Received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest opinion.

I don't even know where to begin, I didn't know that any book could be better than the first one. I was so happy to get this book, and so happy to get more stories about Whistle Stop. If you loved the first book, then you have to read this one! I was sorry to see it end, but I knew it had to at some point.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

While I've read and enjoyed the earlier books in the history of Whistle Stop, I do no believe that this book has a strong enough story line to compete. I was interested to learn about what happened to the town and its wonderful inhabitants, but I was disappointed that the novel did not really delve deeply enough.

I do not recommend this book unless the reader met the characters in previous works.

Whistle Stop and the lifes it affected. Warm values. Loved it! Full circle of life for Buddy and his family.

Reading a Fannie Flagg novel is always like catching up with an old friend. We meet up with the characters from Whistle Stop again including Buddy Threadgoode. We learn more about his life and those of some favorites like his aunt Idgie. While the ending was tied up as neatly as a bow, it was nice to read a feel good novel during these trying and exhausting times.

What happened after Fried Green Tomatoes!? Where's Buddy and how did his life turn out? Did Evelyn keep her promises to herself? And what about Whistle Stop... could the feelings within this small town be resurrected? Did Idgie and Ruth's love for community and the unexpected carry on... read Flagg's sequel to find out!

As usual, any book by Fannie Flagg is a feel good spectacular. Her characters come to life and really make you care for them. Great read..

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop was a delightful read. It certainly brought back memories of days gone by, of ancestors and happenings of long ago, but also of the present time and the way people are treated and live in our modern day society. Fannie Flagg is an amazing author writing light whimsical tales that capture the heart.

It took me a while to get into this book. The first 30% read more like of a collection of memories related to the people of Whistle Stop, and while I loved revisiting these characters, I felt that it jumped around too much and didn’t flow.

As the story progressed past this point, I really started to enjoy the the story. Buddy and his family were wonderful characters, and he had such a great sense of humor even into his 80s. I was surprised to see Evelyn show up again, but wasn’t surprised to see how successful she’d become. She was always a favorite of mine, and the way that she came back into the Threadgoods lives was perfect and showed how the story truly came together full circle.

Definitely recommending this anyone who is dying to revisit Whistle Stop and the beloved characters who made up this little town.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3484612920

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop
A Novel
by Fannie Flagg
Random House Publishing Group - Random House
Random House
General Fiction (Adult) | Women's Fiction
Pub Date 27 Oct 2020 | Archive Date 11 Jan 2021

What a pleasure to read this book by Fannie Flag. It was like a reunion with long lost friends. I enjoyed reading this novel and will recommend it to our patrons.
Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

5 star

A "must read" for fans of Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. This is a sequel that retains much of the same nostalgia and feel of the first book, focusing on Bud (Ruth's son) and his descendants. Some of the same characteristics of the first novel are there -- flashbacks, rotating narrators, inserted "gossip" from Dot Weems. With all the heart and southern charm of the first book, Flagg brings us back to Whistle Stop for a fitting answer to "what happened next?"

Now, for the not-so-glowing part. There's just something missing here. I reread FGT immediately before starting this book since it had been many years since the first book. I felt I wanted to remind myself of the characters and events of the first book. Perhaps that was a mistake. This IS a fitting followup, but it just lacks something. The first book's heart & soul was the relationships between the women -- Idgie & Ruth and Evelyn & Ninnie. Their love, respect, and emotional growth over the course of their stories gave the book a depth that seems to be missing here. Also missing is the social commentary about race that was so important in the book (not so much in the movie!) Yes, I was comforted to know that Bud survived and thrived, and it was wonderful to revisit Whistle Stop and all the characters again, but this book felt like an unnecessary venture. I wonder if Flagg wasn't pressured by her publisher to write a sequel, even though one wasn't really necessary.

Having said all that, though, I'm really glad I read the book. I love Flagg's writing and have enjoyed every one of her books. Few authors capture the flavor of the South like Flagg.

Bud Threadgoode longs to relive the good memories of yesteryear, so he quietly ducks out of his senior living community one day and catches a train with hopes of revisiting his childhood hometown. Sadly, Whistle Stop is an overgrown ghost town now and Bud loses his way trying to find it. His panicked daughter Ruthie journeys back to her dad's hometown and accidentally finds a new path to her own future by reviving the past in this engaging tale from the maven of Southern fiction.

What a lovely trip down Whistle Stop memory lane. The characters were sorely missed. Catching up with the next generation was enjoyable and fun.

A marvelous read...I felt like I was reunited with old friends and family. Readers also get to meet new characters that instantly become beloved. The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop is a joy to read from start to finish. It is uplifting in a time where the world is starting to run out of hope.
Fannie Flagg is a treasure!!!

