(Book Review) Between, Georgia

I must start out by saying: I L-O-V-E-D this book.  Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson is a page-turner, from start to finish.

Here is a summary, taken from Jackson's web site:

There's always been bad blood between the Fretts and the Crabtrees. After all, the Fretts practically own the tiny town of Between, Georgia, while the Crabtrees only rent space in its jail cells.

Stacia Frett is a deaf artist with a genetic condition that is causing her to slowly go blind. She's lost the love of her life, and when her vision goes, she'll lose her career as well. She's asking God why He keeps her breathing in and out, until the night fifteen year old Hazel Crabtree shows up on her doorstep brandishing a stomach swollen with a pregnancy she'd hidden for nine months. Stacia thinks Hazel's unwanted baby might be God's answer, and so the Fretts decide to steal it...

Thirty years later, Nonny Frett is a successful interpreter living in Athens, Georgia. She understands the meanings of "rock" and "hard place" better than any woman ever born. She's got two mothers, "one deaf-blind and the other four baby steps from flat crazy." She's got two men; Her husband is easing out the back door and her best friend is laying siege to her heart in her front yard. She has a job that holds her in the city, and she's addicted to a little girl who's stuck deep in the country. And she has two families; The Fretts, who stole her and raised her right, and the Crabtrees, who lost her and can't forget that they've been done wrong.

In Between, Georgia, population 90, the feud that began before Nonny was born is escalating, and a random act of violence will set the torch to a thirty-year old stash of highly flammable secrets. This might be just what the town needs, if only Nonny wasn't sitting in the middle of it...

Jackson's characters are complex and genuine.  No one is perfect, and so we relate to each of them in one way or another (even if we don't particularly like them).  She paints the town so perfectly that I could actually see the action taking place -- and the drama is so captivating that I found myself holding my breath in several key moments.

I couldn't read this book fast enough, and finished it within twenty-four hours.  This is the second book of Jackson's that I devoured -- I read The Girl Who Stopped Swimming back in January and loved it, and am anxious to read her latest, Backseat Saints.  I would recommend this to anyone who loves a complex plot  -- this isn't a simple chick-lit-love-story.  This book will make you examine your views on family obligation, nature versus nurture, and the true meaning of "mother."

Rating: 5 stars

(Book Review) The Reading Group

The Reading Group, written by Elizabeth Noble, follows the lives of five women connected by the new book club they've formed.  Over the course of the year, the women read classics such as Rebecca and The Alchemist, and along the way they see their lives somewhat reflected in the stories they share.   We watch Susan, Polly, Harriet, Nicole, and Clare as they deal with new life, death, marriage, infidelity, and a mid-life crisis -- and in the process, their friendship grows.

It took a few chapters for me to truly immerse myself in this book -- with five main characters it was difficult to keep everyone straight in the beginning.  The women's stories are very real, though, so much so that I got angry in several instances -- much like I would with a friend who was making the wrong decision!  I enjoyed the monthly discussions on the books, too, although I wish I'd read them before.  The discussions are real, therefore full of spoilers, but it still made me add all twelve books to my "to read" list.

Overall I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, carefree read.  I liked Noble and am anxious to pick up something else by her soon!

Rating: 4 stars

(Book Review) Everyone is Beautiful: A Novel

Lanie Coates is an extremely enjoyable character right from the beginning.  Everyone is Beautiful: A Novel opens with Lanie, her husband Peter, and their three boys relocating away from her family in Houston to New England, where Peter can pursue his music career.  At 35 with three small kids, Lanie has lost herself - but plans a major overhaul after an embarrassing series of events during the first day in their new town.


The book is amusing and the reader can't help but root for Lanie.  The complex relationship with her husband is believable, especially their sex life (or lack thereof) and their shared (a) desire to bring it back, and (b) confusion on how to do just that.  I especially like Lanie's stubborness on keeping her first found pleasure as "simply hers," even though she acknowledges how selfish it seems.


On the other hand, there are several moments where she has these long, drawn-out revelations to herself and, while acute and dead-on, it felt more like author Center didn't trust the reader enough to grasp these truths through Lanie without her spelling them out to us.  I also thought the kids were just a little too rambunctious.  As a mother myself, I know the amazing disasters that kids can cause, but really - it seems Center collected an assortment of worst kid-disaster horror stories and had Lanie's kids act them out.


In the end, Everyone is Beautiful is a nice read for a lazy day, and the point of the story is touching to me on a personal level - a woman remembering to care for herself as well as her family.  I recommend this to mothers of young children everywhere, especially if you feel a little lost in a sea of kid toys, frumpy sweatshirts, and sometimes-less-than-attentive husbands!

Rating: 3 Stars