The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc

by Loraine Despres

It's a steamy June afternoon in Louisiana, circa 1956, and Sissy LeBlanc is sitting on her front porch, wondering -- half seriously -- if she could kill herself with aspirins and Coca-Cola. She's been living in stifling old Gentry since the day she was born and trapped in a sham of a marriage to PeeWee LeBlanc since she was only seventeen. In short, she's fed up, restless, and ready for an adventure. Sissy just never imagined temptation would come into her life that breathless summer day as she sat smoking on her porch swing. For although she may have been fixated on the taut muscles of the lineman shimmying down the telephone pole across the street, she hadn't allowed herself to imagine that he'd be none other than her high school sweetheart, Parker Davidson, who left town fourteen years before without so much as a wave good-bye. But suddenly, here he is, leaning in for a kiss that will stir up more excitement than Sissy could ever have imagined...

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Book Club, Southern, Romance, Historical Fiction, Summer

342 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2001

About the author

Loraine Despres is a best-selling novelist and screenwriter. Her first novel, the rollicking Southern love story, The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc, was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Pick, a Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club featured selection. It became a national best-seller and is now in its 25th printing. It begins: “When you get to be a certain age, you realize that the only thing you have time for is doing exactly what you want.”
It engendered The Southern Belle’s Handbook, Sissy Leblanc’s Rules to Live By, which includes all Sissy’s rules such as, “It’s okay for a woman to know her place, she just shouldn’t stay there.”
Her next novel, The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell, about intolerance and love, is set in 1920, when prohibition was in full swing, women were clamoring for the vote, and the Ku Klux Klan was sweeping the country as a money-making pyramid scheme. It begins: “Belle Cantrell felt guilty about killing her husband, and she hated that. Feeling guilty, that is.” It was the main book selection for all the chapters of the Pulpwood Queens, the largest book club in America with over 280 chapters.
During her screenwriting days, Loraine wrote many screenplays, pilots, and MOWS. Her produced episodes include those for The Highlander, The Equalizer, Crime Story, Chips, Family, Knots Landing, Dynasty, The Walton’s, and Love Boat, but she is best remembered for writing that cultural icon the “Who Shot J.R.?” episode of Dallas.
She taught screenwriting at UCLA for seven years and worked as an International Screenwriting Consultant in Germany, Sweden, Spain, and Canada. Loraine served on the Boards of Directors of PEN USA and Women In Film. She can be reached through her website www.LoraineDespres.com.

Reviews

[Diana Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I checked this book out, I wanted a taste of Southern cheekiness. Anyway, I figured this would be a source for some easy entertainment, White women fainting in the heat or gossiping behind fans. Surprisingly, Sissy is much more than that. A Southern belle with a free spirit who is trapped in Gentry, Louisiana. Her past is a rocky one, but an interesting one. Her children, Chip in particular, are very interesting characters in this story. The most interesting detail about this book is how White men view women, of all races. They want their White women pure, and if they aren't pure then they feel they should have free access to them. They want their Black women to know their place in public, but be wild and uninhibited in the bedroom. The lack of respect for women in this time is astounding because I kept getting the feel that the White women thought they were better than the Black women, even though they were all being treated the same by men who claimed to love and respect them! I also gathered that being a Southern Belle isn't all it's cracked up to be in this time period... it basically means lying through your teeth to keep everyone happy except yourself and to that I say "No, thank you."

