Bloggin' 'bout Books: Quirky and Compelling, Jackson's Novels Are Always Winners in My Book

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Quirky and Compelling, Jackson's Novels Are Always Winners in My Book

5:33 AM

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Despite my tendency to overwrite and overshare when I craft them, I generally like to write my own plot summaries for the books I review. In some instances, however, the professional version is done so well that I don't even bother. Case in point: Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson. This says everything you need to know about the novel in one succinct, but intriguing paragraph:

Nonny Frett understands the meaning of the phrase "in

between a rock and a hard place" better than any woman

alive. She's got two mothers, "one deaf-blind and the

other four baby steps from flat crazy." She's got two

men: a husband who's easing out the back door; and a

best friend, who's laying siege to her heart in her front

yard. And she has two families: the Fretts, who stole her

and raised her right; and the Crabtrees, who won't forget

how they were done wrong. Now, in Between,

Georgia, a feud that began the night Nonny was born

is escalating and threatening to expose family secrets.

Ironically, it might be just what the town needs...if only

Nonny weren't stuck in between.

I've enjoyed every book I've read by Jackson and Between, Georgia is no exception. It tells a poignant story, but one that's filled with humor, heart, and hope. Like Jackson's other novels, this one is filled with unique, interesting characters doing unique, interesting things in a quirky, atmospheric Southern town. The plot skips along at a steady pace, making Between, Georgia a hard-to-put down saga. In traditional Jackson style, this story hits on themes like identity, tradition vs. new ideas, and the true meaning of home and family. Although this one isn't my favorite of Jackson's (that would be The Almost Sisters), I really enjoyed it.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of other books by Joshilyn Jackson, including Someone Else's Love Story; A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty; and The Almost Sisters. Although sassier, Jackson's novels also remind me of those by Karen White and Anne Rivers Siddons)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, and sexual content

To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of Between, Georgia with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.

3 comments:

Kay24 January, 2019 08:43
I haven't read any books by this author, though I've certainly heard her praised. Did you see that she has a new book coming out that is a bit 'different' than her usual? I noticed it the other day.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Katherine P24 January, 2019 12:57
This author is high up on my TBR but somehow I've yet to read anything by her. Too bad this wasn't your favorite but she sounds like even a not so good book by her is still pretty great!
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Replies
Helen's Book Blog24 January, 2019 15:54
I can tell by the way the plot was written that this book has humor. It sounds like a fun read.
ReplyDelete
Replies

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Books Read in 2024 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. The Nightmare House by Sarah Allen (Jan)
2. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan* [audio] (Jan)
3. Graysen Foxx and the Treasure of Principal Redbeard by J. Scott Savage (Jan)
4. The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor by Aubrey Hartman* (Jan)
5. Ditch the Glitch by Camille Smithson (Jan)
6. Zeke Zooter and the Eye of Balor by Bruce Jacobs (Jan)
7. Never Lore: Journey to Mt. Smolder by Taya and Nathan Okerlund (Jan)
8. God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney [audio] (Jan)
9. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Jan)
10. The Last One by Will Dean (Jan)
11. Last Word to the Wise by Ann Claire (Jan)
12. My Plain Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Jan)
13. Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong (Jan)
14. Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda* (Jan)
15. The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant (Jan)
16. Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity by Elizabeth C. Bunce* (Jan)
17. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson* (Jan)
18. More Than a Body by Lindsay and Lexie Kite (Feb)
19. All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay (Feb)
20. Slayed on the Slopes by Kate Dyer-Seeley (Feb)
21. My Imaginary Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Feb)
22. Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee (Feb)
23. Artifice by Sharon Cameron* (Feb)
24. Something About Sophie by Mary Kay McComas (Feb)
25. Ill-Fated Fortune by Jennifer J. Chow (Feb)
26. My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Feb)
27. Buffalo Flats by Martine Leavitt (Feb)
28. Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead (Feb)
29. Murder on Millionaires' Row by Erin Lindsey (Feb)
30. Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson (Mar)
31. End of Story by A.J. Finn (Mar)
32. None of This is True by Lisa Jewell (Mar)
33. My Contrary Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Mar)
34. Where There's Smoke by E.B. Vickers (Mar)
35. Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong* (Mar)
36. The Kind to Kill by Tessa Wegert (Mar)
37. Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban (Apr)
38. Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Apr)
39. Swimming in a Sea of Stars by Julie Wright (Apr)
40. The Girl Who Wasn't There by Penny Joelson (Apr)
41. The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers [audio] (Apr)
42. The Secret of Rainy Days by Leslie Hooton (Apr)
43. How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (Apr)
44. The Nights the Lights Went Out by Karen White (Apr)
45. Flippin' Skaters by Teresa Richards (Apr)
46. Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch [audio] (Apr)
47. The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes* (Apr)
48. Dust by Dusti Bowling* (Apr)

49. Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie (Apr)

50. One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware (Apr)

51. Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest (Apr)

52. The Hunter by Tana French (May)

53. Murder at Rough Point by Alyssa Maxwell (May)

54. The Hard Parts by Oksana Masters [audio] (May)

55. Watch It Burn by Kristen Bird (May)

56. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson* (May)

57. No Matter What by K.M. Frost (May)

58. Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen (May)

