The Sweet Potato Queens' First Big-Ass Novel: Stuff We Didn't Actually Do, But Could Have, and Ma...
"I have no pride. I tell anything," Jill Conner Browne is fond of saying. As Her Royal Highness, Boss Queen of the Sweet Potato Queens(R), she has ...
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reviews
Jan 14, 2012
Adrienne
rated it: 
The One Sentence Review
Characterization: Prepare to meet a lively bunch of characters but to not necessarily get to know any of them or their motivations, etc…well.
Setting: Set almost entirely in Jackson, Mississippi, a love of the South and the lifestyle that entails is important to this novel’s success.
Plot: A group of social misfits meet in high school and then proceed, over a period of decades, to “do” life together, for better or for worse (so to s More...
Characterization: Prepare to meet a lively bunch of characters but to not necessarily get to know any of them or their motivations, etc…well.
Setting: Set almost entirely in Jackson, Mississippi, a love of the South and the lifestyle that entails is important to this novel’s success.
Plot: A group of social misfits meet in high school and then proceed, over a period of decades, to “do” life together, for better or for worse (so to s More...
Mar 21, 2011
Sara
rated it: 
Ah... high school. The story starts with the insecurities, innocence and bullying that occurs in high school. This part of the story reminded me very much of the movie Mean Girls as it is funny and follows several high school students. Several high school friends form a group together to save one of the newcomers from the high school bully. The bully has "befriended" Tammy but Jill and her friends know better and try to warn Tammy that this is a friend she doesn't want to make. Tammy i
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Feb 18, 2011
One character says, "That's what people do for those they care about. They love 'em, no matter how badly they screw up." And boy, do they. Screw up, I mean. One by one these four women, plus one gay man, make bad choices in life, but mostly bad choices in love. They squabble with each other, then rescue each other, leading to multiple scenes of tearful hugging and forgiveness. It reminded me of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, only with more colorful language. In both cases, I fo
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Jan 31, 2008
Marnie
rated it: 
This book was fast moving but the plot wasnt good. After a popular girl insults Tammy, Tammy's friends form a group to make her feel better & stoop to the popular girl's level to get back at her. The group becomes the Sweet Potato Queens. The members are not very nice & dont treat each other the way friends should, they backstab each other & are very catty.
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Dec 12, 2011
Anna
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Sep 02, 2009
Rachael
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This novel, (notice, I said novel, as in fiction) reads more as memoir with some fiction thrown in. If Browne wanted to write a memoir, she should have, and if she wanted to write fiction, she should have put more effort into making it at least seem fictional. Instead it just comes off as a bit lazy.
I'm a huge fan of Browne's non-fiction work - the hilarious Sweet Potato Queens books of .... This wasn't nearly as funny as Browne's other work, which was highly disappointing. Still More...
I'm a huge fan of Browne's non-fiction work - the hilarious Sweet Potato Queens books of .... This wasn't nearly as funny as Browne's other work, which was highly disappointing. Still More...
Jul 11, 2011
Beth
rated it:
I have never heard of the SPQ's so this whole thing was new to me. And this book happens to be the only fiction book (so far) about the SPQ's. I thought it was funny and well written. I could, however, done without the copious amounts of language. Whew. I was ready to be done with the book just so I could be done reading the swear words!
This is the fictional story of 5 people (one guy, 4 gals) who band together in high school because they are the outcasts. They decide to snub all the r More...
This is the fictional story of 5 people (one guy, 4 gals) who band together in high school because they are the outcasts. They decide to snub all the r More...
May 31, 2010
Julie
rated it: 
This was a lovely book. It was hysterically funny all the way through but had moments that were touching, sad, and thoughtful.
It was so real. The author did a masterful job of capturing the complex nature of friendships yet maintaining each individuals core personality.
The timeline and its pop history and southern culture were spot on. The one liner's in this book made me laugh out loud and now I have several people at work looking into this book.
I plan on hu More...
It was so real. The author did a masterful job of capturing the complex nature of friendships yet maintaining each individuals core personality.
The timeline and its pop history and southern culture were spot on. The one liner's in this book made me laugh out loud and now I have several people at work looking into this book.
I plan on hu More...
Jun 25, 2008
Brooke
rated it:
Beach read material for sure. Light, fluffy and fun, but I have actually enjoyed some of the other books more.
