Hot Fudge Sundae Blues: A Novel

by Bev Marshall

A lyrical coming-of-age story set in the 1960s, Hot Fudge Sundae Blues is an extraordinary companion to Bev Marshall’s first two novels, Walking Through Shadows and Right as Rain. Here again she mines the territory of the small town of Zebulon, Mississippi, where even the most seemingly ordinary folks harbor well-disguised heartaches and intricate secrets. Thirteen-year-old Layla Jay was only pretending when she knelt before the preacher to seek salvation. She was hoping to make her grandma happy and get noticed by the cute new boy in town. But religion truly piques her interest when a young, handsome visiting preacher stays at her family’s home. Wallace seems genuinely interested in Layla Jay’s life–until he meets her mama and falls head over heels, like many men have before him. When Wallace marries Frieda, Layla Jay believes she will finally have the father she’s always wanted. But it seems that none of her dreams will come true as Layla Jay wrestles with her mother’s reckless ways, her unsavory stepfather, a best friend’s betrayal, and the longing for love’s first kiss. Yet everything pales in comparison to what happens next as Layla Jay is forced to tell a lie to save her mother’s world from crashing down.

Genres: Fiction

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Bev Marshall is the author of three novels, Walking Through Shadows, Right As Rain, and Hot Fudge Sundae Blues. She is writer-in-residence at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She grew up in McComb and Gulfport, Mississippi, married her childhood sweetheart and now lives in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, just down the road from the live alligator that serves as the town's tourist attraction.

Reviews

[Diane Sugars · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did not know what to expect from this book, but it turned out to be a good story. The beginning and middle of the story went a little slow I felt. But the closer I got to the end, the more I liked it. I felt that the characters were very complex and the storyline itself was complex. At the end, this one had me one the verge of tears but the ending of the book was very good!

[nimrodiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

See where this book travels to next, at: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5...

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Layla Jay's character. Although she was young, she dealt very gracefully with all the situations that came her way.

[Gregory Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a page-turner. I had the privilege of taking Bev Marshall's novel writing course at Southeastern Louisiana University in 2011. She was great. However, I didn't bother to read any of her novels. I had only heard that they were good, and someone may have told me that "Right as Rain" was her best. If that's true then it must be really good because Hot Fudge Sundae Blues was an excellent coming of age drama. At one point, I was enjoying Layla Jay's narration more than Jean Louise Finch's (from To Kill a Mockingbird). I also think it's a shame that a movie was never made from this novel. I could see it clearly the whole time. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone here, but this is a good one. I'll get around to reading Right as Rain one day soon. Thanks Bev.

[Christina Packard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was written very well, but I do not understand what message is to be gotten for the young that will read it. Ok to lie or hide secretes. Goes from religion to lesbianism, and sex. Theft and anxiety, alcoholism, to very caring people. The plot goes all over. I think I am too old for this book, but I don't think it is good for the young because the examples do not need to be told.

[Carol Greenwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hard character to like.

Though the story is told through a fourteen-years-old perspective, I was constantly bothered by the mother's lack of character. Do such weak characters really exist?

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

13 yo Layla Jay lives with her boy-crazy mom who is always out partying. Her grandma died, her mom kills her stepdad , she falls in love with Jeda, the boy down the street. Her mom is charged with murder. Her best friend is a lesbian who falls in love with her. Crazy, fun stoy

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much I would like to see it in a movie!

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soon after Layla Jay Andrews turns thirteen, she decides to fake a religious conversion to impress both her grandmother and the boy she has her eye on. Layla Jay's father died when she was two, and she and her wild mother live with her very religious grandparents. Although Layla Jay tries to be a good girl, her mother's example doesn't help. She dates one man after another, breaking things off when they get too serious, spending a great deal of time drinking and running around until all hours.

But when dynamic preacher Wallace Ebert comes to town, things begin to change in everyone's lives. Layla Jay's mother marries Wallace after a dramatic return to the faith and a very brief engagement. The new family moves out and things go well for a while. Layla Jay discovers what growing up is all about, learns about dating, and still keeps in contact with her grandparents. But things rapidly go wrong. Layla Jay's mother pulls Wallace into her old habits and the two start drinking and carousing, setting aside their religious practices. Wallace makes advances toward Layla Jay, and she is not sure exactly what to do.

Hot Fudge Sundae Blues is a beautifully written coming-of-age novel set in a small southern town during the 1960s. Layla Jay is a sympathetic main character. Written in first person, the intimacy of knowing Layla Jay's thoughts, feelings, and motivations works extremely well. Although at times she seems wiser than her years, the circumstances of her life make it necessary for her to grow up quickly. Conversely, neither Layla Jay's mother nor Wallace garner much respect from the reader. They don't have many redeeming qualities, but their weaknesses do make it clearer in which direction Layla Jay's life should head.