[Mohammed omran · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read the back cover of this book, I thought that it would be about a married woman faced with temptation in the form of her former high school squeeze. It seemed like it would be a bit of fluff to while away the summer days.Wrong, Susan. Just wrong. The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc is so much more than a book about a bored housewife looking for adventure. The reader is taken back and forth between the summer of 1956 and the fall of 1941, as well as a brief foray into 2002. The novel starts with Sissy in 2002, flashing back on the events that occurred in her hometown of Gentry, Louisiana -- events that would eventually cause her to run from the town. The flashbacks bring the reader to the first time Parker Davidson re-enters Sissy's doldrum life as a 50s housewife. Within minutes, their passion for each other reignites into flames that are sure to burn everything around them.But that isn't the whole story. Right about the middle of the book, Sissy's flashbacks go further back to 1941 - the year everything seemed to have been decided for Sissy. Her brother was dead and her mother dying, Parker and she were history, and Sissy was a very lonely young girl. Lonely girls make bad decisions, and their hearts and desires lead them astray. The key to this story lies in that lonely autumn. What happens during those brief months leads to everything else - the life she leads, losing Parker & getting him back, and the great tragedy which is only hinted at in the beginning of the book.The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc could easily have been named The Scandalous Life of Sissy LeBlanc. Despres shows us the deliciousness of sin -- and it's consequences. My advice to all of you: read this book! My rating: 4/5

[Ruth Soz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! If you like books with strong female characters, twists that you weren't expecting, and books that reflect to the past, I think you will love this. There is a kind of prequel (sp.?) which recently came out and I am very excited to read it (The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell).

[Desiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the book: "If you know anything about summer in Louisiana you know the heat, moist and heavy, presses down on the pavement until it sends up shimmering mirages, and lovers, looking for a little noontime solace, stick to one another in high-ceilinged bedrooms. But the bar was cool, especially after a couple of tall glasses of bourbon and Coke over cracked ice"

The ultimate summer read of all time for me. The only S-word left out of the title describes it most perfectly: Sizzling

From the descriptions of the blistering Louisiana summer to her steamy account of Sissy's scintillating personal revolutions, the book is HOT in a grocery store novel kind of way, but without the massed produced feel. The writing is crafted for illustrating the progression of the novel in an interesting and unique way.

Must be enjoyed sitting in front of an open fridge or cranked AC with a bourbon and coke...to be truly appreciated. Love this book and would have given it to my mom to read if it weren't for the racy bits. Southern Romance is the best!

[Madeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes books suffer from misrepresentation/mismarketing just as movies do. The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc is one of these books: it looks like a fluffy chicklit romp, from cover to title, to inside flap synopsis, to back cover excerpts from The Southern Belle's Handbook, a metatext that runs through the novel.* Actually, it's quite a dark book, albeit one with a neatly tied up happy ending.

For example, the novel explicitly engages with racism, white privilege and anti-semitism (Parker Davidson is Jewish; Sissy has a black cousin intent on passing once she gets to the University of Chicago). It does a pretty good job of handling these issues and balancing them with the viewpoints of the 1950s. I loved that it never romanticized white people. In fact, there's not very much romance in the book at all, and only a bit of escapism.

But there's something lacking the the aesthetic experience, to be honest. The characters don't stick with you. The jokes aren't particularly funny. The prose is okay? It didn't do much for me.

* I actually received The Southern Belle's Handbook in my stocking one year, which is how I know about this book.

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had its moments of being highly entertaining and vapidly self-absorbed. I blame the characters for both.

Sissy is a victim of her own mistakes. She is funny, high-spirited, defeated and tenacious. She's also not in love with her husband but with her old high school boyfriend. This doesn't ruin anything folks because this is made clear about four pages in.

Parker Davidson, who should know better than to go after married women, has been in love with Sissy since their high school days and unbeknownst to him, was a pawn in a game that Sissy tried to play with her future father-in-law and lost.

Peewee LeBlanc isn't really a bad guy just weak and definitely not the one for Sissy.

His father Bouree is a mean SOB. He's like a rattlesnake, pretty to look at but once you decide to move closer he'll bite you.

Let's not forget the possible sociopathic oldest child of Sissy's. There are very few child characters that I seriously would like to see get punished - Chip is one of them.

Anyhoo, it has the classic southern elements of the Belle Ideal, bourbon and coke, swimming at the lake, racial issues, Nehi's, balmy night and sweltering days and of course fried chicken.

