I Am A Native Texan

I am a native Texan and proud of it. I can trace my roots back to Stephen F. Austin's first 300 settler families. I even have license plates that proclaim me to be a native. ( I tell everyone the special plates help support the preservation of the Alamo, but that's secondary -- really it's just pride talking) And, I desperately wanted my children to be Texans, too. But, (thanks to the U.S. Navy) they were born in Louisiana so they are transplanted Texans. So, whenever I can find a novel with Texas as the place of action, I stop and take a second look.

The last book I read with Texas characters was The Ex-Debutante by Linda Francis Lee. Carlisle Wainwright Cushing left Willow Bend, Texas as soon as she was granted her license to practice law. She's spent the last three years in Boston, practicing law, dating a Yankee and reveling in her anonymity from her privileged Southern background. Now, her mother is dragging her back to town to help with the latest divorce. Once back in town, Carlisle learns that unless she takes the reins for the 100th debutante ball that has always been sponsored by the Wainwright family, the local symphony will be disbanded since the ball provides the capital to operate the symphony. The final straw comes when Carlisle leans the the opposing attorney in the divorce suit is her former boyfriend whom she left without a forwarding address when she fled to Boston. As she quotes Michael Corleone from the Godfather III movie, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." Carlisle's attempts to find debs for a ball that no one wants to participate in, disentangle her mother from her marriage without losing her social standing, and not fall back in love with an ex-flame form the nucleus of a funny and smart book that explores the crazy things we all do for the sake of family.

Other books similar to The Ex-Debutante include:
My Big Old Texas Heartache by Geralyn Dawson
Alamo House by Sarah Bird
Lone Star Cafe by Lisa Wingate
Lady be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Blue Blood by Susan McBride
Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson

So, pick up a book about my favorite state and spend a lazy summer day reading.