THE SUGAR QUEEN de Sarah Addison Allen

Title: The Sugar Queen
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Country: USA
Year: 2008

I was at a family birthday party when I saw this book on a coffee table. I looked at it and smiled at the title, which was enough for my auntie to shove it into my hands and tell me I was gonna love it and I should totally read it. She has a good taste in books, but the cover made it clear it was a story a tad more romantic than my usual read. Still, I took it.

And it was a good choice.

The Sugar Queen is the story of 27-year-old Josie Cirrini as she steps out of her hiding place (a candy-filled, oversized closet) and embraces life. Or, rather than embracing, bullrushes life into unconsciousness. Blackmailed by a fugitive that finds sanctuary in her closet, she is forced to sneak out of home, comfort newly-found friends and get her crush into a fist fight. In the process, she unveils many secrets about her family, which turned out to be bigger and more complex than she thought, and finds the confidence in herself to accept that life is what you make it be.

In the beginning, Josie spent her days driving Margaret, her cold superficial mother, around their small North Carolina town and running errands for her. Mr. Cirrini had left Josie and Margaret enough money (and fame) to live comfortably without having to work, but all Josie could do was please Margaret's desires during the day and find comfort in sweets, romance novels and travel magazines at night. She was not a happy woman, but Josie felt she owed Margaret as much for being a difficult child. I don't quite agree with that "guilt" that submits her into building her life around her mother, but I let it pass. Specially because it all changes pretty fast.

One joyous autumn morning, Della Lee Baker makes her way into Josie's life and declares siege on her beloved closet for an indefinite period of time. This event propels the many changes in Josie's life, such as meeting Chloe Finley, a modest and heartbroken sandwich-maker. Josie amazes herself (and others) when she finds in herself the strength and courage (and wit) to stand up for Chloe the way she had never stood up for herself. As the two become friends, Chloe leads Josie to Adam, a handsome postman and Josie's longtime crush.

The story beautifully knits together all of the character's past and present, whether pushing some together for the first time or pulling back some others as many secrets come out of the dark. Even Margaret will be reunited with a past she had long forsaken. One of the messages you can gather from the story is that it's never too late to start living the life you desire.That was plain to see from the beginning: I liked the fact that the main character was 27, not a flimsy teenager (and also it ruled out high school romances and teenage drama).

I should have mentioned this earlier, but here it is now: Sarah Addison Allen writes magical realism. This was the second time I read magical realism in English and I have decided that I like it (and I forgive it for not being in Spanish). This author does a great job, but I gotta say that her brush paints a much tender version of it (compared to Latin American magical realism).

At the end of the day, though, I'd read this book again and I'm definitely reading more books by this author very soon.

To consider:
- Garden Spells, by Sarah Addison Allen
- The Girl Who Chased the Moon, by Sarah Addison Allen
- The Peach Keeper, by Sarah Addison Allen
- The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield