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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
The other Jackson book I read recently, Someone Else's Love Story, gave me an interest in best friend Paula and her story. So I blithely bought this and figured I'd have a nice read over the next few days.
Nope. Had to finish as quickly as possible. And now I'm ready to curl up into a circle on the floor clutching my heart in... happiness? Sadness? Devastating tragic pain?
So yeah... this was a good book. Honestly, if this book had a male protagonist and male author plus the same storyline and quality of prose, it would probably be showing up on all the big "Important Fiction of 2016!" lists.
Nope. Had to finish as quickly as possible. And now I'm ready to curl up into a circle on the floor clutching my heart in... happiness? Sadness? Devastating tragic pain?
So yeah... this was a good book. Honestly, if this book had a male protagonist and male author plus the same storyline and quality of prose, it would probably be showing up on all the big "Important Fiction of 2016!" lists.
Paula Vauss was born with blue skin, so her mother Karen (“Kai”) named her Kali Jai after the Hindu goddess of destruction and fresh starts. Estranged from her mother for many years, Paula has become a divorce lawyer, far better at the destruction part than the fresh starts. But now comes a message that Kai is dying. And then, out of the blue, Paula learns that her mother had another child, a secret legacy. The problem is that no one knows where that child is now.
Paula has allies. Her private detective ex-lover Birdwine, struggling with alcoholism and his own broken past, and her brother Julian (born “Ganesha”), a second surprise sibling. But the trail’s gone cold, and meanwhile Paula must deal with a divorce case turned deadly.With the new information she has, Kali Jai Vauss must re-examine her memories to recover what actually happened to her family.
This is my first Joshilyn Jackson book, but apparently she’s had several bestsellers. My sister really likes her stuff. I am told that Ms. Jackson is considered a “Southern” writer, and certainly the book takes place in the southern United States, primarily around Atlanta, Georgia.
Paula is mixed-race (mixed with what she doesn’t know, as there was no father in the picture), and this comes up several times in the course of the story. The effects are mostly negative in her youth, but she’s learned how to turn her looks to advantage in the present day. Her unique upbringing and the estrangement from her mother have left Paula broken in many ways, despite being a high-functioning individual–part of her journey in the book is understanding why things happened as they did, and finally growing beyond that.
There’s a lot of talk about sex, Paula having been promiscuous in the past, but none on-stage. The past comes up to haunt Paula in other ways that are more effective.
The ending is very final; no sequel or trilogy here; and the acknowledgements make it clear that Ms. Jackson has no plans for a Kali Jai Vauss series.
While quite good, this book wasn’t my cup of tea. Recommended for fans of Joshilyn Jackson and her general type of novel.
Disclaimer: I received this Advance Reader’s Edition free from the publisher for the purpose of reading and reviewing. No other compensation was involved. There may be changes in the final product.
Paula has allies. Her private detective ex-lover Birdwine, struggling with alcoholism and his own broken past, and her brother Julian (born “Ganesha”), a second surprise sibling. But the trail’s gone cold, and meanwhile Paula must deal with a divorce case turned deadly.With the new information she has, Kali Jai Vauss must re-examine her memories to recover what actually happened to her family.
This is my first Joshilyn Jackson book, but apparently she’s had several bestsellers. My sister really likes her stuff. I am told that Ms. Jackson is considered a “Southern” writer, and certainly the book takes place in the southern United States, primarily around Atlanta, Georgia.
Paula is mixed-race (mixed with what she doesn’t know, as there was no father in the picture), and this comes up several times in the course of the story. The effects are mostly negative in her youth, but she’s learned how to turn her looks to advantage in the present day. Her unique upbringing and the estrangement from her mother have left Paula broken in many ways, despite being a high-functioning individual–part of her journey in the book is understanding why things happened as they did, and finally growing beyond that.
There’s a lot of talk about sex, Paula having been promiscuous in the past, but none on-stage. The past comes up to haunt Paula in other ways that are more effective.
The ending is very final; no sequel or trilogy here; and the acknowledgements make it clear that Ms. Jackson has no plans for a Kali Jai Vauss series.
While quite good, this book wasn’t my cup of tea. Recommended for fans of Joshilyn Jackson and her general type of novel.
Disclaimer: I received this Advance Reader’s Edition free from the publisher for the purpose of reading and reviewing. No other compensation was involved. There may be changes in the final product.
I've been a regular Joshilyn Jackson reader for years and she remains one of the authors I recommend the most often. Her books are funny, wise, and poignant all at the same time. The Opposite of Everyone is not as sweet as its cover makes it look, and I'm actually rather miffed about the cover. Not only does it make the book like like a sugary confection, it also sure looks to me like the woman on it is white when Paula Vauss, the woman at the center of the book, is biracial and obviously so. (I acknowledge that I read an e-galley of the book and haven't seen the cover up close, so I could be off, but the thumbnail sure looks that way.)
This is a story of a girl brought up in unsavory conditions with a caring but delusional mother who spends a few years in foster care, and ends up fending for herself. Paula is tough as nails and built her life basically from scratch, so the yellow dress and clouds? An odd choice.
I admit that I was so invested in present-day Paula that I got bored with growing-up Paula, even though I admire Jackson greatly for writing those sections. We see so little of the life of kids out of the mainstream and as someone who worked with juveniles in Georgia's court system, it felt pretty true to me. But I'm a sucker for a story about a kickass lawyer so I kept getting drawn back to the present. But it should satisfy Jackson's fans and her wit and humor and warmth never cease to amaze me.
This is a story of a girl brought up in unsavory conditions with a caring but delusional mother who spends a few years in foster care, and ends up fending for herself. Paula is tough as nails and built her life basically from scratch, so the yellow dress and clouds? An odd choice.
I admit that I was so invested in present-day Paula that I got bored with growing-up Paula, even though I admire Jackson greatly for writing those sections. We see so little of the life of kids out of the mainstream and as someone who worked with juveniles in Georgia's court system, it felt pretty true to me. But I'm a sucker for a story about a kickass lawyer so I kept getting drawn back to the present. But it should satisfy Jackson's fans and her wit and humor and warmth never cease to amaze me.