my take: i’m in love with joshilyn jackson. i hope she’s writing right now. this is her fourth book. i bought it in hardcover the week it came out. worth every penny! jj takes social issues, combines it with her Christian world view, throws in wacky characters and plot twists and sets in all in the south. what could be better? this book’s social issue: wife abuse. i know, sounds a bit heavy and brutal. she does an excellent job of exploring how it comes to happen and gives us a main character with lots of grit. (plenty of sex scenes, too – kind of a thing for jj) i didn’t put this book down until i’d devoured every morsel. and then i wanted more. i really hope her next book is on its way.

my source: i heard jj mention it during her talk at the FF&W. and i gushed really pathetic groupie words on her afterwards. she’s hilarious in person.

my recommend: those of you looking for a great read. also read: gods in alabama; between, georgia; and the girl who stopped swimming (weakest of the bunch)

my rating: modern southern fiction at its best