dies and Alex is off to live with her grandmother, a woman she's never met. A woman who lives in Savannah and insists on calling her Alexandria. Now she has to start dressing and acting differently, because her grandmother is part of an exclusive club in Savannah---the Magnolias. And when you are a Magnolia, you
More...
