Thirteen-year-old Layla Jay finds religion just to satisfy her grandmother's wishes. Feeling awkward about the deception, she comes to believe that almost everything that comes thereafter in her life is a result of her deceitful action.
In Zebulon, Mississippi, in 1963, Layla Jay and her mother, Frieda, have lived with her grandparents since the death of Layla Jay's father. She's disappointed to leave the grandparents she loves dearly when her mother marries a man Layla Jay simply doesn't trust and they move to town to begin a new life.
While her mother and Wallace try to give the impression of being a happily married couple, Layla Jay muddles through life discovering boys, love, sex and getting her heart broken in the process. Then something happens to her stepfather that puts Layla Jay and Frieda's lives in limbo.
Layla's first deception at church all those months ago has lead to others. The lies are becoming easier, and they now seem necessary. Layla Jay feels personally responsible for all that's happened and will do anything to help her mother. And correspondingly, Frieda feels the same and hopes to protect her daughter.
This is a beautifully written story about a young woman growing up and the delicate balance of the mother and daughter relationship. Will Layla Jay ever disclose her secret to anyone? Only the final pages reveal the truth.
A lyrical coming-of-age story set in the 1960s, Hot Fudge
Sundae Blues is an extraordinary companion to Bev
Marshallβs 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 familyβs
home. Wallace seems genuinely interested in Layla Jayβs
lifeβuntil 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 sheβs always wanted. But it seems
that none of her dreams will come true as Layla Jay
wrestles with her motherβs reckless ways, her unsavory
stepfather, a best friendβs betrayal, and the longing for
loveβs first kiss. Yet everything pales in comparison to
what happens next as Layla Jay is forced to tell a lie to
save her motherβs world from crashing down.
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