Bev Marshall presents Layla Jay's life in a realistic, yet hopeful manner. Even the terrible things that happen to her don't drag the tone down and make it depressing. Although we may not agree with the choices Layla Jay makes, or the consequences she must face for those choices, we can understand why she makes them because we feel like we know her. Hot Fudge Sundae Blues is a quiet novel that packs an emotional punch.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different than I expected it to be!!! There were several times when the story appeared to be taking a turn I had no interest in reading about but just when I was ready to put it down it would twist toward a new direction. Religion plays a guiding role but really does not prevail in the actions of the main characters. The author mentions the Bible, sins, prayers, God and the Holy Spirit being sent down to save but there is only a weak reference to Jesus and no reference to the Gospel message. I found that to be a rather curious omission for a Church in the Deep South. Salvation was indicated to be via the Holy Spirit coming down on you. No mention is made of believing in Jesus as the means of salvation. All the characters were consist in the manner of salvation being based on your ability to abstain from sin, ask for forgiveness for your sins when they happen and hope your time to die follows swiftly on the heels of a recently cleaned slate.

The characters were rather fascinating. Interesting plot but I think it would have been just as good, perhaps even better, without the religion.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen year old Layla Jay's mother Frieda is widowed and penniless, and the two of them live with with her grandparents. Layla Jay's grandmother is strict and very religious while her grandfather cusses and never goes to church. Frieda doesn't get along with her mother, smokes, drinks, dresses provocatively, and has a string of boyfriends that both Layla Jay and her mother disapprove of. Then the handsome revival preacher shows up and Frieda marries him much to everyone's dismay. Layla Jay's life takes a definite turn for the worse. Eventually Layla Jay has to make some life-changing decisions. I really enjoyed this coming-of-age novel. Layla Jay is quite believable as a conflicted teenager. She loves her grandparents and her mother, and she desperately wants to make things right with her God. Yet life constantly puts her in difficult places and forces her to make some choices she would rather not make. Layla Jay somehow manages to stay true to her core self and to her family.

[Janyce Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of 13-year-old Layla Jay, living with an alcoholic mother in early 1960's Mississippi. Layla Jay's mother does love her, but what stability there is comes from her very religious grandmother and sensible grandfather. The grandmother's evangelical influence plays a large part in Layla Jay's thought process throughout the book, which she narrates.
Life for Layla and her mom is chaotic from the beginning, but when her mother takes up with a hypocritical revivalist preacher, things spin totally out of control as the pile of poor choices and bad behavior grows. It's a great story of family with some very likeable characters and some very flawed ones. I'd like to read more books by this author.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, the main character is Leila Jay, a 13 or 14 year old girl who thinks and acts more like an adult. Her mother is a slightly irresponsible, party loving, alcohol drinking, woman who gets into trouble. Leila Jay tries to protect her, but even she can't fix all the problems. Although the main character is a teen, this is adult fiction.

[Sonja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about 2/3s of this book and decided not to finish it. The writing was pretty good but a little too much religion for me and I didn't like the subject matter. I just didn't groove to the book. Maybe I'm too old for it (74) but it didn't do anything for me. I might have liked it when I was 20.

[Dee Schwinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the character of Layla Jay. The poor girl did endure many problems. After a year of all of the troubles perhaps she is going to have things turn around. I am sure that young adults everywhere--whether they have this many problems, I feel the author captured the immensity of what happens to teenagers.

[Tsjara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely read, and I enjoyed it very much. I liked Layla Jay a lot, though I wasn't too sure what to think of her mother at the beginning, however, after a while she started to grow on me too. The characters feel very real, not perfect nor predictable, and with their own faults and fears. Towards the end, I was really rooting for them to have a good outcome.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I love southern writers so much, but another author that I enjoyed. I think it's because the characters are usually so lovable yet laughable. This story took a dark turn and I wondered if she would turn it around, but in the end she pulled it off.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mother-daughter relationship. Set in 1963. Main character a 13-year-0ld names Layla Jay. A wild and crazy mom named Frieda marries a phony evangelist. Mom kills evangelist as he's about to rape Layla. Court action follows.

[Mikkee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book, but be prepared for a heavier story. I gave it a 3 of 5 stars because there were many times while reading Hot Fudge Sundae Blues, I skipped ahead because Marshall was to verbose.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters were really well developed and interesting, but the plot kind of meandered and I didn't feel as if the story had much buildup to anything. Nonetheless it was still an interesting book whose main character I found really easy to connect to.

[Kathleen Basi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very authentic coming-of-age, mother-daughter story. She also made great use of the search for a authentic faith without it turning into an "inspirational" book; it feels squarely in the secular realm. How did she do that, anyway?....

[Richard Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly well written piece of Southern fiction. Though written by a white woman about black culture and at least to this white northerner, doesn't sound a false note anywhere and scrupulously avoids caricature. Bev Marshall is a master craftsman

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, easy read

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book outside when temps are sizzling.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, this is really a pretty good book. Kind of predictable at the end, but all in all, a fairly good book of coming of age in southern 1960's.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the mother/daughter characters. Good read.

[WendyR · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish the book. It seems that Bev Marshall might be fairly capable at writing a good story but this one is a little too crude for my taste.

[Jeannine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very mediocre.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. The end of each chapter had me wanting more, wanting to read quickly so I could find out what happened next.
I Highly reccomend it.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book for young adults. I'd rate it PG-13 and recommend screening it for the maturity level of your reader. I think she did a great job dealing with some very serious issues.