Between, Georgia [Paperback]

Joshilyn Jackson (Author), Author (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2007

Nonny Frett understands the meaning of the phrase "in
between a rock and a hard place" better than any woman
alive. She's got two mothers, "one deaf-blind and the
other four baby steps from flat crazy." She's got two
men: a husband who's easing out the back door; and a
best friend, who's laying siege to her heart in her front
yard. And she has two families: the Fretts, who stole her
and raised her right; and the Crabtrees, who won't forget
how they were done wrong. Now, in Between,
Georgia, a feud that began the night Nonny was born
is escalating and threatening to expose family secrets.
Ironically, it might be just what the town needs...if only
Nonny weren't stuck in between.

Editorial Reviews

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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Jackson returns with a second quirky and touching novel abut the South. The story of a feud between two families from opposite sides of the tracks, it narrowly avoids the worst cliches and appropriately exploits the more interesting ones. Jackson has been compared to Fannie Flagg, and rightfully so; her characters are vivid and lovable, put in situations that are so hard to explain that it's just easier to pass the book lovingly along to a friend. In Between, Georgia, protagonist Nonny is the adopted child of the Frett family, a strong-willed, well-off, and women-run clan, but she is the biological child of the criminal and downtrodden Crabtree family. Her adoptive mother, Stacia, is blind and deaf, and Nonny falls into a career in ASL interpretation. To escape her hometown of only 91 residents, where everyone knows the story of her lineage, Nonny runs to nearby Athens and lives out a half marriage with a rock guitarist. Predictably, the strange and dramatic goings-on in Between draw her home over and over again, especially when her cousin leaves a baby daughter there for the family to raise without her. Nonny falls in love with young Fisher, and the cycle of untraditional mother-daughter pairings continues. A climactic ending with perfect story resolution makes this book tidy and uplifting, and even the most cynical reader will surely smile as the back cover closes. Debi Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1ST edition (May 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446699454
• ISBN-13: 978-0446699457
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joshilyn Jackson is the New York Times Bestselling author of five novels,
most recently A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY

She lives in Decatur, Georgia with her husband and their two kids. She loves Bourbon and Hot Yoga (not together) and she has more dogs than you. Unless you have three.

Her sixth novel, SOMEONE ELSE'S LOVE STORY, is forthcoming in 2014 from Harper Morrow.

Backlist:
GODS IN ALABAMA
BETWEEN,GEORGIA,
THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING,
and BACKSEAT SAINTS

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a Keeper! June 19, 2006

By Wantz Upon A Time Reviews

Format:Hardcover

Nonny Frett is caught between feuding families. Born to an unwed Crabtree girl, she is adopted and raised by a Frett. Her mother, Stacia Frett, suffers from Usher's Syndrome, a devastating disease that steals the victim's hearing, then their eyesight. Stacia never let her challenges interfere with being a good mother. Nonny has grown into a strong woman who works as an interpreter for the deaf and mute.

Now thirty years old, Nonny's life lacks direction. Her marriage is ending, her aunt--Bernese Frett Baxter--is being inexplicably hard on Nonny's young cousin, and the tension between the Crabtrees and Frett has been notched way up.

This is the proverbial turning point of Nonny's life. Although strong, she must see past her own disappointments in order to move forward. The question is whether she can find her path before her world crumbles before her very eyes.

Between, Georgia is a treasure for anyone who has ever felt torn between worlds. Jackson has beautifully rendered the story of Nonny Frett by evoking laughter, shouts, and tears. Readers will feel the weight of Nonny's responsibilities, as well as the lightness of her joys. Little Fisher, Aunt Bernese's granddaughter, is an added delight who steals some of the scenes.

Besides the wonderful literary value of this novel, it would make a spectacular movie. (Many readers may imagine Aunt Bernese portrayed by Tyne Daily.) The characters leap from the pages, reminding readers of people in their own lives. Small Town, America is well represented by the atmosphere of Between.

You will love this novel. As far as I'm concerned, this "keeper" will stay on my shelf with other beloved books.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer

6/19/2006

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Day Hatfield And McCoy Tale ...But With A Twist July 23, 2006

By B. Merritt VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Whether you're a fan of the Montagues and the Capulets, or the Hatfields and McCoys, you'll no doubt be familiar with the familial battles that abound in Josilyn Jackson's new novel, Between, Georgia. The book's title is fitting; being representative of both the tiny Georgia community where the story is set and a microcosmic conflict between two families within it, the Fretts and the Crabtrees.

Told in first person by Nonny Frett -- initially the daughter of a young Crabtree -- she is the "between" antiauthoritarian stuck in a renewed struggle between her biological kin and her adopted family. When the Crabtree dogs attack Nonny's mother (Stacia Frett), old wounds are opened anew between the two families and Nonny acts as a forced referee. Love, hate, gene pools, romance, and even comedy are the driving forces behind Between, Georgia as we witness a type of one-upmanship taking place after the dog attack. Nonny's aunt, Bernise Frett-Baxter, shoots and kills one of the dogs. Then tires get slashed, more dogs die, and finally death comes near for the Frett family as the truly "bad Crabtrees" enter town to settle the feud once and for all. In the midst of all this, Nonny is trying to divorce her husband, Jonno, an adulterer who gave her The Clap but whom she still holds a grudging sexual attraction toward. Nonny's adopted mother, Stacia, has Usher's Syndrome, a disease that destroys one's hearing and then robs them of their sight. And, to top it all off, Nonny is attracted to Henry Crabtree, a distant cousin who is obviously in love with her, too.

The middle of the novel will probably be the toughest for most readers to get through. It's a bit slow but is beneficial to the story as a whole. The reader gets intimate with these characters and they'll be completely unprepared for some devastating events that unfold in the later two-thirds of the story. Then, just when you feel like your heart can't take it anymore, author Josilyn Jackson makes your spirit soar with the slamming on of the brakes and a humorous "thump".

From kissing cousins to tear-jerking brushes with death, Between, Georgia is a place I'm happy I visited (even if it is a fictional community). The action is slow to get going, but once the dynamics of these families hits the gas pedal, there's no stopping them.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Betweens Abound! February 21, 2007

By K. van Rooyen

Format:Hardcover

I loved this book! It could be because I am a sign language interpreter myself, and could relate to much of what was taking place in the novel. I especially enjoyed the narration by the author-- many authors are NOT good narrators of their work, but Jackson certainly is excellent. I loved her accents. Made the characters so believable.

I appreciated the title so much, as it was a running theme in the book-- "between". So many "betweens" within its pages. I also quite enjoyed the author's notes at the back, telling about the actual town and such. I really can't wait for this author's next book!

This book is quite different from Jackson's first book, GODS IN ALABAMA, which I devoured upon opening the cover. However, it is a good book in its own right, though not a mystery and written in a much different style. In some ways, I liked it better. It is funny and sad (but not too sad), and everything in between. There's that word again!