A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

by:  Joshilyn Jackson
published by:  Grand Central Publishing
publish 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.

I discovered Joshilyn Jackson last year and quickly read most of her books.  They are some best Southern fiction you'll find.  When I first heard about this book coming out it went straight to the top of my wish list.  I was not disappointed.

I listened to the audiobook.  Joshilyn Jackson herself narrated this one.  This is a treat because unlike some writers (*cough cough Stephen King cough*) that can't narrate audiobooks, Joshilyn Jackson is awesome at it.  She's got a sweet little voice that's perfect for the story that she's telling and she knows how she wants her characters to act and speak so it makes for fantastic audiobook.

My favorite character in this book was a surprise to me.  I loved Liza.  She was a stroke victim and was mostly paralyzed throughout the book, but she was a little spitfire.  Her original personality wasn't destroyed by the stroke and it still showed with the little tricks she played.  Liza was a fun character throughout the whole book.

This is one of those books that I think has potential to have wide appeal.  Even though this is primarily marketed towards the adult fiction crowd I think the characters are youthful enough to draw in some of the YA crowd.  If you haven't given Joshilyn Jackson a shot yet, this is a great book to start with.