Tuesday, March 1, 2016

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion - Teaser Tuesday and First Chapter / First Paragraph

     At age 59, Sookie Poole learns that she was adopted and everything she believes to be true about her ancestry is a lie. This book is about how Sookie deals with that information. Does she track down her birth mother? Does she confess her knowledge to the demanding woman who raised her? What does she tell her kids? With her trademark humor and insight, Fannie Flagg weaves Sookie's story with that of her birth mother, an aviatrix who served in the WASP's in World War II.
    I'll admit up front: I'm a fan of Fannie Flagg's writing. I like her Southern voice, her quirky characters, and her down-to-earth stories. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion didn't disappoint. While being entertained by this delightful story, I also learned a little about the Women Airforce Service Pilots and their role in World War II and gained insight into the ways the folks "back home" supported the war effort.

Genre: Women's Fiction / Historical / Humor
Book Length: 347 Pages (hardback)
Amazon Link: The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion
Author Website: Fannie Flagg Books

First Chapter / First Paragraph: There's a brief prologue, but I'm taking my excerpt from the opening of Chapter One:

A Most Unusual Week
Point Clear, Alabama
Monday, June 6, 2005
76° and Sunny

     Mrs. Earle Poole, Jr., better known to friends and family as Sookie, was driving home from the Birds-R-Us store out on Highway 98 with one ten-pound bag of sunflower seeds and one ten-pound bag of wild bird seed and not her usual weekly purchase for the past fifteen years of one twenty-pound bag of Pretty Boy Wild Bird Seed and Sunflower Mix. As she had explained to Mr. Nadleshaft, she was worried that the smaller birds were still not getting enough to eat. Every morning lately, the minute she filled her feeders, the larger, more aggressive blue jays would swoop in and scare the little birds all away.

Teaser (from Page 211):
     Fritzi desperately wanted to pass this inspection, but something snapped. She gunned the engines and as soon as she got her altitude, she suddenly flipped the plane over and flew upside down while Miller, who was now suspended in midair and hanging on to his shoulder straps, screamed for dear life, "Turn over! Turn over! Goddamn it!" When she did, Fritzi did a barrel roll, shot straight up, and then did her famous death drop into fifteen spins straight down.

Synopsis:
     Mrs. Sookie Poole of Point Clear, Alabama, has just married off the last of her daughters and is looking forward to relaxing and perhaps traveling with her husband, Earle. The only thing left to contend with is her mother, the formidable Lenore Simmons Krackenberry. Lenore may be a lot of fun for other people, but is, for the most part, an overbearing presence for her daughter. Then one day, quite by accident, Sookie discovers a secret about her mother’s past that knocks her for a loop and suddenly calls into question everything she ever thought she knew about herself, her family, and her future.
     Sookie begins a search for answers that takes her to California, the Midwest, and back in time, to the 1940s, when an irrepressible woman named Fritzi takes on the job of running her family’s filling station. Soon truck drivers are changing their routes to fill up at the All-Girl Filling Station. Then, Fritzi sees an opportunity for an even more groundbreaking adventure. As Sookie learns about the adventures of the girls at the All-Girl Filling Station, she finds herself with new inspiration for her own life.


Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Jenn of Books and A Beat. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.
Link at BibliophileByTheSea



Twitter: @SandyNachlinger
Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

24 comments:

  1. I loved this one, too, and I am also a fan of Fannie Flagg. Her voice is definitely one that resonates with me, since my paternal grandparents were Southern. I often "hear" their voices when I read Southern fiction.

    Thanks for sharing..and for visiting my blog.

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  2. This is a really fascinating teaser - I like the strong voice. This is mine... https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/teaser-tuesday-1st-march-2016/

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  3. I love Fannie Flagg's writing style. I haven't read this one, but it's one I would like to read. Your mention of the Women Airforce Service Pilots especially caught my interest. I am glad you liked this one, Sandra. I will definitely be on the look out for it!

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  4. I've been a fan of Fannie Flagg's for a long, long time. And no, I haven't read this one. Years ago, I read a book about those women pilots. Think it was written by Janet Dailey maybe. Anyway, I loved the historical info and would likely love this one too. I can't ever think of Fannie Flagg without remembering her on TV - what was that show? And also Fried Green Tomatoes and Tawanda!!

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  5. I haven't read anything by this author but I did enjoy that opening and I'm a huge fan of books that have historical details so thank you for sharing this one

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  6. I'm a Fannie Flagg fan too. I loved this book and hope you do too.

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  7. At first I only knew Fannie Flagg as a celebrity contestant on some of the game shows from back in the day. What a pleasure it was to discover she was a talented writer as well!

    I love women who break boundaries and do the unexpected, so I would definitely read this one!

    Here's my FCFP/Teaser Tuesday.

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  8. You should definitely keep reading. Of course, I love anything set in the South and having to do with a road trip. It looks like a fun and cute book that I would really enjoy, myself.

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  9. It is funny we both featured this book. I haven't started it yet, but all the positive comments and reactions, have me chomping at the bit.

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  10. How funny (2) of you are featuring this one this week. I'd read more.

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  11. I would keep reading. I've enjoyed her other novels.

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  12. A death spiral? Either she won't pass at all, or she'll pass with flying colors.

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  13. Very interesting teaser. Thanks for sharing and thanks for stopping by my post earlier! :)

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  14. Ah! I love Fannie Flagg!

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  15. This sounds interesting. She is not a writer I have heard of before.

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  16. I've never heard of Fannie Flagg before, but your description of her "Southern voice, her quirky characters, and her down-to-earth stories" makes me think I'd like her books. Definitely adding her to my TBR list! (And thanks for visiting my blog!)

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  17. Are you in a book club with Judy? Ha. Hope you enjoy this one. I'm not crazy about the intro, but I'm sure more is coming.

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  18. This one sounds like a very entertaining read; I'm glad you enjoyed it! Happy reading and thanks for stopping by.

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  19. Hi Sandra,

    So many readers have recommended this author to me in the past, that I can't beleive I still haven't had the opportunity to read one of her books!

    I love everything you have shared about this particular story and I am certain that I would like her style of writing.

    The older I get, the more my fears grow that I might find out something I didn't know about my heritage and background - it's just a strange feeling that I have!

    Only having my father left now, I am inexplicably bothered that he may depart this life, never having let me into some kind of family secret.

    That makes this book even more relatable, so thanks for sharing :)

    Yvonne

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  20. Judy over at Busy Hands Are Happy Hands also featured this one. It sure looks like a very funny read! And that vintage cover....it's a step back in time. Might give this one a try.

    Thanks for sharing, and for commenting on my own Tuesday Intros post!! :)

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  21. Sounds like an interesting read! I really like the teaser, I can just see the plane going all out! Hope you're enjoying this (:

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  22. Ohh great teaser Fritzi sounds like she is a very daring and funny woman I am really intrigued about her story in this book. Thank you for stopping by my blog. :D

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  23. First, I thought, "I can't get over how much birdseed that is"--- but then we got to the airplanes, and yeah, I've moved on from the birdseed! I am sitting next to a bookshelf with Flagg's famous Fried Green Tomatoes staring down at me, reminding me to hurry up and read it already!

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  24. First of all, the synopsis for this book is incredible! I am wanting to know everything and how it all works out in the end. Also, your teaser really tells so much about this character and her strength! I think this is a book that I would really enjoy. <3

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