A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel [Hardcover]

Joshilyn Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 2012

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A mesmerizing tale of a family coping with the revelation of a secret that will change their lives. . . Jackson's most absorbing book yet, a lush, rich read with three very different but equally compelling characters at its core." (Kristine Huntley, Booklist (Starred Review) )

"Liza, as the unreliable narrator, is used to perfection in this warm family story that teeters between emotional highs and lows, laughter and tears. Book groups will eat this up." (Library Journal )

"A Southern charmer, laced with humor, mystery and affairs of the heart.... A valentine to the bonds of family!" (Family Circle )

"Snappy dialogue with a Southern twang, spiritual uplift and undeniably likable characters." (Kirkus Reviews )

"Highly immersive... a compelling page turner." (Publishers Weekly )

"[There are] hundreds of moving parts in the machinery of Jackson's intricate mystery, all deliciously unraveled one tantalizing clue at a time." (Gina Webb, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution )

"A deeply felt, engaging story." (The Atlantic )

"Three generations of Slocumbs grapple with deep-buried family secrets in this entertaining Southern whodunit." (All You Magazine )

"Highly immersive... a compelling page turner." (PW )

"Jackson's signature style-the feisty, bighearted voice of Gods in Alabama and Backseat Saints-propels this funny, dark whodunit, where strong women who've made bad choices band together to come out on top." (Melissa Ruggieri, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution )

"Engrossing... A mystery, comedy and drama wrapped up in one." (Katie Lewis, Bookpage )

"Gripping." (Chris Waddington, The Times Picayune )

"A quirky mystery that serves up a delicious blend of likeable characters, plot twists and life as seen through the eyes of three remarkable women in a Southern family, namely Mosey, Ginny, and Liza. The dialogue is authentic and the writing insightful and unexpectedly witty." (Larry Cox, Tucson Citizen )

"A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty proves again that Joshilyn Jackson is one the best writers of the new generation. This spellbinding novel unfolds through the voices of three women in one family: a grandmother, a mother, a young daughter. Jackson renders each of these women with vivid tenderness, ferocity, and great humor, so that the family itself becomes the fourth vital character in the story. You will find yourself rooting for them all, to the very last page." (Mark Childress, author of Georgia Bottoms and Crazy in Alabama )

"An unforgettable story of generational dysfunction and sloppily buried secrets." (Theresa Weaver, Atlanta Magazine )

"Reading A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty feels a lot like falling in love: giddy and enthralling and a little bit dangerous. It's a heart-thumping mystery, an edge-of-your-seat drama, and a fiercely sweet comedy all at once, with a fistful of crazy-brave characters who reach from up the wild pages and grip your heart. I loved this book about what it means to be a family for its big heart, its pitch-perfect dialogue and the clever plot twists I've come to expect from Jackson. Book clubs take note: Here's your next pick!" (Sara Gruen, NYT bestselling author of Water for Elephants and Ape House )

"Madness! Mayhem! Laughter! Tears! Emotional rollercoasters, old lies and an unmarked grave propel the Slocumb women into action. Joshilyn Jackson's signature style explodes in A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY. Buckle up and enjoy!" (Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of Very Valentine )

About the Author

Joshilyn Jackson, a native of the Deep South, has worked as an actor and an award-winning teacher, and is now a writer and a mother of two. She is the author of gods in Alabama; Between, Georgia; The Girl Who Stopped Swimming; and Backseat Saints. Jackson lives with her husband and children outside of Atlanta. Visit her website at www.joshilynjackson.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (January 25, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446582352
• ISBN-13: 978-0446582353
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #65 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Domestic Life

More About the Author

Joshilyn Jackson is the New York Times Bestselling author of three novels:
GODS IN ALABAMA
BETWEEN,GEORGIA, and
THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING.

She lives in a small town west of Atlanta with her husband, their two kids, a hound dog, 2 legally separated beta fish, a scurrilous kitten and a morbidly obese Main Coone cat named Franz Schubert.

Her fourth novel, BACKSEAT SAINTS, is forthcoming from Grand Central in spring of 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fearless and gorgeous!, January 16, 2012

By 

Genevieve Graham (Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel (Hardcover)

I'd never read anything by Joshilyn Jackson before and was honoured to receive an ARC from our shared agent. I'm now a fan. I'm off to buy the rest of her books today.

