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    Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen
    Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen
    Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen
    Audiobook6 hours

    Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

    Written by Susan Gregg Gilmore

    Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    It's the early 1970s. The town of Ringgold, Georgia, has a population of 1,923, one traffic light, one Dairy Queen, and one Catherine Grace
    Cline. The daughter of Ringgold's third-generation Baptist preacher,
    Catherine Grace is quick-witted, more than a little stubborn, and dying to escape her small-town life.Every Saturday afternoon, she sits at the Dairy Queen, eating Dilly Bars and plotting her getaway to the
    big city of Atlanta. And when, with the help of a family friend, the
    dream becomes a reality, Catherine Grace immediately packs her bags, leaving her family and the boy she loves to claim the life she's always imagined. But before things have even begun to get off the ground in Atlanta, tragedy brings her back home. As a series of extraordinary events alters her perspective-and sweeping changes come to Ringgold itself-Catherine Grace begins to wonder if her place in the world may actually be, against all odds, right where she began.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 17, 2012
    ISBN9781452675602
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    Reviews for Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

    3.5/5

    203 ratings34 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I liked the second half better than the first, but overall it was a great story with memorable characters.
    • 3/5
      A small town somewhere is a small town anywhere; this much, Catherine Grace Cline of Ringgold, Georgia, can tell you. The eldest daughter of the town’s pulpit-leading patriarchy, Catherine Grace knows, and makes perfectly clear to anyone who will listen, that she is destined for greater things than the provincial, tomato growing southern town where she was born and raised. The story follows Catherine through a tumultuous but lonely adolescence, flanked by her younger sister, Martha Anne, and a vibrant, middle-aged wild woman cum teenage confidant, Gloria Jean Graves. She all but sells her soul to hitch a ride into the The Big Peach, Atlanta, to work at the city’s shopping district. Before she can so much as contemplate roots in town, however, tragedy joins her in the metropolis and she is summoned home for a shift in perspective far greater than she hoped to gain from city life. This is not my typical fare but I was seduced by the proximity of the story to my current location and was pleasantly surprised. A simple, sweet and honest read, it could be set at any time, any place and carry the same message of introspective discovery. Knowledge of the South East is not imperative to enjoying the book, although it does help. As a northern transplant to Atlanta, I am a fence sitter in terms of understanding southern catch phrases and colloquialisms but found many of the understated regional references subtly hilarious. The characters are comfortably and loosely sketched, yet not so transparent that the story looses focus. The overarching theme builds on the age-old conflict, one between pastoral home and grand away, to which Gilmore gives small town charm and big city spunk. Her story is at once a deep criticism of and a love letter to small town life.
    • 4/5
      4 ★1970's...coming of age...women's contemporary southern fiction...fast paced...vivid characters.This is a debut novel, reminiscent of Fannie Flagg's style...lively, entertaining.After graduation, Catherine Grace immediately packs her bags, leaving her family, the boy she loves and town of Ringgold, Georgia.She's off to Atlanta to claim the life she’s always imagined.We share her"journey of self discovery, love, dreams and forgiveness."The lesson:"Sometimes you have to return to the place where you began, to arrive at the place where you belong."
    • 5/5
      As a preacher's daughter in a small town in Georgia, Catherine can't wait to escape her small-town life. She plans her escape to Atlanta after she graduates from high school each week at the Dairy Queen. A tragedy brings her back hiome and her discovery of events changes her perspective of the town.
    • 4/5
      I'm partial to Southern fiction and this one didn't disappoint. Some mild infrequent language. One short scene of "going to second base"
    • 3/5
      Catherine Grace is dying to get out of her small town, so she makes sure that happens when she turns 18, despite everything she's leaving behind. A feel-good Southern novel with a focus on family and dreams. A sweet, easy read that will leave you with a smile on your face.
    • 4/5
      Good book. Too much religion. The two big secrets were obvious.
    • 4/5
      3.5 starsCatherine Grace is the preacher’s daughter in a small town in Georgia in the 1960s and 70s. Her mother died when she was only six, so there’s just her, her sister, Martha Ann, and their father, the town preacher. All her life she’s known she wants out of the town; unlike many others, she does not want to stay and be a farmer’s wife. She plans to leave as soon as she turns 18. I enjoyed this. There was more God in it than I expected. Growing up in a small town (unless it’s different in the South), I didn’t find that much talk of “the Lord” in casual conversation as there was in this book/town. I have mixed feelings about the ending. Some of it, I liked, but some of it seemed to tie up a bit too nicely in a bow. Overall, though, it was fairly enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      OH my I did not want this book to end.
      Ringgold, Georgia is the last place that Catherine Grace Cline wants to spend her life, tending a tomato garden and having lots of babies for a small town farmer. Somehow, though, it looks like that's exactly where her future is headed.

