The Sugar Queen: A Sweet Coming of Age Story

I won The Sugar Queen in a giveaway over at Serendipity’s Library and I am so glad I did, as this is a really great read. In this story, Josey Cirrini, a member of a powerful family in a small ski-resort town, overcomes her reputation as a spoiled child and grows into the woman she has longed to become. With the help of some wonderful new friends, her own intuition, and an intriguing visitor, Josey steps out of her family’s shadow and takes her own path in life.

Title and Cover: Josey has an addiction to sweets, so the title is appropriate; however, both the title and the cover fall short of revealing the nature of the story. The plot is a bit more mature than I thought it would be. Though it is not explicit, the cover had me expecting a story about teenagers, though Josey and the rest of the characters are in their mid-twenties. Because of this, I had a hard time grasping the characterization of Josey in the beginning of the story.

Plot: What I absolutely love about the book is that Sarah Addison Allen has incorporated magical elements and not called any undue attention to them, making them seem as natural as any other aspect of the story. To top it off, the plot twist at the end is fabulous, one that I certainly didn’t see coming and that made the story a little more meaningful.

Characterization: Allen has done a good job of creating characters who each have a unique voice. I did get a bit annoyed with Josey’s insecurity at times, but in the end I found her to be an endearing character who grows tremendously over the course of the story. The other characters, too, came into their own and were very well-developed.

Though this book does not get too deep, it does touch on important ideas, such as forgiveness, love, and infidelity. The Sugar Queen is a fun, well-written, and entertaining story that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a great way to spend some free time, and I am looking forward to reading the rest of Allen’s work.

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