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Dollbaby: A Novel

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Description

A big-hearted coming-of-age debut set in civil rights-era New Orleans—a novel of Southern eccentricity and secrets When Ibby Bell’s father dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1964, her mother unceremoniously deposits Ibby with her eccentric grandmother Fannie and throws in her father’s urn for good measure. Fannie’s New Orleans house is like no place Ibby has ever been—and Fannie, who has a tendency to end up in the local asylum—is like no one she has ever met. Fortunately, Fannie’s black cook, Queenie, and her smart-mouthed daughter, Dollbaby, take it upon themselves to initiate Ibby into the ways of the South, both its grand traditions and its darkest secrets. For Fannie’s own family history is fraught with tragedy, hidden behind the closed rooms in her ornate Uptown mansion. It will take Ibby’s arrival to begin to unlock the mysteries there. And it will take Queenie and Dollbaby’s hard-won wisdom to show Ibby that family can sometimes be found in the least expected places. For fans of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and The Help, Dollbaby brings to life the charm and unrest of 1960s New Orleans through the eyes of a young girl learning to understand race for the first time. By turns uplifting and funny, poignant and full of verve, Dollbaby is a novel readers will take to their hearts. Read more

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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Second Time Around and just as Great!
Format: Kindle
Since this book is such a special one for me, it was time I read it a second time. It touched me and felt as rich as the first time that I was fortunate to have read it. This time I had a new thought this time regarding the author’s story. It is such a hopeful way of bringing two ethnic people together in the beautiful loving way, one in which this world is meant to exist. The thoughtful plot and the feeling that we’re all here to give something valuable and meaningful in our lives to share with the world is what I took from Doll-baby. At a time when I’m so depressed by the ugly hate amongst politics and racism this book let me lose myself into the dream of how the world should be. Thank you Laura Lane McNeal. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2025 by Laura Drumm
    • HISTORIC FAMILY MOMENTS SET AGAINST A BACKDROP OF SWEEPING CHANGES
Format: Kindle
New Orleans in 1964 was still steeped in traditions, but all of that was about to change. And for Liberty (Ibby) Bell, a twelve-year-old girl from Olympia, Washington, it was the time when her mother dropped her off, literally, on her grandmother's doorstep. A short time before, Ibby's father Graham had died after a freak accident, and now her mother Vidrine had just told her she was here to visit her grandmother Fannie. But all Ibby can remember about her grandmother, whom she had never met, was how much her mother hated her. So why was she leaving her there? We follow Ibby's sojourn in this unfamiliar Southern world, at the same time that the country is changing to accommodate the new Civil Rights Act. Sit-ins, protests, and racial tensions would be commonplace for the next few years, along with the Vietnam War. But in Fannie Bell's household, tradition still reigns, and her home is run by her black household helpers, Queenie and Doll (also called Dollbaby), who are like a part of the family. Their delightful and warm personalities and the way they enfold Ibby as if she were one of their own made me feel right at home with them, too. Dollbaby: A Novel is a story that wraps itself around the reader, revealing the historic moments in the life of a family that unfold much as the country's historic moments have done. It spans almost a decade, from 1964 to 1972, but we also are gifted with moments from the past, revealing much about Fannie and the life she led before she became a mother and grandmother. Secrets, betrayals, violence, and the unconditional love that Ibby learns to accept as her due, are part of her heritage, even as her life follows a path dictated by her grandmother. Learning her grandmother's secrets was also a gradual process, and this story made me laugh, cry, and remember how much history each family contains. Unforgettable story. 4.0 stars. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2014 by Laurel-Rain Snow
    • Good read
Format: Kindle
Well developed characters that you root for throughout. The details of New Orleans adds some nice detail. Really enjoyed this book.
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2026 by Donna
    • Magnificent book
Format: Kindle
The character development in this book is outstanding. Each character fully developed, complex, and quirky. Tells the story of a family with a lot of secrets, but bound together in a deep love. One of the best novels I have read in years and full of surprise plot twists.
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2024 by A Reader
    • "You got to dance even where there ain't no music."
Format: Kindle
Dollbaby, a novel by Laura Lane McNeal, is an unforgettable story that takes place in New Orleans beginning 1964. Liberty (Ibby) Bell, twelve, is still grieving the sudden death of her father when her mother drives her from Olympia, Washington to her grandmother’s house in New Orleans, Louisiana. They arrive at an old mansion that looks as though time had passed it by a century ago. Ibby’s mother, a bitter woman, leaves her daughter at her mother-in-law’s, together with an urn of her husband’s ashes, and says, “Be sure to tell her it’s a gift from me.” For many years Ibby expects her mother to come back for her. Her grandmother, the Black household staff, Queenie and her daughter, Dollbaby, make sure she feels welcomed and wanted. The South in those years was another world, steeped in traditions. But much of that was about to change as the new Civil Rights Act is introduced and sit-ins, protests, and racial tensions became commonplace, along with the demonstrations over the controversial Vietnam War. Dollbaby covers a period of eight eventful years. We learn about Ibby’s grandmother’s colorful past, feel the devotion and comfort Ibby feels from her grandmother, Queenie, and Dollbaby. Ibby learns about her family’s secrets, betrayals, and violence, but also about unconditional love. The story is packed with wonderful words of wisdom, such as, “You have to live the life given to you,” and my favorite, “You got to dance even when there ain’t no music.” Dollbaby is a remarkable story, steeped in Southern tradition and charm. I highly recommend this heartfelt novel of family, southern customs, loyalty and love. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2023 by Mary E. Trimble
    • A New Orleans Novel by a New Orleanian
Format: Kindle
Only an author raised in New Orleans who understands New Orleans could have written this book. Liberty Alice Bell comes to live with her eccentric but loving grandmother under very sad circumstances. She is warmly embraced and nurtured by her grandmother's cook, Queenie, and seamstress, Dollbaby. Dollbaby becomes a central character in the book as this "slice of life with craziness" plot unfolds. Set in turbulent times, late 1960s -early 1970s , race relations in New Orleans is explored, which as a person who lives in the South and in 70s New Orleans, I can attest are very realistic. Twist and turns, local details, food descriptions all add to an atmospheric read. Wished for more descriptions of locals as the Trend neighborhood, Ebony Lounge, The Realm Catholic School which I think was the disguised Academy of the Sacred Heart which would have fit perfectly. I truly liked it and was surprised by some aspects of the ending. The characters of Queenie and Dollbaby come alive, and the dialect authentically written. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2020 by Laurean Reynolds

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