2.5 cozy, predictable stars, rounded up to 3

When you order sweet tea, you should expect a sugary drink. The beginning of the book flits between the current day and the 1930s; Cozy characters without depth show up without any real action happening. (I didn’t remember any of the characters from the book Fried Green Tomatoes read about 15 years ago, so I didn't realize it was a sequel.)

Everything in Whistle Stop was predictably solved in neat, tidy, and privileged ways. Sometimes you need a sugar boost, sometimes real food is best.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A follow up to Fried Green Tomatoes?? I couldn’t imagine how it would go but was pleasantly surprised how the author told this story. The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop, was like going to home, an old friend and all the warm feelings. The characters don’t live easy lives, quite the opposite. Their love and friendship is what keeps them going. Ruth comes back to Whistle Stop after she left her abusive husband. She brings her sin with her and he winds up becoming the Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop. Idgie welcomes them back and they become a family. As the years pass and the down falls apart we hear about Bud growing up, Idgie’s relationship with the town and Buddy and Ruth.
The story goes back and forth between present day, Buddy and his daughter and the 1930’s. The author did an excellent job bringing the story together. I loved the character development. At times I felt it read a little slow but in the end, I was very happy how things were wrapped up. It’s hard to beat Fried Green Tomatoes but I don’t think Fannie Flagg was trying. What I love most about the way the author tells a story is that for all the problems, hardships and just life itself, you know Fannie will keep them all safe. I really enjoyed this story and want to thank Netgalley & Fannie Flagg for my copy, for an honest review. This was a four star read for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop is a sequel to Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, although the novel pales in comparison. The novel is mainly about Bud Threadgoode and his daughter Ruthie, but readers of the original book will recognize many of the other characters that have a part to play.

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop feels to me like a writer's Q&A session, full of snapshots of certain characters as they navigate their lives. The book goes back and forth in time, zooming through years to give updates. The characters are outlined, but there is no feeling behind the words. The story itself is barely a blip, with an ending that is entirely disappointing. I would like to go back in time myself, choosing to remembering Idgie and the rest of Whistle Stop the way that the first book left them. For these reasons, I would not recommend The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by NetGalley and the publisher, Random House. The decision to review this novel was entirely my own.

Thirty-four years have passed since the story of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café ended. Buddy Threadgoode, Jr., who was a boy in that novel, is now grown up and retired from his job as a veterinarian and living in Briarwood Manor, a retirement home in Atlanta. He previously moved there with his wife, Peggy, who has now passed away. His daughter, Ruthie Caldwell, named for her late grandmother, Ruth Jamison, lives nearby, next door to her mother-in-law, Martha Lee, who is a real snob. Bud’s Aunt Idgie, who ran the Whistle Stop Café with Ruth, closed the café in the mid-1960s when the railroad yards began to shut down and people started moving away from Whistle Stop. After she closed the café, Idgie moved next door to her brother, Julian, in Florida and opened up a fruit stand. Former citizens of the town, spread abroad, are kept abreast of the latest news by Dot Weems, who used to write the Weems Weekly, through Christmas newsletters and other correspondence.

Bud has become homesick for Whistle Stop and wonders whatever became of the town. One Sunday he escapes from Briarwood Manor while residents are on their weekly visits to church. He gets on the train, hoping to pass through Whistle Stop. When he gets off the train, he discovers that Whistle Stop is no more and accidentally loses both his prosthetic arm and his way. What starts out as an adventure for Bud ends up being a reunion between Evelyn Couch, who was friend of the late Ninny Threadgoode, and Bud’s daughter, Ruthie. The two become fast friends and have a lasting impact on the lives of both former residents of Whistle Stop and their descendants.

Fannie Flagg has done it again! She has written another southern novel full of nostalgia and reminiscing. As with her other novels, The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop honors the relationships between family and friends and proves that you really can go back home again.

The characters are funny, charming, witty, and real. For people who have never read Flagg’s first novel or seen the movie adaptation, gaps are filled in and more stories are revealed about Whistle Stop’s citizens. Small-town life is portrayed in all its glory, and characters look back on their lives while remembering events that happened while they were living in Whistle Stop. This novel contains many poignant and funny moments, one especially involving Martha Lee’s 23andme genealogy test results, which are not what she expects.

