Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

by Deb Caletti

2004

302 pages

“The first thing I learned about Travis Becker was that he parked his motorcycle on the front lawn. You could see the tracks of it all the way up that rolling hill, cutting deeply into the beautiful, golf course like grass. That should have told me all I needed to know right there.”

Summary: Ruby McQueen has just fallen in love for the first time. Travis Becker is every mother’s nightmare with his reckless behaviour, motorcycle and illegal habits, but Ruby adores him and she likes the way he makes her feel. In an attempt to keep Ruby distracted from Travis, her mother invites her to a book club for the elderly women in her library. While Ruby might not be excited to begin with, when the group finds out that one of the members inspired a love story they are reading she becomes fully committed. Inspired by the thought of love and a sense of adventure the book club sets off on a wild adventure to reunite the old lovers and Ruby comes to understand what true love and friendship really mean.

Review: Honey, Baby, Sweetheart is a light-hearted and deeply moving read. While some might consider this a slow moving novel, the layers of story and the quality of characters keep the reader captivated. Ruby is hilarious and charming, and her attraction to the bad boy completely relatable. Also, the Cassarole Queens provide an uplifting look at generation that is often left out of YA fiction. Calettie did an excellent job of demonstrating the rich possibilities in relationships between seniors and teens. The narration is fun and at times poetic in its insightfulness. One of the real strengths of this book is Calettie’s ability to set up stand out scenes, that in their commonness, are beautiful (such as Ruby’s mom and her brother playing cards outside her door when she locks herself in the room, or Harold’s snowflake PJ’s). This book comes highly recommended.

You might like Honey, Baby Sweetheart if you enjoy books with: a more down to earth feel instead of an action packed plot, a character that you can really identify with, a realistic feel to them.

Other books by Deb Caletti: The Queen of Everything, Six Rules of Maybe, The Nature of Jade, Wild Roses and The Fortunes of Indigo Skye.

If you enjoyed Honey Baby Sweetheart you might also like: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen, Two-way Street by Lauren Barnholdt and Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

Rating: 5Q 4P JS