Laura Lane McNeal
Dollbaby, title image

Praise:

"This flavorful and enthralling novel brilliantly captures New Orleans during the civil rights era. It's a deeply personal tale about growing up and searching for family as well as a provocative exploration of race and kinship. I found it both thrilling and poignant."
-- Walter Isaacson, best-selling author of STEVE JOBS, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN and several others.

In this tender coming-of-age novel, McNeal brings to life a place, an era, and an amazing cast of strong, larger-than-life characters. Heartrending, captivating, and ultimately, triumphant.
-- Cassandra King, bestselling author of Moonrise and four other novels.

"Laura Lane McNeal's Dollbaby is such an impressive debut— a powerful roux of family drama, long-simmering secrets and resentments, and ultimately, forgiveness and redemption. Deeply evocative, with memorable characters, Dollbaby belongs on the keeper shelf along with THE HELP and THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES."
-- Mary Kay Andrews, author of The Fixer Upper, Savannah Breeze and five others

"Deeply southern and evocative, Laura Lane McNeal's beautifully written debut, Dollbaby, takes us back to a not-so-long ago time when we were learning to look through different eyes at the fabric of our society, race, youth, and family."
-- Susan Crandall, critically acclaimed author of Whistling Past the Graveyard and nine other books

"Laura Lane McNeal has written a moving coming-of-age story nestled against the vivid backdrop of New Orleans during the 60's and 70's and brimming with thought provoking commentary on Civil Rights, Vietnam, family secrets and the unfair judgments we sometimes make about the people in our lives. I couldn't put it down - a powerful debut!"
-- Laura Donohoe, Malaprop's Books, Asheville, North Carolina

"There is plenty of mystery and deception in Dollbaby, but the prevailing theme is love and its power to blast away even the biggest betrayals. Reading this evocative southern novel is like alternately sipping sweet tea and healthy snorts of bourbon."
-- Lorna Landvik author of Patty Jane's House of Curl

Reviews:

"Dollbaby is an absolutely spellbinding debut that is written with intelligence, warmth, humor and reverie; though comparisons to THE HELP and THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES are inevitable, Laura Lane McNeal has captured something entirely her own. Both a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of social unrest and a love letter to the indomitable spirit of New Orleans, Dollbaby marks the celebratory arrival of an unforgettable new voice in fiction..."
-- The Hartford Books Examiner - Dollbaby Review

**Ibby Bell finds herself on her grandmother's doorstep, holding an urn with the ashes of her recently deceased father. The naïve, spirited teenager arrives in New Orleans in the midst of the interracial turmoil surrounding the tumultuous 1960s. Eccentric, wealthy grandmother Fannie's house holds a myriad of secrets: locked rooms, asylum visits, racial tension, and dark truths. The one saving grace in Ibby's new life are the blooming friendships she has found with Fannie's cook, Queenie, and her daughter, nicknamed Dollbaby who help her navigate Southern life and show her the true meaning of family. VERDICT: Bursting with believable conflict and loveable characters, it is difficult to believe Dollbaby is a debut novel. A vivid portrayal of post-war New Orleans, lush and evocative in its descriptions, McNeal's unique voice shines through surprising and pleasing the reader. Fans of Pat Conroy and Sue Monk Kidd will enjoy this new Southern talent.
-- Library Journal, Starred Review, BEA Editors' Pick, Best Summer Debuts

"Beautifully rendered and perfectly paced, DOLLBABY is one novel this year not to be missed, with just the right amount of mystery mixed with coming-of-age drama."
-- Book Reporter, Bets on Pick

"When someone asks you for a great book to read, usually you pause and think about genre and authors and then give a few options. But every now and then, there's a book you tell everyone to read, because it is that good. Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal is that book."
-- Durham Herald-Sun, Review

"A Sassy New Southern Voice! McNeal's witty prose and expertise on all things New Orleans will enrapture readers of The Help and Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.
-- BookPage, Review

"Those who loved To Kill a Mockingbird will appreciate this story."
-- Saint Charles City Library District

"Turn a page or two, and you'll be confirmed in your suspicion that Dollbaby, McNeal's debut novel, is as quirky as any fan of Southern fiction could want. It's also entertaining, warm, insightful and delightfully atmospheric."
-- Greensboro News-Record