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Jan 11, 2011
Barbara VA
rated it:
Rather predictable account of misfit high school friends. Two stay home in Jackson, unsure of their talents and wasting away, waiting for the future to find them. One, an actress, off to fame and fortune, the unsure of his sexuality male that heads to San Francisco, the would be singer that is scared to try and sees value only in landing a man to provide all the best things in life and the one that wants to be mother with an unfaithful husband. Told over a course of 20 years with a lot of fo
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May 30, 2009
Fuzzy
rated it:
Jill Conner Browne is best known for her series of (non-fiction) Sweet Potato Queens books of "Southern wit and wisdom". Erica assures me that those books are delightful -- she certainly laughs out loud a lot when she's reading them. On our recent roadtrip we listened to her first novel, titled, unsubtly enough, The Sweet Potato Queens' First Big-Ass Novel. It's... a good first try, I suppose.
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Jan 30, 2012
JG (The Introverted Reader)
rated it:
Jill Conner Browne writes a fictional account of how the Sweet Potato Queens came into being and how they truly became queens through some terrible decisions and heartbreak.
I absolutely loved the first chapter of this book. It was sheer perfection I tell you. It starts when the queens are in high school and haven't really figured out that they're queens yet. They are always being looked down upon by the high school beauty queen, a bitch if ever there was one. I was shrieking with l More...
I absolutely loved the first chapter of this book. It was sheer perfection I tell you. It starts when the queens are in high school and haven't really figured out that they're queens yet. They are always being looked down upon by the high school beauty queen, a bitch if ever there was one. I was shrieking with l More...
Oct 08, 2009
Holyn
rated it:
This novel was a fun romp through the imagination of HRH Jill. The preface states that this is complete fiction, but I am inclined to believe there might be a bit of truth in some of it. SPQ:FBAN reads like a 'how the SPQ were born' work.
I definitely had my moments to laugh loudly and wish I was a SPQ wannabe, but this novel is not as entertaining or gut-splitting as the rest of HRH's works. I enjoyed it immensely but did not love it. Save for a quick, entertaining read on a road More...
I definitely had my moments to laugh loudly and wish I was a SPQ wannabe, but this novel is not as entertaining or gut-splitting as the rest of HRH's works. I enjoyed it immensely but did not love it. Save for a quick, entertaining read on a road More...
Jun 13, 2008
Tabby
rated it: 
Browne's Sweet Potato Queen advice books on love, divorce, and cooking have found a wide audience in readers who appreciate the Queens' sassy southern charm. With coauthor Gillespie, Browne turns to fiction for the first time to share lives and loves of the Queens. Jill, Mary Bennett, Patsy, and Gerald are united by their outsider status in high school. When Tammy, a beautiful but insecure redhead, moves into town and is humiliated by the in-crowd, Jill and company form the Tammy Club to bolster
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May 15, 2008
Jackson
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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May 30, 2009
Melinda
rated it:
This book is full of laughs. The first half is very funny. As the story progresses you see the dark side of the characters but in the end you find out who they are and why they are the way they are. I love Jill. She is the sensible one. Gerald a friend who is trying to figure out who he is. Mary Bennett-what a hoot. You have Patsy who has a voice. The Tammy who learns that life is not what you always dreamed it would be. I would definitely recommend the book.
May 22, 2009
Meghan
rated it:
Okay, I've read almost all of the Sweet Potato Queens' other books, the humorous essay collections by Jill Conner Browne, and I even went to see the Queens live at a book signing (boas, glittery dresses, wigs, fake tits and all), and I love them!
I thought this book was amazing for the first hundred pages, when it was closer to the humor side and a rather whimsical coming-of-age tale revealing the origins of the queens in high school. Then unfortunately, Browne revealed how very unco More...
I thought this book was amazing for the first hundred pages, when it was closer to the humor side and a rather whimsical coming-of-age tale revealing the origins of the queens in high school. Then unfortunately, Browne revealed how very unco More...
Jun 30, 2011
Cathi95
rated it:
This was a lot of fun - four women and one man, who bonded together as "not-in" during high school, keep in each others' lives as they grow older. Lots of Southern humor, familiar mistakes and feelings while growing up, and learning to handle life's problems. It builds to a satisfying conclusion after a lot of ups and downs. I just finished it on Tuesday, and have already handed it off to a friend. This is defintely an author I will remember!