      With her daddy being the great Reverend Cline and no mama around to guide her through the toughest years of her life, Catherine Grace has to rely on help from an outrageous, and loving, neighbor who tends to be the subject of much malicious gossip through town. She is lucky enough to have an adoring sister, Martha Ann, by her side and a best friend, Lolly, who remain loyal as ever. Catching the eye of the handsomest boy in town doesn't hurt either.

      But still, Catherine dreams of bigger and better things. She pinches her pennies, spending her Saturdays dreaming of big city life with a Dilly Bar in hand. On her sixteenth birthday when her daddy gives her a real luggage set, Catherine thinks she might actually get out after all.

      Whether she leaves, stays, or figures out what she wants from life is all up to Catherine and she's got a tangled web of friends and family jumping at the chance to help her make the decision.

      Good Book Recommendations: Dairy Queen Opinion

    • 3/5
      Catherine seems destined to be the feisty, stubborn, strong-willed female who will leave her small backwater town in Georgia for the big city of Atlanta but life changes and so does she.
    • 3/5
      Catherine Grace Cline is a teenaged Preacher's Kid in 1970's small-town Georgia. She focuses her efforts on getting out of town. The book follows her and her sister's lives as they grow up in the spotlight of being the PKs and struggle with the loss of their mother when they were quite young. After Catherine Grace achieves her aim and moves to Atlanta to start a career in retail, surprising events and revelations cause her to reexamine her life and assumptions. I was a little afraid this was going to be 'Christian fiction' and perhaps it is (I read a large-print edition from a different publisher)but it manages to portray a person of faith without being preachy or unrealistic. The writer has a good ear for dialogue and the Southern setting is always enjoyable to me. There's a lot of humor as well as pathos in the book. It was a nice quick read and a good break from private eyes, murder and mayhem!
    • 5/5
      This was such a neat coming-of-age novel giving us a glimpse of rural life for one young gal in Georgia. We learn the story of Catherine Grace who has grown up without her mother, knowing the world has so much more to offer than what is available in her stupid little town. She looks forward to the day she can leave Ringgold for good.This story had so many elements to it that I just loved. I found myself smiling or just plain laughing out loud plenty of times while I was reading it. I am sure many girls could read this book and easily put themselves in Catherine Grace's shoes, as I did. Many kids that have grown up in small towns can't wait to get out and explore the world. Personally, I felt the same exact way. But, like Catherine Grace, once you get out there and start living you realize that it isn't what it's cracked up to be.Catherine Grace has been lucky to have some wonderful people in her life. Even with the support of her Preacher father and motherly women to help her, there were still times she felt left out of events because she didn't have a mother of her own. She not only found kids treating her differently at times, but even adults. It's hard to grow up with confidence when you feel out of place most of the time.I loved the relationships in this novel. Between Catherine Grace, her sister, her father, and Gloria Jean, I absolutely loved all of the characters. With themes of love, family, and forgiveness I know that many of you would enjoy this book for either personal leisure or a book club discussion. Our book club loved it and I highly recommend this novel.
    • 5/5
      Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore is one of books that I would love to recommend to everyone but I am not sure they would enjoy it as much as I did. That is an odd statement, isn't it?The story is set in a tiny town of less than 2,000 residents, Ringgold, Georgia with one stoplight, one post office and a Dairy Queen. I once lived in a town with no stoplight, a tiny Post Office and a school. Catherine Grace Cline wants to see more of life than just Ringgold. Her father is the Baptist preacher and her mother died when she was old enough to have memories of her. She had one sister, Martha Ann who was too young to have memories of their mother. Catherine Grace's ideas about religion are different from her father's, she misses her mother a whole lot and she dearly wants to get out Ringgold. She does manage to leave, largely due to making wild strawberry jam, Gloria Jean's idea. Gloria Jean loves and cares for both of the girls in a way that would make any child happy. But then something happens and Catherine Grace has to go home. The whole world is suddenly turned upside down with secrets bursting out everywhere.There are sad parts (I was crying at three in the morning about them)and funny, witty and amazing parts.There are some trite parts like the part about getting the perfect swirl on the Dairy Queen chocolate dipped cone and what it is like to be a preacher's daughter. And yes, Catherine Grace does seem to be self-centered but that is out down by the great deal of heart in this book. A lot of this book is between the lines. If you read there, you will feel that it is a great book.I recommend this book to all who love witty writing and a great deal of heart.