Fannie Flagg’s script for Fried Green Tomatoes was nominated for an Academy Award and for the Writers Guild of America Award in 1992. That year, it won the USC Scripter Award for best adapted screenplay of the year. She also won the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Year in 2012.

The Wonder Boy from Whistle Stop is a delightful journey down memory lane. It is not necessary to have read the first book in order to enjoy this one, but it wouldn’t hurt! Hand it to readers who have read Fannie Flagg’s other novels and those who are fans of the Fried Green Tomatoes movie. I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries and give it five out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishers for allowing me to read and review this book.

Reading this was like having your friends from the Whistle Stop Cafe come into your kitchen to sit a spell and share all the news. The story focuses on the lives of all the Whistle Stop folks after Ruth died.
They were a close knit bunch, looking out for one another, and even when they moved away when the highway precipitated the decline of the hamlet, the bonds were strong, and they kept in touch through the annual Christmas letter. Idgie was able to hang on until Ruth's son Buddy entered college, and then she moved to Florida to be near her brother. The circumstances under which Idgie moved are treated via a flashbacks, as are various other plot points through out the book. However the main story is takes place “after Ruth”, so Buddy, his daughter Ruthie, and Evelyn Couch are the stars, with voices and views ringing true. Thank you Random House and Netgalley for the arc.

While not a sequel in the traditional sense, The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop overlaps with some of the events of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe as the book is a continuation of the Threadgoode legacy. Whereas Idgie is really the main focus of Fried Green Tomatoes, Buddy is the main focus of Wonder Boy. Like Fried Green Tomatoes, Wonder Boy also allows you to experience not just one person's story, but many. Buddy is the "Wonder Boy," but in reading this book, you also get to know his children and grandchildren. You get to revisit Whistle Stop when it's still a bustlin' ol' railroad town, but see it again in its demise. You get a small taste of things missed during those in-between periods in Fried Green Tomatoes, and an even bigger taste of what happened to many of the characters after the tale of Ruth and Idgie. Hell, you even get Weems Weekly still.

I loved Fried Green Tomatoes (the book and movie) for the big lesbianisms of it all, but I really hated the racism and the things that really didn't age well after the 80s. Wonder Boy brought back the nostalgia and sentiment of the first story but without the problematic pieces.

"That's what you get when you love something that much. Joy and heartbreak." - The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop, Fannie Flagg

Honestly, this book was really fantastic, but I'm not sure if it would mean as much to someone who hasn't read the first one; and I mean actually reading/listening to the book, not watching the movie. The movie is incredible and I love it as its own separate entity, but the book gives a lot more (like usual). I think to truly enjoy The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop, you would want to have experienced the first. I do think that Wonder Boy could effectively be a stand-alone and be a solid story, but the reader would just be missing the nostalgic and sentimental pieces from Fried Green Tomatoes. They go hand-in-hand, and without the first, the second would just be lacking.

I think one of the best pieces of this new story is that connection to the original. This isn't some disconnected story that has a similar setting in the same universe but all new characters. The appeal of these stories are those connections. The characters of Whistle Stop are not just entertaining. They're characters that you really care about, even when you can't condone their actions. They're basically small-town family for the reader, which is kind of a trait of southern lit. You read these books for the connection, not for the misadventures (though those are certainly fun).

Fannie Flagg did something really special with these books. It can't be easy to leave a gap of over 30 years between two stories, then just pick right back up like there was not a pause whatsoever. But I guess that's kind of what happens between friends - you can go years without seeing each other or talking, and then just pick back up like you'd never even been apart.

It was such a fun read catching up on the Whistle Stop characters. For those who haven’t read the earlier book they will find it easy to get to know everyone. I did get confused a bit with the jumps in time, I had to make sure I read the chapter titles.

What a perfect book to read on a cozy winter day! As a big fan of Fried Green Tomatoes I was so excited to read this book and reconnect with those beloved characters. Charming, heartwarming, and delightful.