Mar 01, 2009
Jodi
rated it:
What a great book. This fiction novel traces the beginnings of the famed Sweet Potato Queens of Jackson Mississippi. This quick read traces the beginnings of the Queens to their mid twenties. The Queens had me laughing, reminiscing and crying through many of the same ups, downs and exploits I enjoyed, (or wished I enjoyed)in my early years. I read this novel in eight hours and didn't want it to end. Great Novel!!!
Sep 16, 2009
Colleen
rated it:
It was truly a great book. A really fun book. I listened to this one, and I think to truly get the WHOLE feel for the book, you need to listen to it. You need to get the drawl, the sayins, etc. Just a great book about friendships and how you stick together through thick and thin, and even though you might be a part for a little while when you get together it was like you saw each other yesterday. Great, great book.
Jan 09, 2011
Ishanie
rated it:
I read this book in a little more than a day. Absolutely loved it. From the introduction to the recipes in the back, it's laughs all throughout mixed in with some tearfully beautiful friendships! I plan on reading everything this author writes. It's definitely a good pick me up. I recommend it to all and I'm glad one of my bff's swapped it with me. Great read!
Dec 12, 2009
8383WB
rated it:
If Jill Conner Browne writes and reads it, I'm there. However, for the first time, I was a little disappointed in this effort. I didn't realize until the end, listening to the author interview, that it was a joint project with another author. So, I'm thinking that explains the "too neat" way plot lines turned out. Read only as a Sweet Potato Queens fan.
Apr 02, 2009
JoJo
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 29, 2010
Susan
rated it:
If you've read the Sweet Potato Queens' nonfiction, there will be few surprises in this. Jill tells how she and the other women met, mostly in high school, and how they each conquered individual problems and became the glorious, confident Sweet Potato Queens who are universally loved and admired. Amusing, heart-warming, improbable.
Feb 06, 2009
Jane
rated it:
As many have said in their reviews this book is corny and mostly fluff to which I say...Shocking! It's chick lit, folks. What do you expect?
It has a fun plot, interesting characters and might move some to a tear or two. I recommend it to anyone who needs a laugh and a little distraction from deep thoughts and bad days.
It has a fun plot, interesting characters and might move some to a tear or two. I recommend it to anyone who needs a laugh and a little distraction from deep thoughts and bad days.
Aug 18, 2009
Judy
rated it:
This is funny and poignant highlighting how important friends are as well as how important it is to maintain those friendships. It also emphasizes that we all need to keep fun in our lives and forget that being an adult does not have to be boring and dreary. Keep true to yourself, live everyday don't just exist.
Jun 01, 2008
Joanne
rated it:
There are the Red Hat Society ladies and there are the Sweet Potato Queens. Which group is more like you? Edging towards the age requirement for the RHS, a high school soriety sister said we should really consider becoming SPQs (mainly because the green and pink colors are better!), but after reading this book I see so many similarities between this original group and my friends that I want to be a SPQ! This was an enjoyable read starting in 1968 - 1989 and was just really funny. The SPQ mot
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Jul 02, 2009
Jen
rated it:
I've had a copy of this book for awhile and I honestly don't know why I waited so long to read it - I loved the Sweet Potato Queens' Book Of Love - this book is, I'm pretty sure, the only fictional SPQ book but it's just as fabulous. The story is everything that good "chick lit" should be and it's got everything and lots of it. So funny, so relateable - I highly recommend it!
Apr 29, 2009
Carol
rated it:
This book bothered me a little for its vulgarity. I don't mind trash talk when it serves a literary purpose. Many times I thought it dis
tracted from what a many common experiences of young women. What they
think they invented a new way of women being together? Don't mis-understand, some events are very funny.
tracted from what a many common experiences of young women. What they
think they invented a new way of women being together? Don't mis-understand, some events are very funny.
Jul 11, 2011
Khuck
rated it:
This fictionalized account of the Sweet Potato Queens' story starts with their origin and follows them into their adult lives. The story is entertaining with lively prose and believable characters. I've kept the book a few days longer to try some of the recipes included at the back!