    • 5/5
      Do not let the title of this book prevent you from reading it. I was sorry when it ended.
    • 4/5
      Being from Georgia this book held alot of promise for me. I wasn't disappointed. It was a cute story of a young girl from a small town dreaming of moving to a "big city" (Atlanta). It was a story about a young girl growing up and finding her way in this world. I think we've all had dreams as we grew up of something bigger and better out there in the world, only to find what we were looking for was right here all along. I know I did. Some areas of the book were questionable, but all in all from the title, to being "saved" one Sunday, to the end, I smiled...
    • 5/5
      I first heard about Susan Gregg Gilmore on the Books on the Nightstand podcast, and her debut, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, fits snuggly into the Southern fiction genre. This book is narrated by Catherine Grace Cline, the daughter of a widowed Baptist preacher in the small time of Ringgold, Georgia. Catherine Grace dreams of escaping Ringgold, which has the typical small-town quirks, and moving to Atlanta. But sometimes the complexities of real life complicate our dreams, and Catherine Grace learns a lot about those complexities and what's truly important in this coming-of-age story.There was one plot point that didn't quite ring true to me, and in the end, the strands of the story were tied up a little too neatly, but aside from that, I loved this story, its characters, and the way that Gilmore made Ringgold come to life.
    • 4/5
      I discovered this book when hearing about the author's new book, The Improper Life of Bezeilia Grove. An exerpt was read by the author at the Books on the Nightstand retreat and I was sold! I loved this book, it is sweet, funny, surprising and well done - especially for a first novel. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen follows Catherine Grace Cline's sometimes painful journey into adult hood. This is a great summer read!
    • 4/5
      There is something about the charm of the sweet but sassy southern girl, Catherine Grace Cline, that made 'Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen' a very enjoyable read for me. Growing up in Ringgold, GA, Catherine spends her whole childhood waiting for the day when she can pack up and move to the big city. She and her sister, Ruth Ann, religiously go to the Dairy Queen each week to sit at the picnic table and enjoy their Dilly Bars. It is there where Catherine looks beyond Taylor's Ridge and formualtes her dreams of a better life somewhere else. When Catherine returns home for a family matter, her world is turned upside down when she is greeted by some unexpected surprises. Charming, witty, and entertaining, "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen" is a great choice for a fun adventure. I look forward to reading more novels written by Susan Gregg Gilmore.
    • 5/5
      Sweet. Southern girl wants to get badly out of her small town. She is the preacher's daughter. She falls in love with her high school sweetheart. She wants to leave town after High School, so she breaks up with him. She leaves for Atlanta and returns when her father dies. There are several surprises awaiting her when she returns.
    • 4/5
      This book was recommended to me because I have read several of Fanny Flagg's novel, this book did not disappoint. I am a Yankee who lived in the South in another life. This novel offers mystery, romance and the lesson of "There is No Place like Home." Read this book on vacation and have some laughs and a good cry.
    • 4/5
      My book club approached this book looking for a quick, light read, and it did not disappoint. Catherine Grace’s lilting southern accent was ever-present in the narration, and we felt right at home with her in Ringgold. The story was sweet, if a bit predictable, and it went down easily. Gilmore’s vivid descriptions made us feel like we, too, were suffering in the sweltering heat, longing to escape small town life, but looking forward to that weekly trip to the Dairy Queen for a few minutes of quiet time with a Dilly Bar.I think that desire to grow up and get away is something we all felt as teenagers, regardless of where we lived, and Gilmore brings it to life quite skillfully. On the day she is to leave, Catherine Grace still can’t quite believe that her dream is actually coming true, and that conflict between excitement and fear of the unknown rang true for many of us.Read my full review at The Book Lady's Blog.