Fiction | Adult
[Cover image]
With frigid temps keeping most of us indoors in British Columbia (and the ROC), it’s a great time to cozy up with our favourite folks from Whistle Stop. Flagg returns to this fictional Alabama railroad town and its quirky characters, in a novel that spans nearly 100 years. The Wonder Boy is Buddy Threadgoode, the little guy who loses his arm in Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. It opens in 1991. No one is using the railroad and Whistle Stop has been abandoned. The buildings are still there but the kudzu vine is taking over, and all that remains are memories of the lively, bustling activity that surrounded Opal’s beauty shop, the café, the post office, and more. Flagg flips back and forth through time, advancing the story from the 1930s through to modern times as she reveals where everyone is and what they’re up to.
Buddy and Peggy were posted to Germany, then returned stateside, to set up practice in Massachusetts. At college, their daughter Ruth falls in love with a Southern boy, and gains a judgmental mother-in-law. Idgie goes to Florida, Opal sets up a new shop in Birmingham, Dot and Wilbur move to Fairhope, Alabama, but she continues sending out missives to keep all up to date (a useful literary device!). We keep up with everyone’s activities, and throughout, Flagg offers her trademark southern storytelling, with Idgie getting into scrapes and risky adventures as she saves the day more than once. Even Evelyn Couch, who’s inspired to take control over her life in FGT (played by Kathy Bates in the movie), makes a key appearance. But the bulk of the story involves Buddy and his daughter Ruthie, and what happens when Buddy decides to try and visit Whistle Stop one last time. It all comes together in a series of threads, like a knitter forming a shawl, as we fall in love all over again with the citizens of Whistle Stop. Because of how it’s written, it’s not a standalone book – if you haven’t done so, read FGT first, so you get to know these characters, and that will make this a truly enjoyable read. My thanks to Random House for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51457328

Catching back up with Idgie and Ruth's boy was wonderful. Reading The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop felt like I was sitting around the kitchen table with my extended (very southern) family catching up on everyone. With the charm of fried Green Tomatoes and the nostalgia of times gone by, this is a novel many of our customers will love to read. Thank you kindly for the opportunity to read The Wonder Boy!

Who doesn't like a Fannie Flagg book? This was a nice catchup on characters from Fried Green Tomatoes.. Mainly, it's Buddy and his daughter Ruth. I always loved he named his daughter after his mom.

If you are new to Fried Green Tomatoes you would want to read the first book before reading this. You'll truly love it.

Thank you Ms. Flagg for another wonderful book.

This is a sweet and nostalgic read for any Fannie Flag or Fried Green Tomatoes fan. This is a heartwarming book that is perfect for a cozy winter day. I loved revisiting all my fav characters from Whistle Stop and getting to learn about Bud Threadgoode and his wife and daughter Ruthie. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves southern lit, cozy reads, or are fans of FGT

Reading a Fannie Flagg book is like putting on your most comfortable PJs or sweats, putting soup or chili in the crockpot and reading away a cold, snowy winter’s day. “The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop” is about Buddy, the son of one of “Fried Green Tomatoes” main characters, Ruth. This story is seamlessly told from the multiple voices of those who loved Buddy and whom he loved in return.

It’s hard to summarize the plot of this story, because it is like being dropped in another town in another time and place. You will feel like one of the town’s citizens who look forward to Dot’s updates of the townsfolk who have moved away, you will laugh remembering Idgie’s antics, shake your head at Ruthie’s snobbish mother-in-law, and long for one more Christmas Day dinner at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

Fannie Flagg’s books are the ultimate in cozy, feel-good reading. Choose this book if you want to turn the last page with a smile and a warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart. You will also feel a twinge of sadness because you know it will be a bit until the next Fannie Flagg book is published.

Recommended read-alike for those who love Ann B. Ross’s Miss Julia stories or Haywood Smith’s Red Hat Club stories.

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg takes readers back to the Whistle Stop Café and all the fun characters we met in Fried Green Tomatoes. There's Evelyn Couch, Buddy Threadgoode, Idgie, Ruth, Dot Weems, Opal, Big George...the list goes on and on. The book jumps around different time periods and from different perspectives. A lot of the emphasis is on Buddy and his daughter Ruth, who meet Evelyn. The three of them rehash the days of the Whistle Stop Café and become fast friends. I enjoyed reading more about the characters and seeing what life looked like for them after the Great Depression and all of the adventures and antics of the first book. I imagine I could have kept reading about them for a long while too! Lots of fun, with laugh out loud moments and a sweet sense of family and coming home, The Wonder Boy is a great read. Pick it up! I think you will find that you enjoy it!
Thanks to #NetGalley for the chance to read it. All opinions are my own.
#Bookstagram #all_the_pages #FannieFlagg

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop follows a few familiar characters from Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, namely Buddy Threadgoode, now in his eighties and with a child of his own, Ruthie.

