For Lucy Beauregard, each day in her sleepy southern town looks a lot like the next – days of riding her bicycle and skinny dipping with her friends, delivering flowers to the wonderfully odd folks in her town, and listening to her mama dish out her Loo-zee-anna gospel of wisdom. Falling in love isn’t something she has planned. In fact, there are a whole lot of things she hasn’t planned, like her two best friends getting their first tastes of love, or the attraction her very-married mama seems to have for another man, or the confusing flurry in her own heart stirred by a handsome and much older stranger. And then there’s the arrival of Dewey, a boy unlike anyone she’s ever known. In one sweltering summer, Lucy not only discovers herself but soars into love, cajun style.
Praise
“Les Becquets is a wonderful writer. . . . Her characters are sweet, her dialogue rings true and her story is classic, rooted in any moment in time.”
— Romantic Times
“With a cast of distinctive characters, this story is told with humor and warmth and is deliciously full of Cajun metaphors and mouth-watering cooking descriptions.”
— School Library Journal
“Filled with playful vignettes of a fun-loving Cajun lifestyle, here’s a novel dealing with sexuality that can appeal to both conservative and liberal readers. . . . Realistic, affecting and enjoyable throughout.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Perhaps the best thing to know about it is that it will make you smile, and more than once maybe even laugh out loud. I had a good time reading Love, Cajun Style and the first thing I did when I was done was pass it on to my niece. That’s probably the best compliment I can give it; I knew it was a pass-along book from the beginning.”
— Bookslut.com
“Les Becquets cooks up a pot of small-town Southern life that comes together like a jambalaya—spiced with humor and goodwill, with tasty chunks of occasional conflict and misunderstanding that melt away into a harmonious happy ending. The text is permeated by a general sense of warmth and well-being as it explores relationships that haven’t always gone smoothly, but endure and grow nonetheless.”
— BCCB
“Like a spicy Cajun stew, this mixes together lots of ingredients, and the result is delicious. . . Les Becquets creates a wonderful world that not only captures the emotions and dreams of youth but also the longings and regrets of adults. Populating the small town are richly drawn characters who waltz in and out of scenes with grace and humor. Religion and talk of God and morality also slide easily through the narrative. This is romantic, real, and lots of fun.”
— Booklist, (starred)
“Love, Cajun Style is most definitely a tale that will remind you to give thanks for the special people in your life.”
— Go-Girl.com
“Absolutely delightful, the sleepy town of Sweetbay is full of sassy and whimsical characters reminiscent of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café. Diane Les Becquets has written a gripping story fraught with the usual trials of adolescence (body image, lust/love, friendship) that is filled with humor and tenderness.”
— Curled Up With A Good Book
“This story is a sweet, homey novel.”
— Voice of Youth Advocates