The Red Hat Club Rides Again: A Novel - Hardcover

Smith, Haywood

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312316917 ISBN 13: 9780312316914

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2005

Synopsis

Put on your red hats and plenty of attitude, and spend a hilarious, heartwarming read with five fabulous women. . . .

The Red Hat Club is back, in rare form. When Pru Bonner, black sheep of the group, falls off the wagon so hard it shakes Diane, Linda, SuSu, Teeny, and Georgia's world, "the girls" stage a hilarious kidnapping in Vegas to help their childhood friend clean up her act.

As the women confront their pasts along with their hazardous adventure, they discover surprising strength in themselves and their friendships. Laughter is spiced with secrets, surprises, and pitfalls aplenty, including a midlife pregnancy test, a fight for life, the perils of Internet dating, an all-expense-paid plastic surgery cruise, and a surprise celebration that proves it's never too late for love.

As in The Red Hat Club, these irrepressible heroines face the challenges of friendship in sickness and in health, with heart and indomitable humor. So join the Red Hat Club and remember that age is all in your head, calories should always be in chewable form (Diet Coke with chocolate éclairs!), and that when all else fails, your Red Hat Club will see you through.


(This novel has not been authorized or endorsed by the Red Hat Society.)

About this title

About the Author

Baby-boomer Haywood Smith (born Anne Haywood Pritchett) grew up as one of five children in North Atlanta, Georgia. Inspired by Jenny Joseph's free-spirited poem "Warning," Haywood writes lighthearted coming-of-middle-age tributes to the Jilted Generation of women who, like she, have emerged victorious through divorce, teenaged children, menopause, the Internet, tennis elbow, spreading waistlines, nothing but tacky clothes in the stores, and countless other modern tribulations.

From the Inside Flap

Applause for Haywood Smith's The Red Hat Club

"A tribute to women who emerged victorious through divorce, menopause, spreading waistlines, and other tribulations."
- Chicago Tribune

"The Red Hat Club is a valuable life lesson for women of all ages. . . . A spunky, sexy, intriguing, lickety-split romp."
- Times (Roanoke, Virginia)

"A gossipy, engaging read, full of witty Southern characters readers will be unable to resist the urge to cheer on."
- The Florida Times-Union

"Smith's celebration of comradeship is a loving tribute to those lifelong relationships that may defy logic. . . . A joyous, joyful ode."
- Booklist

"Rowdy Southern feminist fantasy."
- Kirkus Reviews

"The Red Hat Club ladies are just Bridget, older, wiser, and with husbands who may or may not be faithful."
- Toronto Sun

"A fine, confiding . . . voice, which makes for a fast, easy read. Her dialogue is true to life. She has a wicked sense of humor."
- Bookreporter.com

"Inspiring . . . fun to read."
- Romantic Times

"A humorous, cathartic coming-of-middle-age story of six feisty women who refuse to throw in the towel---or the hat."
- The Tennessean

"A hoot . . . A delightful read that shows that even 'mature' women can be full of surprises to themselves and others."
- Chattanooga Times

"A great story with many fond memories for anyone who had a group of ladies in their high school."
- Book Review Cafe

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Applause for Haywood Smith's The Red Hat Club

"A tribute to women who emerged victorious through divorce, menopause, spreading waistlines, and other tribulations."
- Chicago Tribune

"The Red Hat Club is a valuable life lesson for women of all ages. . . . A spunky, sexy, intriguing, lickety-split romp."
- Times (Roanoke, Virginia)

"A gossipy, engaging read, full of witty Southern characters readers will be unable to resist the urge to cheer on."
- The Florida Times-Union

"Smith's celebration of comradeship is a loving tribute to those lifelong relationships that may defy logic. . . . A joyous, joyful ode."
- Booklist

"Rowdy Southern feminist fantasy."
- Kirkus Reviews

"The Red Hat Club ladies are just Bridget, older, wiser, and with husbands who may or may not be faithful."
- Toronto Sun

"A fine, confiding . . . voice, which makes for a fast, easy read. Her dialogue is true to life. She has a wicked sense of humor."
- Bookreporter.com

"Inspiring . . . fun to read."
- Romantic Times

"A humorous, cathartic coming-of-middle-age story of six feisty women who refuse to throw in the towel---or the hat."
- The Tennessean
0
"A hoot . . . A delightful read that shows that even 'mature' women can be full of surprises to themselves and others."
- Chattanooga Times

"A great story with many fond memories for anyone who had a group of ladies in their high school."
- Book Review Cafe

Reviews

Smith fans know that when 50-something females don red hats for lunch at Atlanta's Swan Coach House tearoom, mayhem ensues. Club members Susu (wild divorcée now studying law), Teeny (abandoned woman turned corporate mogul), Diane (displaced wife now fashion designer), Linda (unflappable Jewish mother now in crisis), and Georgia (married narrator newly in love with her husband) unite to save old pal Pru from addiction. Four of the five fly to Las Vegas, where they kidnap Pru from a casino with the help of a good-looking cowboy, and then the six reunite to help Pru confront her inner demons in rehab. They also help each other through personal and family challenges and then wrap everything up with a cosmetic surgery cruise. Talk about intervention. For all their mischief, these women on the verge of second adolescence retain core values of Southern womanhood: goodness, graciousness and grandchildren. With flashbacks to their younger days and the ladies' not-so-strict adherence to 12 Sacred Traditions ("No Lies," "No 'I Told You So's,' " etc.), the book's fun lies not in guessing how things turn out but in Smith's warm, chatty style and images of "mommy-faced" women prancing about on an ocean liner wearing nothing but high heels, sunglasses and, of course, red hats. Though attempts at hilarity can be hit and miss, and outrageous scenarios and easy solutions strain credibility, well, it's hard to keep good women down, as The Red Hat Club's bestseller status proves. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

If you think all Red Hat Club members are sweet old ladies with a penchant for purple frocks and crimson chapeaus, think again. Smith's bunch of Buckhead babes--Georgia, Diane, Linda, SuSu, and Teeny--may all be women of a "certain age," but that doesn't mean they have to act like it. They're feisty, and sexy, and loyal to a fault, so when there's trouble within the group, they rally like the Three Musketeers on steroids. Of course, it helps when one of the members is a multimillionaire, able to spare no expense when it comes to problem solving. And if that means firing up the corporate jet to launch a drug intervention in Vegas, or booking an ocean liner for a monthlong plastic surgery cruise, then that's what the Red Hats do. If you're willing to suspend disbelief and go along for the joy ride, then hitting the road with Smith's lovable ladies is a riotous, raucous, roller-coaster adventure. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312316917
• ISBN 13: 9780312316914
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336