Rating: 
Summary: Southern Comfort
Review: "You know those pivotal moments in your life that you don't see coming? The ones you wished arrived with a timer going off so you'd know this is it! Well, when the phone rang in February, you couldn't have convinced me that six months later, Mother would be in "the box" and I'd be wearing her pearls, twisting them around my finger exactly like she used to do." So begins "Plantation" the tale of Caroline Wimbley Levine and her flamboyant mother, Miss Lavinia, "the ACE basin version of Auntie Mame." Add to that a practicing psychiatrist husband with more bats in his belfry than the Sistine Chapel, an alcoholic, gambling brother with a perpetually pregnant white trash wife and three uncivilized kids, and you have a book you can't to put down. But Dottie Frank, best selling author of "Sullivan's Island," was not quite satisfied with her cast of characters. She created an intelligent, organized female plantation overseer who sees that the entire family doesn't jump headlong into the Edisto River. Not done yet, the author then puts life into a young dreadlocked Kama Sutra lover who makes Caroline "twitch in places she didn't even know were nerve endings." Caroline has been living in New York City for fifteen years when she is called home by her brother, Tripp, who fears that Miss Lavinia, the Queen of Tall Pines Plantation, has popped her cork. As the only daughter, it's high time, so says her brother, that Caroline gets herself on back home to see about the situation. (Situations are what the Wimbleys call family trouble.) Like any good daughter, Caroline flies south to tend to Mama and by doing so, once again becomes involved in the dysfunctional family antics that sent her dashing off to New York City in the first place. Plantation is delightful. As a former South Carolina Low Country woman myself, Dottie Frank's words were so beautifully painted on the page that I could almost feel the cool, dark waters of the Edisto River and smell the dirt that surrounds it. Southerners will love the richness with which Benton Frank writes of family secrets, tantalizing the reader to become as enmeshed in their "situation" as Caroline, Tripp, Millie and the ever zany Miss Lavinia. This bright new star on the literary horizon writes from the heart. You will put the book down for only one reason: to wipe the tears of laughter from your eyes.
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Summary: For southern girls who've lost their way up north
Review: ...this book is a must. Being from the lowcountry, this book immediately brought up memories of home, not only the places, but the people, the customs, the genteel nature of being a Southerner. Frank's dysfunctional Southern Gentry family was perfectly portrayed. I may be wrong, but I think other southern bells who've gone yank will find pieces of this story that mirror their own lives. One thing is for sure, she will make you a believer that the Lowcountry is a part of you no matter where you go. I can't wait to read Sullivan's Island.
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Summary: Southern Traditions
Review: After returning to the Plantation, Ms Benton Frank really hits her stride with passion and knowledge of the ACE basin in the Gullah Low Country of South Carolina. By mixing life stories from all facets of this particular plantation, the reader is drawn into a comforting fold of Southern Life, making you one of the family. The book is so enjopyable, I felt as if I was a vouyeristic member of the family peeking in on all the secrets. I read this book AM and PM, and was only dissapointed that it ended. Ms Benton Franks writing is evolving into a much crisper, more joined together style than Sullivan's Island, with a better grasp and flow of the wonderful story of rediscovery of ones true heritage and inner self. I loved this book, please keep 'em comming!
Rating: 
Summary: Southern Sap
Review: Am I the only one who hated this book? It was very predictable, sugary, sappy and I could not wait to be done with it. Southern cliches roll on like the Edisto River, out of control. Caroline was not at all a likeable character - either in her repressed state in New York or her supposed transformation at Tall Pines. Her relationships with men developed too fast - you couldn't feel her need to hop into bed or fall in love with any of them. What caused her strained relationship with her mother to magically transform? All the other characters were equally predictable and unlikeable: Frances Mae - the tiresome white trash climber, Trip - the weak, ineffective "bubba", Millie - the woo woo voodoo Gullah mammy, Miss Lavinia - the sterotypically doomed steel magnolia. Please! Move along to a book more worthy of your time, yahn?
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Summary: Another Can't Put it Down Read from Dorothea Benton Frank
Review: Caroline Wimbley could list a million reasons for untying herself from her flamboyant mother Lavinia's apron strings and escaping to New York City to marry herself off to the first unsuitable man who looked her way. She's hasn't felt close to Lavinia in eons--ever since Daddy died and Lavinia simply quit being a mother. While the passing yawn of years has not played out as passionately as Caroline once hoped, she considers herself well married, happily self employed, and deliriously happy with her bright, but somewhat academically challenged young son. Going home to the Queen of Tall Pines Plantation where she and her brother Tripp were raised did not occupy a high spot on Caroline's list of priorities. Fate rears her fickle head, cackles noisily, and sets her sights firmly on Caroline's life. A rare phone call from her brother Tripp suggests the possibility that mother Lavinia has taken leave of her senses. Caroline rushes home "to see about mother." From the moment Caroline sets foot on the grounds of the plantation,little appears to have changed. Everything is just as beautiful as she remembers. But Caroline soon realizes that surface appearances mean little. Unflattering family secrets lurk in every branch of the Wimbley family, and promise to wreck havoc in everyone's lives. The only that the only thing that is for certain is that Lavinia, while as eccentric as ever, is perhaps the only member of the Wimbley crew who is in full control of her sanity. Plantation is both bust-a-gut funny and chock full of low country wisdom. Ms. Frank's ability to entice her characters to get up and dance off the page makes this endearing novel more than just a story. It is a tribute to the south I grew up with, where what is said, what is done and what is felt seldom means the same thing. This tale is rich with southern familiarity, and our infamous tawdry secrets. Frank's spellbinding ability to spin a yarn nudges the reader gently along as we each come remember the ties that bind us to family. Anyone who's ever both loved and hated a mother will leave this story yearning to feel safe in Momma's care just one more time. Bravo, Dorothea Benton Frank. You done good, you did.
