Dixie Riggs

Dixie Riggs, the wildest, funniest, raunchiest redneck girl in South Carolina, finds her plans to snag Myrtle Beach's most eligible bachelor foiled by her shady past and her best friend

YA-- All Dixie Riggs wants out of life is to marry Buck Speed, Myrtle Beach's most sought-after body builder. Although Dixie lives with Buck and his parents, she can't get him to make a final commitment. To obtain that end, she enters Renee Dupree's Modeling School; poses with her friend, Sparkle, for some homemade soft porn photos; moves in with the town's notorious womanizer; gets pregnant; and generally makes a mess out of things. Written with a great sense of humor, Dixie Riggs is a stepping stone from most teenage romances into adult fiction.
- Katherine Fitch, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Naive but likable good-ol'-girl Dixie Riggs bumbles her way through this irresistible novel by the author of Hairdo. Believing in the wrong people and yearning for the wrong goals, she nevertheless strikes it lucky and finds happiness from an unexpected source. Having moved from Cordelia, Ga., to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to live in her boyfriend's parents' home, Dixie says that all she wants from life is to become Mrs. Buck Speed. But she scotches her chances when her best friend Sparkle talks her into posing for lewd photos. When Buck is sent copies of the shots, he kicks Dixie out of his life, reminding her that since he wants to be a televangelist (and body builder) she is no longer a suitable wife for him. Crushed, Dixie wonders who could have given the photos to Buck. But, resourcefully, she uses Buck's mother's credit card to embark on a modeling career. When Sparkle turns up in Buck's parents' house as Buck's new girl, Dixie is miffed but not too surprised by the perfidy of friends and lovers. Nothing in Dixie's life is ever minor; each event becomes a crisis that is related with high humor in her down-home voice. Gilbert portrays her redneck characters with warmth, verve and never a touch of condescension.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gilbert's humorous style is deceptively simple, her wacky plots and quirky characters often hiding depth and insight. Perhaps this very simplicity is why Gilbert has not broken through to bestsellerdom. In this, her third novel (following Hairdo , LJ 11/1/89, and Dixie Riggs , LJ 3/1/91), Gilbert continues her characteristic style by presenting the chatty inner world of former beauty queen Pammy Outlaw as she tries to deal with the loss of her husband to college and another woman. Making her way back home, she must accept the horrendous revelation that she has turned into her mother. All is not lost, though, as Pammy is ultimately able to transform herself. Gilbert's strength is her ability to voice those feelings we all have (what woman hasn't been stunned as she sees herself in her own mother?) with refreshingly original humor. Perhaps this third effort will propel Gilbert into the super-selling mainstream. Highly recommended.
- Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Lib. System, Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.