I love Fannie Flagg! I love the way she writes! I love that each chapter is like its own short story with its own characters that always seems to come together.

This book lets us catch up with all the characters that we love from Whistle Stop. There are laugh out loud moments and then the moments that I found myself in a full blown 'ugly cry'. The author takes us back in time and then brings us forward. It all works well and I will read anything that Ms Flagg wants to write!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in October, 2020.

This was just the feel good, cute, fast read I needed this year. It’s not going to win any literary prizes, but it was such a sweet, heartwarming story. If you loved Fried Green Tomatoes, you need to read this follow up story. It follows a non-linear timeline, takes you back to Idgie and Ruth’s day as well as following the life of their son, Buddy, his daughter, as well as several of Whistle Stops residents you’ll remember from the original story.

Thanks for the ARC of this book Netgalley. This is basically a sequel to the Fried Green Tomatoes book. Well written, likeable characters. Good book.

If you loved Fried green tomatoes you will LOVE this book.. We visit characters we know and love Idgje and Ruth but this is the story of Buddy their son Buddy . warm , uplifting and enthralling you will love revisiting the familiar and meeting new characters to fall in love with

For those who loved Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (book-published in 1987), Fried Green Tomatoes (movie), or both, this is a MUST read! Fannie Flagg does not disappoint in her continuation of Buddy Threadgood, Ruth's son's life. You will fall back in love with the original characters and in love with the new ones.

As soon as I started reading The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop, I was immediately back in Whistle Stop. I knew the one-armed boy referenced in the first few pages. I could clearly hear Jessica Tandy's voice narrating the words as I read. Like the chapters in the previous book, these jump around in time (just like the movie).If you know the characters, you will easily be able to follow along with the storyline. Flagg picks up where the previous book ended as if we never left.

I have seen reviews from readers who have not read the original book. For those readers, all I can say is you have to read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe to truly appreciate the return of these great characters.

Again, I will say, this return to Whistle Stop is a MUST read for lovers of Idgie and her family. I wonder what will happen next. Will there be another return? I can only hope.

I've been a fan of Flagg's for many years and when asked by the publisher to review it I was excited to get stuck in with these favourite characters. Unfortunately, the structure of the first half of the novel is messy and inconsistent; flopping around between timelines, characters, and events with nothing tieing them together means that what should be an impactful opening simply comes off as a selection of crib sheets for the Whistle Stop world.
When Flagg finally decides on the narrative she wants to focus on, the book starts to gel together, but opportunities are missed to expand upon some aspects of the lives of her characters. Idgie and Ruth's relationship is 'sort of/possibly' confirmed but not actually named and this is seriously annoying. They're gay. They're lesbian. It's 2020, and I truly think Flagg could have been a bit braver and 'used her words' instead of skirting around the issue. As other modern issues are also given a derisory brush off, I do feel that Flagg is pandering to a readership of a certain age and political leaning; as a result, this highlights her as a writer definitely stuck in an era of blind nostalgia rather than realism. While Flagg's tone and style has never been 'gritty' as such, it would be refreshing to have her occasionally acknowledge modern life and lose the rose-tinted nostalgia for the past.
The plot of the story is low on impact, relying solely on coincidence and chance - the good guys win and the majority of the awful people's actions are brushed away as they all skip off into the sunset.
Because the chapters are so short, and mainly focus on either recollection or brief conversations, there's little opportunity to get a feel of the surroundings, an aspect usually so well done by Flagg in her previous novels.
'The Wonderboy of Whistle Stop' will no doubt delight Flagg's hardcore fans, but leaves little to entice new readers.

Fried Green Tomatoes remains where it has been since the first day I read it, still in my top 5 books (and movies) of all time. I have read all of Fannie's books, and while I do love the Elmwood Springs series, Whistle Stop will always be a place in time, of a town I wish I had grown up in, with a friend named Idgie Threadgoode. So, of course, when Fannie wrote The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop, I could not wait to read it. And they're all there, again, Idgie, Ruth, Big George, Ninny, Sipsey and the lovely Evelyn. This time though, Fannie jumps ahead to the life and times of Buddy Jr., Ruth and Franks baby. We learn all about what happened to Whistle Stop and it's irascible inhabitants. Fannie has such a way of bringing you through the haze and completely immersing the reader into the story, whether you're fishing with Idgie or playing cards with Buddy Jr., you become a part of the story. Run, don't walk and grab this soon to be best-seller. Beautifully written, sweet, touching and Lordy, are you ready to fry up some green tomatoes? Time's a wastin'!