Loraine Despres

I purchased The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell when I was in Texas in May. I thought it looked like a good summer chick-lit read. I finally got around to reading it this week and was surprised to find that it was more than just chick-lit. There was an amazing message that even in today’s world needs to be remembered.

Bad Behavior is a period piece set in Louisiana in 1920. Prohibition was at its height, women had just been given the right to vote, and the Klu Klux Klan was starting to take show more hold of not only the South, but also the entire country. In the middle of all this is born-before-her-time Belle Cantrell. A recent widow and new part owner of the largest farm in Gentry, Louisiana, Belle is a huge advocate of the woman suffrage cause and is not afraid to speak her mind on most topics; much to the dismay of the Southern Genteel folk.

While the book is fun and sassy and, at times, down right sexy, it also reminds you of how intolerance was widely accepted in our country and that speaking out against said intolerance caused people to fear for their lives to the point to where many just kept quiet. “It’s not our fight,” was just one of the responses Belle received while trying to help stop an attack on her friend. With some of the same intolerances seeping into our society today, this book struck quite a chord with me. And all while reading it, my favorite Martin Luther King Jr. quote replayed in the back of my mind. “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” show less

I read this book for the first time in high school and always loved it, having grown up in the south/midwest, where everyone is a Christian with dirty secrets to hide. 10 years later, I was a 23 year old divorcee and I can really empathize with the feeling Sissy has of being trapped in an unhappy marriage. I think my favorite part of the story, however, is how flawed each and every character was. No one was perfect and Sissy set herself up for the consequences of her bad decisions. She show more ruined more than just her own life. This is my favorite fluff novel and I've read it many times. show less

This is a time period I've read a great deal about, though usually in more esoteric books. Bell Cantrell is a woman living on the cusp between worlds. She's caught between her upbringing and her desires. It's hard to imagine, given our world of today, when bobbing your hair, or driving in a motorcar with a man could damage your reputation, or a time when the men you grew up knowing could hide themselves under sheets and call themselves heroes and protectors as Klansmen. Some very nice show more elements in this book, though it dragged for me in parts. (Or it could have been that extra glass of wine I had one evening that made me sleepy. :) ) show less

This is a time I'd say "don't judge a book by its cover" applies. The cover is cute but the content is more serious.

It's the year 1920 and Belle is a feminist. She grew up poor, got married at 16 and has just recently been widowed in her early 30's.
Her life is a made up of a series of thoughts about what she "should" do.
Her mother-in-law has spent half her life trying to teach Belle how a lady should act.

Belle wants to be good, but she wants to be happy too.

When her husband passes away, she show more feels responsible (she doesn't kill him, she just feels guilty about his death).
After mourning, she starts to come alive again.

She fights for the right to vote. She pursues s new relationship. She encourages her daughter to get an education and she even takes on prejudice and hatred in her small town. show less