Book of the Month: A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY, Joshilyn Jackson
February 24th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
(PSST! I’m at Farrah Penn’s blog today being interviewed about writing!)
From Barnes and Noble:
A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY is a powerful saga of three generations of women, plagued by hardships and torn by a devastating secret, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of family. Fifteen-year-old Mosey Slocumb-spirited, sassy, and on the cusp of womanhood-is shaken when a small grave is unearthed in the backyard, and determined to figure out why it’s there. Liza, her stroke-ravaged mother, is haunted by choices she made as a teenager. But it is Jenny, Mosey’s strong and big-hearted grandmother, whose maternal love braids together the strands of the women’s shared past–and who will stop at nothing to defend their future.
WHY THIS BOOK: I have been a fan of Joshilyn Jackson’s since gods in Alabama, which remained my favorite of her novels – until now. GUKOP has tied if not surpassed gods for me. I’m forever amazed at Joss’s ability to write such vivid, real characters. Her plots travel well-worn themes, family in all of them, and identity and love. But they do so in a uniquely Joss way. She is not afraid to reach into the blackest black and show you what’s in there. My chest was tight with ache reading; I want to be friends with the Slocumbs.
Yet.
Yet I honestly found myself laughing out loud, barks of startled laughter that yes, she said that, or yes, she did that. I appreciate that Joss can write about such dark bad things with humor, not just that her characters can be funny people. And it doesn’t take the sting off; it doesn’t cheapen the pain the characters are going through or shrug it off or in any way *mitigate* their problems.
I’m floored at this book, quite simply. After her third book, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, I decided to automatically pre-order Joss’s books in hardcover from now on forever and ever amen, and I’m kind of glad we have at least a year to wait for the next one, because GUKOP will be with me for a long time. Joss’s books are all keepers.
