I had such high hopes for this. I thought it would be a mix between "Steel Magnolias" and "Barber Shop." Sadly, it didn't deliver in those areas, but did have some redeeming qualities.
It is 1983 and Zora May Adams is nineteen years old and
lives in the mountains of South Carolina with her mother, who thinks she is
Judy Garland, and is constantly coming home drunk with random men. One night,
Zora decides she has just had enough. Her mother comes home drunk, again, and
with Zora’s boyfriend. It is just too much to take, and she calls her teacher, who has encouraged her to apply for a beauty school spot in a town about an
hour and a half from home. The teacher arranges for Zora to stay in the
above-garage apartment of a young widower, Winston Sawyer, in exchange for
making his meals daily. There are a few issues with this arrangement, the least
of which is Zora is immediately infatuated with the man.
Zora excels in school, and makes fast friends with Sara Jane
Farquhar, one of the best stylists in the school. Sara Jane’s family also
embraces Zora, to the point that her mother asks Zora to call her Mama. The two
girls grow up over the course of the book. Sara Jane becomes engaged and the
whirlwind of wedding planning takes over the girls’ lives. In the meanwhile,
Zora still holds a torch for the seemingly oblivious Winston, who spends his
nights drinking himself to sleep, only to start over again the next day.
Despite this obvious fault, Zora cannot help her obsession, even though Sara
Jane tries to discourage it. Eventually, Zora gets what she wants when she and Winston
begin a relationship, but it is nothing like she imagined and Zora remains
unhappy. (No, I'm not spoiling-that's written on the book)
The main theme of this book seems to be self-realization.
Zora has to get away from her mother in order to find herself. She makes her
own family once away from home, and has to make mistakes in order to redeem
herself. Sara Jane also learns to stand up for what matters to her.
I had a few issues with this book. I thought it was going to
have a lot more to do with the hair salons by the title, for one. Another was
the fact that some of the characters’ actions just didn’t feel right to me, and
little was explained to fix that. I also felt that there was little depth to
some of the secondary characters and that some actions felt very sudden for
such shallow relationships. I was assuming that the relationship between Zora
and Winston was supposed to feel rushed and romantic, but to me it seemed
unfounded. There was also a little too much emphasis on the "man needed for happiness" theme for a modern woman like myself.
All of that being said, it was a decent book that had a lot
going on, and a relatively quick read. I liked the 80s setting, and the
critiques of the older women stuck in the 50s or 60s. Those felt real and added
humor to the story.
Some books that are similar to this in themes and subject matter are:
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
True to Form by Elizabeth Berg
The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank
~Cailey
Some books that are similar to this in themes and subject matter are:
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
True to Form by Elizabeth Berg
The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank
~Cailey
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