A decent beach read and entertaining. If you can get past the selfishness of all of the characters (which by the middle of the book you can) you will have a decent read.

[Therese · Rating 1 out of 5]

Selfish, self-absorbed people acting stupidly. These characters are not appealing and don't make me want to root for them. The action & plot aren't even as attractive as a train-wreck. The prologue gives a good idea of how it all turns out anyway, so why should I keep reading? I'm about 1/2 way through it. Might not get any farther.

Funny, I was thrown by the main character's reference to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and looked it up before mentioning it here, thinking it was an anachronism. I totally missed the online references to the original movie which came out in 1956 -- clearly I should have dug deeper. Mea culpa!

[Jannette Sternberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am only have way threw this book and am embarrassed to be reading such trash. I thought it would be a change from historical fiction to read a book based in more modern times rather than in the ice age. I was expecting just a simple chick lit book with some romance. I am against adultery and was shocked to see it in this book. I might finish the book just cause I already wasted my time getting half way threw it. Also to see how it turns out.

[Loraine Despres · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first novel. It was a Literary Guild and Double Day Book Club Selection as well as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. It became a national best seller and is now in its 24th edition. Sissy LeBlanc haunted my dreams and woke me up at night forcing me drag myself out of bed and write about her.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This came to me in a free box of books from a friend. A year later, as I was trying to quickly clear some bookshelf space for new books, I wanted something I could finish quickly and pass along, so I grabbed this book.

It did not disappoint: I completed it in 2 days and found it to be an easy, enjoyable read. I enjoyed it as lightweight fluff for 2/3 of it, where the story centered around Sissy's high school boyfriend returning to the town she never left, and their instant re-attraction. Too bad she married that other guy and had 3 kids!

But about 2/3 of the way through, there were some unexpected revelations that took it up a bit. Still an easy read, but the secrets that were revealed brought it a little closer to the emotional weight of a "Fried Green Tomatoes."

[Sherry Donahue · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I didn't like this book. It seemed silly and the main character, Sissy, appeared to be a stereotypical southern ditz. However, as the story turned to Sissy's past, I learned that she was actually strong and smart and made many decisions out of self preservation. She was also a badass who used her southern belle ways to fight against racism and inequality. I probably wouldn't have chosen this book on my own (it was a book club selection) but I actually enjoyed it!

[Carlie Esposito · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly this should’ve been called “The Scandalous Life of Sissy LeBlanc” this girl was wild. Didn’t love the characters; I felt myself getting annoyed rather than really connecting with any of them. I did however really enjoy how the book ended and originally I thought this was going to be a very predictable book and I was wildly incorrect so that was kind of cool too

[Stacy Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scandalous? Barely. Though given the time period, maybe? But once I read past the (perceived by 1950’s society) inappropriate behavior, I found a whole lot of sexual assault, statutory rape, misogyny, racism, antisemitism, and victim blaming. It was just so gross and many times, just a challenge to read. There’s a very small handful of likeable-ish characters, but mostly I disliked everyone. Essentially, post-WW2 Louisiana was just horrendous!!

[Kate West · Rating 2 out of 5]

i thought this was going to be a light headed romance novel, but this was so much more intense than that. i felt like the author romanticized a pedophilic relationship. also had too descriptive assault scenes.

[ReadWithE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really my kind of book but surprisingly more feminist than I expected it to be

[jazmyne hayes]

What a wild ride

[Sarah Obsesses over Books & Cookies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. Definitely not what I thought it would be (which was a light and fluffy classic chick lit- southern style) and although it was southern through and through and started off as a slightly edgy story turned dark about the second third of the way in and I was hooked. Some of it was a little strange, like I thought hmmm I wouldn't act that way if that happened, but with all stories there has to be a slight suspension of disbelief (even in the straight up non-surreal fiction) and I was riveted and happy with the ending even though I didn't see it coming.
I enjoyed it and was sad to think the author didn't go on to write a bunch of books. so boo on that.

