Good Hair Days is a lovely nod to Steel Magnolias. Not quite as funny, and just as tragic, the Georgian ladies in Good Hair Days have some family secrets that aren't helping anyone, and a fabulous local hair salon called Junes. Georgia is the older sister, her younger sister June runs the family beauty shop, called "June's." This is named for the eldest daughter in each generation, except Georgia is for some reason, exempt. She was a star athlete and went to a prestigious university and now lives in Atlanta. The family brags about her success, but her secret is that she is a secretary in a crappy apartment living paycheck to paycheck. June has also gotten in some financial distress as she owes 50,000 and is in the midst of renovating the salon. She has asked her older sister for help. Their mother died of breast cancer years ago. They were tested for the BRCA gene, Georgia had it but June did not, so she had a pre-emptive double mastectomy years ago.

All setting, it was easy to get caught into the family secrets and their back-and-forth banter, it is clear that the author is writing a close knit family that loves each other tremendously, they are only lying to each other in order to protect them in some way. Small town Georgia seems quaint and strong on community, no discernible downsides, there isn't any mention of economic hardship or racial tension. It's too happy of a story for that, although the ending is pretty tragic.

Lots of nods to Steel Magnolias, they love Dolly Parton and often quote the movie, I think the narrative is a bit guilty of nostalgia, but you know this going in. Although I felt that the story dragged on in parts, overall it had pleasant characterization and world building. I found myself remembering the plot of Steel Magnolias as I read. Fans of the movie and stage play will surely find more I may have missed. I thought the author did a great job of adapting the material for a modern audience, although I would have liked to have seen more modern validations of the rural south. This is a very wholesome book.

Audiobook review- I thought this was well acted and the accents were very charming. It was easy to keep the nearly all female cast straight. The performance was intentional and also endearing.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson/Zondervan for the ALC. Book to be published November 11, 2025.