BOOK REVIEW: Cutie Pies by the Slice by Kimberly Nixon

Cutie Pies by the Slice is a new historical novel by Kimberly Nixon, author of Rock Bottom, Tennessee and Rock Bottom Rising. It is a heartwarming, found-family story set during Prohibition.

The protagonist, Lila Young, begins her journey as an insecure young woman who has just lost her mother and must now make her own way in the world. Her father is out of the picture, and her older brother, Earl, wants to help her but is more wrapped up in his own nuclear family, and often falls short.

She moves to be closer to Earl, who helps her find work with the telephone company. She lives in a boarding house where she forges strong bonds with other women who become a second family. The author brings these minor characters fully to life as well-rounded, interesting women with distinct personalities. But it is Lila who truly shines, befriending and supporting them all. (Everyone needs a friend like Lila!) Even so, Lila still yearns for a husband, children, and a family of her own. 

When the effects of the Great Depression rock Lila’s community, she loses her job and needs to try something else.

 Lila’s main inheritance is a strong work ethic and her mother’s pie recipes. She opens a pie shop that sells pie by the slice. A very good businesswoman, she builds her shop little by little. BUT, this is during Prohibition, and mob influence (speakeasies and running liquor illegally) permeates Lila’s environment, involving (and threatening) her family and friends.

Lila’s resilience, big-heartedness, and loyalty carry her through the various setbacks and tragedies of her life. Readers will be behind her, rooting for her success all the way.