[Kayte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really, really wish that I could have given this book 3.5 stars. 3 wasn't enough though, so I went with 4. This is a great book if you're looking for a quick read. At first I thought it was going to be light and fun, which it was at parts. But there were some pretty intense themes in this book. And let me just say that if you don't like graphic sex scenes in your books, this may not be the book for you. But I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who wants a little twisted chick lit.

[Amy Pyles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm feeling generous with 2 stars. The first half of this novel was absolutely horrible. I'm sure worse have been written, but I don't think I've read any. A little bit of actual content showed up in the second half, but by then it was too late to care about the characters or anything they did. The writing and pacing just never seemed to work out right, either. There were small glimmers of hope, but they never came to fruition for me. Overall this book was a big disappointment, and I'm terribly sorry for having recommended it for our book club to read this month!

[Angela Avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a scandalous and sassy book about the south! It's a GREAT read. Very interesting to learn more about the southern ways. It reminded me of the Ya Ya Sisterhood movie, just with their southern way of speaking and being sassy. GREAT summer read!

[Jessica Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like a screenplay. Loraine Despres does a fantastic job describing the chaotic, messy sides of life. Ultimately, it’s a love story, but with darker themes including, but not limited to, sexual coercion of a minor. Also, some cringey racial depictions.

[Karina Tarbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t get over the DRAMA of this book, but the main character was just so good 👏🏻 i thought this was gonna be real YA-style writing but it was certainly not. Do not judge a book by its cover

[Rory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Great beach read!!

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is set in Gentry Louisiana, a typical small rural town in the southern states where local church gossips keep rumors moving and little that happens stays private. Sissy Leblanc has lived here all her life although she has dreamed of adventures in a much wider landscape. Having made some mistakes, she is paying the price, stuck in a loveless marriage to Pee Wee Leblanc, who she married fifteen years ago when she was just seventeen and pregnant. They have three children and Chip, the eldest, is proving to be quite a handful. As she sits on the front porch, sipping a coke, she is hot, frustrated and bored, wondering if her life will ever change.

Sissy narrates her own story, going back in time to the nineteen forties and fifties. She had been the head cheerleader in high school and fell for Parker Davidson, the tall, dark, Jewish football hero. But Parker’s attention turned to other girls and then he left town. After that, Sissy’s life took a turn in the road, leading her down a path of self-destruction. Hungry for the affection she never received from her family and impelled to explore her growing sexuality, she became involved in an illicit relationship. The victim of her own mistakes, she tried to create the best life she could out of the mess she had made, but now, years later, she is restless and fed up.

Parker suddenly reappears in town with his girlfriend Clara, a distant relative of Sissy’s, the “not very black” daughter of her Uncle Tibor, a racial purist. Parker lets Sissy know he is eager to resume their once passionate romance and the two eagerly fall back together as sparks fly.

The story, told in alternating chapters, introduces each one with advice from the Southern Belles Handbook, a compendium of advice Sissy has created that exists only in her mind. It is based on what heard from her mother and grandmother as well as what she had learned on her own growing up and speaks to everything from choosing a man, to keeping him. It also serves to help readers place themselves in the social and political context of the deep south, providing a better understanding of Sissy’s behavior, the decisions she made and why she felt so trapped in life.

The strength of the novel lies in the writing which so accurately conveys the heat, humidity and feel of the deep south. Readers can almost feel the sweltering temperatures in daytime, the thick warm nights and the scent of jasmine that hangs heavily in the air. Despres has filled her narrative with all the classic elements of a southern novel, including references to fried chicken, bourbon and coke on ice, and corrupt politics while exploring issues of racism, adultery, incest, white privilege and antisemitism.

One cannot help but wonder how stories similar to this one exist in other small rural towns, a tale easily repeated time and again over the years. I found it a good debut, from this author who has already made a name for herself writing several successful television shows.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. This was on the freebie cart at the library a few months ago and I grabbed it up, thinking it sounded like it might be good.