As a follow up, this is a good story. You get to see just what your favorite old characters got up to in the years following the other book. Idgie moved to Florida and sold honey, Buddy got married and had kids, served in the armed forces, Evelyn started her own business and became rather wealthy. If you've read the first book, this one will feel like meeting up with old friends.

Without considering the first book, this one leaves a bit to be desired. You spend a lot of time jumping around in the past in ways that don't always seem cohesive. It's not until the very end that things start to fall into place. Overall, the book lacks structure and depth. If I hadn't really wanted to visit these characters again and be in Whistle Stop again, I can't say that I would have enjoyed it much.

4 stars! I really enjoyed this! It was nice to revisit the Whistle Stop folks again. Also, to give some of them endings. A lot of gaps were filled in and I smiled a lot, getting to spend time with some of my favorite characters. (the bee charmer Idgie)

I got this from NetGalley really early on and was quite excited to have an ARC and get to read months ago. Life got a little too busy for me and I was not able to get to it. As a treat, I used one of my audible credits and downloaded it before heading out of town for Christmas. It was a real treat too! I loved listening to it being read by Flagg herself and highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC to read for review. If you have read and loved Fried Green Tomatoes, you must add this. It's a gem.

Many people can say that "Fried Green Tomatoes" is one of their favorite movies based on the just as famous book"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe."

Flagg has returned to her famous town and its cast of characters again, although this time the characters are older and even their children and grandchildren take center stage. We get to see Ruth's son, Bud, grown up, get married and become a vet. He has a daughter, Ruthie, who goes through her own life's journey. To make the story full circle, Evelyn Couch even makes an appearance in an attempt to save the tiny, disappearing town of Whistlestop.

You know that Flagg could go deeper and darker with these southern characters if she wanted too- how Bud's abusive dad wasn't in the picture, the real love between Ruth and Idgie, etc. Flagg likes to keep it light and a little bit too sanguine at times, but I still enjoyed coming back to the town of Whistlestop and all of the characters.

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg was the real surprise of 2020, and one of my favorite books of the year. This is a sequel to Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe that catches us up on all the characters from the first book and follows Buddy Threadgoode through his entire adult life. I thought this was just going to be a quick novelty read, but it was actually so much more satisfying than that. It made me laugh and moved me to happy tears. It will only make sense to people who have read the first book, but for those readers it is such a treat.

I’ve read few books by Fannie Flagg with The Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe being my all-time favorite. Fannie Flagg’s novels are feel-good books for me and I like to read them whenever I am craving a sweet and heartwarming book with lots of colorful and lovable characters. The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop was another hit for me and I enjoyed every minute of it. Once again, I fell in love with the author’s writing style and all the vibrant characters created by her.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys cute and heartwarming books set in small town environment.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House, and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

RATING: 4 STARS
2020; Random House

Last year I reread Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe so I could refresh my memory in prep for the sequel, The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop. I was a bit hesitant to start, as I usually am with sequels, so I was happy that I got to my audiobook a bit late. Even as I started the first two chapters, I wondered if I would feel the same endearing nostalgia I felt with the first book. Thank gawd, soon I was smiling as I listened to Fannie Flagg read about Bud as a child and Bud as an adult. We meet his daughter Ruthie, who is middle age in present day. Oh, and Evelyn Couch makes appearances so it definitely did the first book justice. I liked that we still visited Whistle Stop back in the days of Idgie and Ruth, but we also go to know what happens from 1980s onwards. I did miss Minnie but that also made the characters feel more real. Time moves on. As I neared towards the last pages of the novel, I started worrying how it would end. I think most fans will like the ending as it's so Fannie Flagg, and it made my heart happy. I am longing to watch the movie again so I will need to do that soon. I wanted to visit the books first, as they really take you into the characters' lives and story. If you have not read the first book, I highly recommend reading that one first, or a lot of this book will read like a secret you aren't in on.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***