    • 4/5
      Catherine Grace Cline wants to get the heck outta Dodge... or better said, the heck outta Ringgold, Georgia. There is just something about this town that just makes her restless - maybe it’s that it’s too quiet, or too small, or that it has a very small population - where everyone is your neighbor and they all know every little thing about your life. She and her sister spend every Saturday eating Dilly Bars at the Dairy Queen and plotting their big escape.Catherine Grace lives with her father, the town’s Baptist Minister, as well as her younger sister. It’s been tough living without her momma, who accidentally drowned when she was young. And although she still misses her mother and has always been haunted by her passing, she has luckily found a mother figure in her mother’s best friend, Gloria Jean.Gloria Jean is an inspiration to Catherine Grace. For no one in town looks, dresses or acts like Gloria Jean - with her pretty nails, always done-up hair and fancy clothes. So when the chance arrives for Catherine Grace to move out of town and live in the big city, Atlanta - working in a department store and leading the life she has always dreamed about, she has no qualms with saying good-bye to her family, friends and boyfriend.But when tragedy strikes and Catherine Grace has to make her way back home - not just is she surprised when she realizes that nothing she believed was as she thought, but she will also question whether leaving her hometown was the best thing for her, or was she where she belonged from the start.Catherine Grace's voice is so unique and innocent that you become immediately immersed in her life and that of the citizens of Ringgold from the first sentence. As you read, you almost feel as if you are reading with a Southern drawl... it was really very endearing. Her voice is that of anyone who grew up in a small town - with hopes of seeing the great big world. Although the decision to leave everything and everyone you've known your whole life is a tough one, it is one that must be made.This was a very lovely story - with some fantastic characters and plenty of twists that will keep you interested and in the end leave you wanting more. This is a coming-of-age story that not only leaves you feeling hopeful but also with a big grin on your face. I loved it and can definitely recommend it.
    • 3/5
      Catherine Cline knows from an early age that she doesn't want to stay in Ringgold, GA. She sets her sights over the mountains that surround Ringgold and every week at the DQ, dilly bar in hand, she dreams of turning 18 and leaving. This book was filled with warmth, humor and human foibles. It's characters were nicely developed, the ususal Southern style suspects in place. Fans of Southern fiction like Fannie Flagg etc should really enjoy Catherine's coming of age story.
    • 4/5
      The author came to Lindy Oakes (her cousin) and talked to Meg Day's book club. The book is a story of Katherine Grace and her sister, Martha Ann, live with their widowed, minister father. KG wants to leave Ringgold, Ga. and does, to live for a while in Atlanta. Her father's death calls her home to many surprising relivations.
    • 4/5
      Catherine Grace Cline was six years old, and her sister Martha Ann was four, when their mother drowned. Their daddy is the preacher at the Baptist church in their small Georgia town. When their father is busy, Gloria Jean, a neighbor and old friend of their mother’s watches the girls. Catherine Grace loves Gloria Jean because she’s the only person who will talk about her mother.Catherine Grace and Martha Ann head down to the Dairy Queen every Saturday for a Dilly Bar. That’s when Catherine Grace does her dreaming and planning. She longs to get out of their small town and head to Atlanta and can’t understand why Eddie Franklin is content with his life – working at Dairy Queen in a small town.When Catherine Grace causes a commotion at a church function, her father punishes her by forbidding her to go to Dairy Queen for the rest of the summer. Gloria Jean comes up with a plan to keep the girls busy and help Catherine Grace earn money for her get-away all at the same time.After she graduates from high school and turns eighteen, Catherine Grace heads to Atlanta with her savings. She finds a job and a place to live and things are going pretty well for her when she’s called home because of a family emergency. She gets some shocking news when she gets home and finds out that she may have been looking for happiness in the wrong place all along.Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen is the wonderful debut novel of Susan Gregg Gilmore. (It’s hard for me to believe this is her first book!) There is so much more to this book than appears on the surface. It’s about love and acceptance of friends and family. It’s about having a dream and having the guts to follow it. Mostly it’s about forgiveness, though.This book is full of fantastic characters, too. I just loved Catherine Grace and could relate to her restless, curious spirit. She misses her mother so much and feels guilty because she doesn’t remember her as well as she thinks she should. She also feels some pressure to be perfect since she’s the preacher’s daughter. Gloria Jean was a wonderful, loving character who was just a little bit different. She provided so much for the girls including a strong female role model. A lot of the secondary characters were great too. I was really able to get a feel for the small Georgia town they all lived in.I’ll readily admit that I’m partial to books set in the South, but I would have loved Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen no matter where it had been set. I can’t wait for Susan Gregg Gilmore’s next novel.
    • 3/5
      A small town somewhere is a small town anywhere; this much, Catherine Grace Cline of Ringgold, Georgia, can tell you. The eldest daughter of the town’s pulpit-leading patriarchy, Catherine Grace knows, and makes perfectly clear to anyone who will listen, that she is destined for greater things than the provincial, tomato growing southern town where she was born and raised. The story follows Catherine through a tumultuous but lonely adolescence, flanked by her younger sister, Martha Anne, and a vibrant, middle-aged wild woman cum teenage confidant, Gloria Jean Graves. She all but sells her soul to hitch a ride into the The Big Peach, Atlanta, to work at the city’s shopping district. Before she can so much as contemplate roots in town, however, tragedy joins her in the metropolis and she is summoned home for a shift in perspective far greater than she hoped to gain from city life. This is not my typical fare but I was seduced by the proximity of the story to my current location and was pleasantly surprised. A simple, sweet and honest read, it could be set at any time, any place and carry the same message of introspective discovery. Knowledge of the South East is not imperative to enjoying the book, although it does help. As a northern transplant to Atlanta, I am a fence sitter in terms of understanding southern catch phrases and colloquialisms but found many of the understated regional references subtly hilarious. The characters are comfortably and loosely sketched, yet not so transparent that the story looses focus. The overarching theme builds on the age-old conflict, one between pastoral home and grand away, to which Gilmore gives small town charm and big city spunk. Her story is at once a deep criticism of and a love letter to small town life.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book.A sweet and very enjoyable coming of age story.Catherine Grace Cline has lived in Ringgold, Georgia all of her life.With her preacher father, younger sister Martha Ann, next door neighbor Gloria Jean she can't wait to leave the small town and insular community for the life outside when she is 18 years old.Delightful, charming, looking forward to the next novel by Gilmore (this is her first!)
    • 5/5
      This is the first book from this author. I was attracted to the name and I'm so glad, I really enjoyed this book. A light & deep read all wrap up in one. I highly recommend adding this book to your library. I'm already wanting to read it again. BTW, I emailed the author on her website to tell her I loved this book and her reply was quick and very sweet. I can't wait to read her next book.
    • 3/5
      This story didn't grab me until the third or fourth chapter. I decided to give it one more try and I flew through the rest of the book today. It is a slow, sweet story about a preacher and his two daughters in Ringgold, Georgia. There's internal drama and family dramas as well that unfold in the course of the story. Gilmore paints poignant pictures with her words in this story. I'm glad I read it and look forward to future works by this author.
    • 3/5
      This was a bit strange - Catherine Grace, the main character and narrator, has a very strong voice, but so much is skimmed over in the story. The book covers much of Catherine's life, til her eighteenth year, when she leaves town (finally), but returns due to tragedy. We get a strong sense of small town life, complete with the characters that always seem to populate those small towns, but so much of Catherine's life is included, I sometimes felt I was watching a movie in fast forward...