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Summary: And if I could give it more than 5, I would!
Review: Caroline Wimbley Levine is a South Carolina native living in New York City, married to a Jewish psychiatrist, mother of a darling young boy, running a decorating business, and about to turn 40. Life has been pretty good to her. She thought. When Caroline answers a call from her brother, Trip, saying their mother needs to be placed in assisted living, she makes a trip home to the Low Country of South Carolina to check things out. Her mother, Lavinia, a flamboyant but oh so well bred matron, seems like the same old Lavinia to her. The problem seems to be Trip's trashy wife, Frances Mae, pregnant again and longing to live at Tall Pines, Lavinia's ancestral home. Satisfied that Frances Mae's designs have been nipped in the bud and Lavinia is fine, Caroline heads back home to New York. It isn't long, however, before her marriage goes South and, at loose ends, she packs up her child and heads back to Tall Pines. More than the story of Caroline "finding herself" and growing up at the age of 40, this is a witty, intelligent, sensitively written tale of home and family and relationships. No matter who you are or where you live, you are sure to see glimpses of yourself, your friends, and your family as we watch Caroline learn to date, discern the difference between love and sex, mend fences with her only sibling, and discover the woman beneath the facade of her mother. And don't we all have a relative somewhere who needs a good, swift kick kick in the pants?! It is a pleasure watching Caroline grow enough backbone to send ol' Frances Mae down the road to her comeuppance. The novel enters its most poignant phase with Lavinia's diagnosis of melanoma. It is during Lavinia's illness that Caroline finally finds her mettle and comes into her own. It sure made me think about my own familial relationships and strengths and how I will handle these trials when they come. And they will. This book is a wonderful treasure trove of wisdom and lessons, and I am richer for having read it.
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Summary: Family is the golden thread in this authors books.
Review: Caroline Wimbley Levine was reared in southern tradition, on a plantation that her family has owned for generations. Her brother Trip has strayed a bit but is still part of the "good ole boy" generation that sips their bourbon freely, and never speaks of financial matters or politics when the ladies are present. Miss Lavinia is the Lady of the manor and is about to leave things in the questionably competent hands of her children. The author gives us characters that ooze with substance and strength. She is luminous in her presentation of family ties and the love between siblings that miles or years cannot erase. There are some amusing secrets to be uncovered as the author weaves a wonderful story of family loyalty and expectation. I was pleased to find yet another wonderful adventure from the Southern Low Country. After Thoroughly enjoying SULLIVAN'S ISLAND I couldn't wait to pick up another book written by this author. I was not disappointed. I have placed Dorothea Benton Frank on my favorite authors list and so should you. 12/27/01
Rating: 
Summary: Another winner from Dot Frank...
Review: Dorathea Benton Frank has given readers another treat in Southern fiction. Her follow-up to *Sullivan's Island* is no less pleasing or scandalous. *Plantation* tells the tale of another well-established South Carolina family with just as many black sheep and shocking situations. I can't think of a more exciting afternoon of reading. The story, narrated primarily by Caroline Wembley Levine and her eccentric mother, Lavinia, takes readers on a wonderful, romantic, and mysterious journey. Caroline escaped the alleged confines of her plantation home by attending college in New York City, while her younger brother, Trip, stayed close to home to become an attorney. Both siblings marry questionably, have children, and are eventually drawn back to Lavinia. As the family reacquaints themselves with each other, Lavinia discovers a fatal illness that all must cope with. As the novel jumps back and forth along the Wembley time line, the reader meets Caroline and Trip's father and learns why Caroline felt she had to run far away from home. Before you know it, you'll be a part of the Wembley family, too. If you're in the mood for a great read, and a good time, *Plantation* is the one for you. Enjoy!
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Summary: love, life and family....
Review: Dorothea Benton Frank has again written a wonderful novel. This story centers on a young woman, Caroline, who after making what she believed was a clean break from her family and her home in South Carolina and beginning her "new life" in New York city is drawn back to Tall Pines in South Carolina. Her brother wants her to check on their mother in order to see if she is doing okay, or if they need to move her into a retirement community. The story takes an unexpected turn when the visit cause Caroline to reflect on her past and then her mothers future. This is a marvelous story of love and family, with all its warts and bumps. If you enjoyed Sullivans Island by the same author, you will love this book also. If you haven't read Sullivans Island, put it on your "to read" list too!
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Summary: Lowcountry Delight!
Review: Dorothea Benton Frank has created another Lowcountry delight! A wonderful follow to her first Lowcountry novel "Sullivan's Island", Plantation brings us the unforgettable Miss Lavina. This book is one that you can easily loose yourself and hours of a Sunday afternoon in. It's a wonderfully stiched story of family, perspective and the importance of finding who you are and being that person. It is full of great Lowcountry culture and the characters are vivid and comical. If you enjoy novels based in a geogaphical region, the excitment of the South or a wondefully told story, this is the book for you! It's one of my favorites, and I can't wait for Dorothea's next novel!
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