Journal Entry 1 by alsgal from Lewes, Delaware USA on Wednesday, November 14, 2007

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Jackson's author biography reveals her to be a "former actor," but listeners will guess that for themselves from the first few tracks of this wonderfully realized audiobook. Her brand of Southern fiction was born to be read out loud, with its quirky characters and astute observations about human nature. And Jackson herself is the one to do it; it's clear throughout the narration that she's having a raucous time as raconteur. As she spills forth the story of Nonny, a young Georgia woman caught in the tumble of a feud between her adoptive and biological families, there is palpable energy and sustained warmth. What is especially surprising is how skillfully Jackson manages the large array of divergent character voices, from the calm, matter-of-fact tones of Nonny's adopted mother to the wild redneck sensibility of her biological grandmother. Particularly delicious is Jackson's nasal, braying inflection to portray Nonny's bossy and narrow-minded aunt Bernise. The one place Jackson's dexterity falls short is in the novel's male voices, which sometimes fall flat. Otherwise, this is a delight from start to finish.
 

Journal Entry 2 by alsgal from Lewes, Delaware USA on Wednesday, November 14, 2007

I absolutely loved this book. I really loved gods in Alabama but loved this one even more.

Read her blog regularly at http://www.joshilynjackson.com/mt/ and wait with baited breath for her next book.

Reserving this copy for my Boxing Day Partner over on bookobsessed.com. I'm so excited to be able to share some of my favorite reads with my partner. 

Journal Entry 3 by AceofHearts from Mississauga, Ontario Canada on Wednesday, December 26, 2007

received from my Boxing Day partner. Thanks!!! 

Journal Entry 4 by AceofHearts at Mississauga, Ontario Canada on Saturday, June 18, 2011

This is a Hatfield/McCoy feud story. Nonny has been raised by the Fretts but her biological family is the Crabtrees. Nonny's adoptive mother, Stacie is deaf and talented at making dolls heads, her twin sister is extremely reclusive and the older sister of the bunch, Bernese is just plain crazy.

The Crabtrees are as redneck as you come even to owning the rapid and dangerous dogs.

Nonny is the go-between for these two families. She is also somewhat separated from her husband. Henry Crabtree, a decent man is interested in Nonny but sort of gets lost in the shuffle

This book is excellent and Jackson can portray all these various types of women very well but where I feel the story is weak is in the male voices of the story. Henry, Noony's husband and especially Bernese's husband seem to be wimpish and hardly there 

Journal Entry 5 by HoserLauren at Toronto, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Reading now! 

Journal Entry 6 by HoserLauren at Toronto, Ontario Canada on Monday, August 08, 2011

Between, Georgia is a very small town with a large amount of drama. Nonny Frett biologically is a member of the Crabtree family but was adopted by the Frett family, their bitter enemies. Nonny's mother is a blind, deaf, and extremely talented at making dolls. One of her aunts is a recluse and the other is overbearing.

When one of the Crabtree's dogs attacks her aunt, the feud between the two families starts to bubble over. Nonny tries to be the mediator but she has her hands full trying to get a divorce and understand why her aunt is taking out anger towards her daughter on her niece.

Jackson has a gift for making books page turners and crafting characters that you can connect to, whether you like them or hate them. I found myself flipping ahead in this book to figure out what was going to happen, which is something I rarely do. After this book, Joshilyn Jackson has replaced Jodi Picoult as my favourite family drama writer.  

Journal Entry 7 by AceofHearts at Mississauga, Ontario Canada on Sunday, August 28, 2011

This book is back with me :)