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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
3.75 stars. Almost a 4 but not quite. I don’t understand why Lena slept with all those boys if she was not the one who was sexually assaulted by Jim Beverly. I mean, I know guilt can make you do a lot of things but I’m just not sure I necessarily liked that angle the author came from. Aunt Florence is a woman to be reckoned with and I think she sums up what an aunt is perfectly. She’s very pragmatic and I can’t hate her for doing what it took to keep her family safe, especially after her personal tragedies. However, I will say that I enjoyed this book and devoured it pretty quickly. I truly enjoy Joshilyn Jackson’s writing. It is humorous and poignant all at the same time. This is the second book by her I’ve read.
The main character didn't feel as fleshed out as she should've in 300+ pages. I think for that reason, I really didn't care about her romantic relationship. (Scenes with Burr largely felt like a waste of space, certainly the ones about her Southern family's prejudice toward him. I might feel differently had that not seemed so normalized - "I don't care how you feel about it... as long as you're a good enough liar" instead of something more along the lines of, "I chose him because he's a good person; that's what you should want for me in a partner" etc.)
Front end of the book was a lot more engaging than the back end. Overall, meh, but entertaining enough to warrant 2.5 stars.
Front end of the book was a lot more engaging than the back end. Overall, meh, but entertaining enough to warrant 2.5 stars.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another random pick at the library and another gem for me - loved the back and forth, the humour, the suspense.
It was interesting to read this book after having read Backseat Saints. Backseat Saints is not a sequel to Gods in Alabama, but they do have a few characters in common. What I found especially interesting is how my alliance changed from Rose Mae (Backseat Saints) to Arlene (Gods). Rose Mae came off looking a bit crazy in this one, but the interactions were identical in both books aside from the perspective. It's a pretty good book!
**Audio Review - This is now the third book I have listened to by Jackson, but the first one that she has not narrated. I was disappointed at first not to hear her voice, but this narrator was pretty good too.
**Audio Review - This is now the third book I have listened to by Jackson, but the first one that she has not narrated. I was disappointed at first not to hear her voice, but this narrator was pretty good too.
This book was what I needed, when I needed it.
After an Alabama to Chicago move I was in a funk and had not been able to finish a single book, but this book broke that for me. Maybe it was that the protagonist had made the same move as me, or maybe it was the times I belly laughed at it, but this book helped me out of my funk.
Is it literary fiction? No. But it was an all devouring read. Seriously, I accidentally missed my train stop and rode until the complete end of the line while reading this book!
After an Alabama to Chicago move I was in a funk and had not been able to finish a single book, but this book broke that for me. Maybe it was that the protagonist had made the same move as me, or maybe it was the times I belly laughed at it, but this book helped me out of my funk.
Is it literary fiction? No. But it was an all devouring read. Seriously, I accidentally missed my train stop and rode until the complete end of the line while reading this book!
I might have liked this better if I had not recently read Sharp Objects. There were a lot of similarities in the main characters and some of the plot lines. This one seemed to end too neatly and explained away too easily like she ran out of time.
I didn't think I liked this book the entire time I read it. It wasn't until after I was done that I realized it wasn't bad. The book is about a white girl from a Southern family, who is somewhat racist and they have a problem with her dating a black guy. She is no longer living in the South because she ran from her secrets and her family, but she's forced to return home where her past comes back to haunt her. She is forced to face her psst and learns more about her family. Somehow it was a pretty good book.
Meh. This was fine, but not great. I didn’t care for Arlene. I felt the Southern portrayal was suuuuuuper heavy-handed and over-the-top. I think the ‘mystery’ or whatever was good and I was surprised by whodunnit, but that didn’t make up for not liking any of the characters or the story style. 2.5 stars, but gotta round down because it just annoyed me to read it.
Really 4.75 but not quite a 5 because of the language. This hit so many notes of mystery and southern lit for me. Character growth to boot! I will add more of Joshilyn to my TBR.