It was not.

All the characters are completely unlikeable and have zero possibilities of developing redeeming qualities. Many of the characters like Peewee and his father, Bouree, are racist and misogynic. I get that it was the norm in that era, but still it was rather queasy to read about, especially in this time of racial injustice.

And Sissy was a dud. I think she was supposed to be the poor little housewife who longed for a better life and was given the chance at it with her former high school beau, Parker. But right off the bat she leaps into a steamy scene with Parker and her kids witness part of it. The oldest kid decides to use it as leverage against his mom and blackmails her into buying him a chemistry set, which he then uses to make nitrous oxide in order to get the other kids in the neighborhood high.

I DNF'd at the scene where Parker brings home Clara, who is Sissy's long lost cousin. Clara is half black and her father is Sissy's racist uncle. Sissy doesn't know Clara and assumes that Parker is going to screw her. She gets angry and then suddenly realizes that Clara looks a lot like her and wham-bam, she's all "ooh, we should have a family get together!" I think I rolled my eyes so hard at that scene that they almost popped out of my head.

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The depth of love can only be measured by the sacrifices you’re willing to make for it.”

When I first started reading this book I wasn't sure it would be my cup of sweet tea but It surprised me. I thought it was going to be about some depressed housewife who complained about the “good ol’ days” and sharing stories of what was , what could have been. It touched a great deal on the past to understand the present but BOY WAS I SURPRISED! This book was defiantly a lot spicier and infuriating and gut wrenching all at the same time than expected. SO MUCH SCANDAL! This book dealt with so many difficult and heavy topics, but none of them were ever dealt with seriously. Child abuse, rape, bigotry, racial segregation, adultery, etc. The main Character Sissy has been through a lot but she has a sharp mind of her own compared to her town of Gentry. As much as Sissy tries to keep things under wraps but it kind of more out in the open than she realizes. I enjoyed the multiple POVs the story outlined for us readers.Its a sad story but one with an ending that we see the main character succeed in getting her happiness....
I think it could be a tv show or movie or something it was a good book that was difficult to put down.

[G · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first 100 pages of this book and returned it to the library. It was full of racial epithets, bigotry, anti-semitism, and the N word which seemed to be for no reason I could discern. I thought it was going to be a fun read about a woman having a summer fling. In 100 pages, I had no idea how any of the bigotry, epithets, and offensive language had to do with a fling. I'm not overly sensitive to these matters, and if the language and bigotry has some relevant purpose and makes sense, I'm fine with that. I just didn't see it. Maybe after the first 100 pages the story had some point to all this, but unfortunately, for my time and energy, the author needed to get to that point sooner.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I just wrote about for the review of Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell, I was aware of this story before its prequel, but decided to read them chronologically by storyline, not by publishing date. I felt good already having the background for this story (or at least part of it); it was very interesting to see how some of the characters from the earlier set fared. I think this story was more compelling in a few ways, but both books were excellent. I wish Goodreads would allow half stars, because this would be 4.5 for sure.

[Shelly Spiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a bookclub read and like other readers, I expected this book to be a bit of fluffy, fun summer reading. And although it was fun summer reading, it was far from fluffy. I thought it interesting the the issues of women rights and racism is addressed and is actually the subtle theme of this story. This book addressed these issues with humor and determination! The way the book flashed from 1941 to present time kept us guessing "Who did Sissy end up with and what was the big scandal?" Great twist at the end and a wonderful summer read. We rated this book 8 wine bottles!

[Athena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, funny, fairly well-written, clever. The only issue for is that, while Sissy is pretty likable as a main character, she is an absolutely terrible person.

The events of the eponymous summer are the main action but we also get the story of teenage Sissy. And that girl was a mess. Her decisions in high school set up the trajectory of her life and changed the lives of many around her, often for the worse.

I recommend this as a lightish read, but don’t even bother to pick it up if you get frustrated when characters make poor choices.