"A touching coming-of-age story that is sincere and poignant.
Ibby is almost 12 when her father dies, and her mother, suddenly consumed by wanderlust, drops her off in New Orleans with the paternal grandmother she has never met. Initially reserved, Ibby has little time to wallow in her sorrow. Grandmother Fannie is loving but eccentric and occasionally disappears for respite at the local sanitarium. On these occasions, Ibby is left in the care of Fannie's black cook, Queenie, and Queenie's daughter, Dollbaby, who teach her to understand and love her new world and slowly reveal to her the secrets of the old home and its inhabitants. Though Ibby never stops watching for her mother, through the years she finds love and acceptance with this new, cobbled-together family. Replete with Southern tradition and the heady emotions of the civil rights movement, this first novel is richly imagined. It is a touching coming-of-age story that is sincere and poignant. With similar charm and intention as The Help (2009), Dollbaby is sure to please.
-- Booklist

"Verdict: Rich characterization makes McNeal's debut a lovely summer read. In the vein of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and The Help, McNeal's touching coming-of-age tale brings to life Civil Rights–era New Orleans. When 12-year-old Ibby's father dies in an accident, her no-good mother, Vidrine, hauls her across the country to live with a grandmother she's never met: the tragic, eccentric and indomitable Fannie Bell. Fannie's big house in New Orleans is like nothing Ibby's seen in Olympia, Washington; of particular note are the two black women, Queenie and her daughter Dollbaby, who work there. Soon, Ibby learns the Fannie Rules: Don't ask questions, don't unlock the doors on the second floor, and don't talk about the past. Infractions send Fannie to the mental hospital for a "rest," a not-infrequent event. Ibby begins private school and becomes friends with Dollbaby's daughter Birdelia; though the same age, they live remarkably different lives in the segregated South. Dollbaby goes to lunch-counter sit-ins, her brother T-Bone goes to Vietnam, the Civil Rights Amendment is passed, and slowly, the old guard of the South gives way to hippies. The story wanders gently along: Ibby has a Sweet 16 party, an old tree falls on the house, nasty Annabelle Friedrichs accuses T-Bone of rape (this lie is easily revealed thanks to Miss Fannie's cleverness), and though at times the plotting is overly episodic, with few natural transitions to link the scenes, McNeal's portrait of a time and place is rich enough to mitigate the flaws. Slowly, a picture of Fannie's past emerges, one that explains the frequent visits to the mental hospital and also her great generosity. At Fannie's mysterious demise, final secrets are revealed—truths that will tug a tear from the hardest of hearts."
-- Kirkus Review

"Since McNeal's novel is bursting with believable conflict and loveable characters, it's hard to believe that it's a debut. A vivid portrayal of post-war New Orleans, lush and evocative in its descriptions, McNeal's unique voice shines through surprising and pleasing the reader. Fans of Pat Conroy and Sue Monk Kidd will enjoy this new Southern talent."
-- Library Journal Starred Review

"Replete with southern tradition and the heady emotions of the civil rights movement, this first novel is richly if a bit romantically imagined. It is a touching coming-of-age story that is sincere and poignant. A lighter version of The Help (2009), with similar charm and intention, Dollbaby is sure to please."
-- Booklist

"When someone asks you for a great book to read, usually you pause and think about genre and authors and then give a few options. But every now and then, there's a book you tell everyone to read, because it is that good. Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal is that book."
-- Durham Herald-Sun, Review

"Dollbaby is an outstanding debut novel and one of the best books I've read this year. Definitely worth the read."
-- Historical Novel Society Review

Other Print Reviews:

RADIO:

  • WWNO-FM "The Reading Life" (New Orleans NPR) / Interview, 7/8
  • WRBH-FM "Reading Radio" (New Orleans, LA) / Interview, 7/9
  • WAEC-AM "CONNversations w/ Conn Jackson" (Atlanta, GA) / Interview, 7/14
  • WYPL-FM "Book Talk" (Memphis, TN NPR) / Interview, 7/24
  • KWAM-FM / "The Marybeth Conley Show" (Memphis, TN) / Interview, 7/24

TV:

  • Cox Communications "Louisiana Newsmakers" (New Orleans, LA)/ Interview, 7/8
  • WWL-TV "Eyewitness Morning News" (New Orleans, LA)/ Interview, 7/9
  • CONN-TV "Get Connected" (Atlanta, GA) / Interview, 7/14
  • WREG-TV / "Live @ 9" (Memphis, TN) / Interview, 7/24

Online Reviews:

Dollbaby, Laura Lane McNeal

AVAILABLE JULY, 2014

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