59. The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain [audio] (May)

60. Candy Cane Crime by Amanda Flower [novella] (May)

61. An Improbable Season by Rosalyn Eves (May)

62. Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs* (May)

63. Borrow My Heart by Kasie West (May)

64. Beauty Reborn by Elizabeth Lowham (May)

65. Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis (May)

66. The Weight of Everything by Marcia Argueta Mickelson (May)

67. Make the Fireflies Dance by Rachel Bateman (May)

68. The Lost Girls of Willow Brook by Ellen Marie Wiseman [audio] (May)

69. A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan (Jun)

70. Where They Lie by Claire Coughlan (Jun)

71. The Shift: 7 Powerful Mindset Changes for Lasting Weight Loss by Gary Foster [audio] (Jun)

72. The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan (Jun)

73. A Deadly Endeavor by Jenny Adams (Jun)

74. The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie (Jun)

75. Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen, and the Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn [audio] (Jun)

76. The Watchers by A.M. Shine (Jun)

77. Deep Water by Jamie Sumner (Jun)

78. First Victim by Debbie Babitt (Jun)

79. One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome* (Jun)

80. Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix [audio] (Jun)

81. When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer (Jun)

82. Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth (Jun)

83. The Great Trouble: A Story of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel by Deborah Hopkinson [audio] (Jun)

84. 49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards (Jun)

85. Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell (Jun)

86. Trouble Island by Sharon Short (Jun)

87. Trouble at the Tangerine by Gillian McDunn (Jun)

88. I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter* (Jun)

89. Falling Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Jun)

90. Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey (Jun)

91. First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly* (Jun)

92. Homecoming by Kate Morton* (Jul)

93. The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King* [audio] (Jul)

94. Middle of the Night by Riley Sager* (Jul)

95. The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon (Jul)

96. The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave (Jul)

97. Operation: Happy by Jenni L. Walsh* (Jul)

98. Shutter by Ramona Emerson (Jul)

99. Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris (Jul)

100. The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson (Jul)

101. The Monsters We Make by Kali White (Jul)

102. The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall by Ali Standish (Jul)

103. Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon [audio] (Jul)

104. Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney* (Jul)

105. A Patchwork of Clues by Sally Goldenbaum (Jul)

106. Popcorn by Rob Harrell* (Jul)

107. Library Girl by Polly Horvath (Jul)

108. Such a Lovely Family by Aggie Blum Thompson (Jul)

109. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty (Aug)

110. The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon (Aug)

111. Basket Case by Nancy Haddock (Aug)

112. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett* (Aug)

113. Front Country by Sara St. Antoine [audio] (Aug)

114. Stowaway by John David Anderson (Aug)

115. Consigned to Death by Jane K. Cleland (Aug)

116. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman* (Aug)

117. Louder Than Hunger by John Schu (Aug)

118. Wrong Alibi by Christina Dodd (Aug)

119. Peanut Butter Panic by Amanda Flower (Aug)

120. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (Aug)

121. Flight 171 by Amy Christine Parker (Aug)

122. Criminally Cocoa by Amanda Flower [novella] (Aug)

123. The Kaya Girl by Mamle Wolo (Aug)

124. The Last Word by Gerri Lewis (Aug)

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128. Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman (Aug)

129. A Winter Grave by Peter May (Aug)

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192. A Murder at the Movies by Ellie Alexander [audio] (Nov)

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194. The Haunting of Moscow House by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore (Nov)

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196. Uprising by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Nov)

197. Animal Climate Heroes by Alison Pearce Stevens (Nov)

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199. Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus [audio] (Nov)

200. Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson* (Nov)

201. The Girl Who Fought Back: Vladka Meed and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Joshua M. Greene (Nov)

202. Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson (Nov)

203. They Saved the Stallions by Deborah Hopkinson (Nov)

204. Cece Rios and the Queen of Brujas by Kaela Rivera (Nov)

205. The Burning of Rosemont Abbey by Naomi Stephens* (Dec)

206. The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth* [audio] (Dec)

207. How to Stop Freaking Out: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Cool When Life Feels Chaotic by Carla Naumburg (Dec)

208. Quantum Interstellar Sports League by J. Scott Savage (Dec)

209. A Window into the Ocean Twilight: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea by Michelle Cusolito (Dec)

210. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens* [audio] (Dec)

211. Under the Surface by Diana Urban (Dec)

212. Why We Need Vaccines: How Humans Beat Infectious Diseases by Rowena Rae (Dec)

213. The Last Room on the Left by Leah Konen (Dec)

214. The Act of Disappearing by Nathan Gower (Dec)

215. Let It Glow by Marissa Meyer (Dec)

216. The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James [audio] (Dec)

217. The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey by Chad Soon (Dec)

218. Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict (Dec)

219. Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet by Geo Rutherford (Dec)

220. Scar Dakota by Jason F. Wright (Dec)

221. The Lawnmonsters by Shannon Cooley (Dec)

222. Taffy Nackman's Guide on How to be a Star by Gaylene Wilson (Dec)

223. The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore [audio] (Dec)

224. Monster Tree by Sarah Allen (Dec)

225. The Buried Road by Katie Tallo (Dec)

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Quirky and Compelling, Jackson's Novels Are Always Winners in My Book

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