"A Grown-Up Kind Of Pretty" dives fearlessly into the lives and psyches of three completely different women, including one who has suffered a massive stroke. The personalities of these women, shaped through hard, grasping lives, are so real, so accessible it makes it entirely natural to love and hate just as fiercely as they do. I roared at Jackson's straightforward humour; her dialogues are quick and smart and completely perfect. I thought I was tough, going through the book and living the women's pain without shedding a tear, but she got me in the end and the tears came from much deeper than I'd ever have expected.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery, sass, wit - wonderful!, January 15, 2012

By 

Julie A. Smith "Julie @ Knitting and Sundries" (Cleveland, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel (Hardcover)

The novel starts out with Big (Virginia), 45 years old and her fears that something bad is going to happen. After all, something bad seems to happen every 15 years. She had her daughter Liza when she was 15 years old. In turn, Liza had her own daughter Mosey when SHE was 15. Liza had a massive stroke at Mosey's school dance when she was 30, and she is still recovering, unable to communicate and struggling to remember the tiniest things. With Mosey now getting ready to turn 15, Big worries that Mosey will repeat both her own and Liza's behavior, and end up pregnant at 15 as well.

Mosey, however, is determined that SHE will NOT follow in those footsteps. Despite being a virgin, she has a supply of pregnancy tests that she uses "just to be sure".

When a silver box with infant bones is found on Big's property as the willow tree is being removed to put a pool in for Liza's therapy, the mystery of where the bones came from and whose bones they are pulls at Big and the reader as Mosey and her friends work to figure it out as well.

Told in the alternating POV's of all three sassy women (Liza in third person, Big and Mosey in 1st), this tale of three women from "the wrong side of the tracks" is authentic and heartwarming, full of wit as well as sadness. You will cheer them on, and, applaud Big's strength as she faces the person who could tear her Mosey away from her.

I LOVED all of them. Closing the pages on this one was difficult, as I'd instantly become immersed in their story. I cheered Liza in her small steps to recover from her stroke and laughed at the way she "played" her mom sometimes. Big has a huge heart full of love and protectiveness for her family (a lioness, that woman!). Mosey is an awesome teen, and her quirky friendships made me smile. I got angry at those that took advantage of and hurt these women and got away with it, and hoped against hope for a comeuppance.

I have an audio of "Backseat Saints" by Ms. Jackson that I haven't yet listened to. Let me tell you, based on THIS book, I will be picking up as much of Ms. Jackson's work as I can. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if a book makes you "feel" the emotions of the characters and, in this case, makes you want to jump into its pages to slap someone :), it is a worthy read.

Pick this one up if you like strong women, a mystery, sass, and wit. Wonderful work.

QUOTES (from an ARC; may be different in final copy):

Big: I could have put an ad up on the Craiglist and tried to get one of my own: "Desperately seeking lawyer. Must like long walks on the beach, not getting paid, and losing." I hear there's a whole mess of lawyers just like that; they keep an office between Mermaid Cove and the Unicorn Forest.

Mosey: Before my mom had her brain event, I never even saw him have a conversation with her face. He talked lower, like he thought her b**bs had microphones in them and if he aimed right he could order up a chili-dog combo.

Big: Next thing I knew, me and Lance Weston were slipping off together. I was pretty sure we were falling in love, and he was pretty sure that freshman girls with that much zombie punch in 'em put out. Only one of us was right.

Liza: Melissa owns brothers, three of them, and a b*tch of a mother who is at least the right age and the right kind of adult stylish. Not like Big, who wears the same brand of jeans Liza wears and who will take Liza in her arms and then put her head on Liza's shoulder and cry and cry when Liza tells her she is pregnant.

Big: Because Liza was fourteen when she fetched up pregnant, and she'd told me the daddy was some kid she met at the carny. I tried to break out of his arms again, because I had to go find myself a gun and shoot a man.

Writing: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Plot: 5 out of 5 stars
Characters: 5 out of 5 stars
Reading Immersion: 5 out 5 stars

BOOK RATING: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Sensitive reader: Some saucy language and sexual references (see quotes above for examples)

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Grown-Up kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson, January 15, 2012

By 

Marinan Brewer "Pen Maker" (Dothan, Al USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is the fifth book Jackson has written. Of the 5, I believe this is her best, so far.
You certainly don't want to put the book down until you are finished. It holds you and pulls you along with it.

Quite a lot of detail work was done by jackson to pull this one off so perfectly.