0
0
I read a lot of books, and I’m not easy to please. But every once in a
while, a book comes a long that makes me say, “Wow. What a good book.”
And Between, Georgia is one of those books.
The Fretts and the Crabtrees (like the Hatfields and the McCoys) have been
at odds for generations. When 15-year-old Hazel Crabtree shows up at the
home of sisters Stacia, Bernese, and Genny Frett and delivers an unwanted
baby on their living room floor, everyone’s life changes. Stacia Frett,
deaf since birth and slowly going blind, keeps Hazel’s newborn daughter
and raises as her own, raising the heckles of Hazel’s mother, Ona
Crabtree. Years later, when the baby Stacia named Nonny is an adult, life
is anything but easy. Her biological mother took off, and her grandmother,
Ona, won’t let the Fretts forget that Nonny is really a Crabtree. Nonny’s
aunt, Bernese Frett, is a pillar of the community and practically controls
the tiny town of Between, Georgia, to the frustration of everyone. As if
Nonny’s life isn’t tangled enough, throw in an almost-ex-husband Nonny
can’t seem to let go, another man in the wings, and a little girl who
holds Nonny’s heartstrings—and Nonny can’t seem to cut her ties to Between,
despite her efforts to make a life in the city. Then the feud between the
Crabtrees and the Fretts escalates, and suddenly everything spins out of
control.
Make no mistake. If you’re looking for a Danielle Steele-like story, this
isn’t it. Joshilyn Jackson pens a complex, involved story with believable
characters who play on your emotions as you get to know each one of them.
Between, Georgia is a great story that arrives at a satisfying
conclusion without the sap. I really enjoyed it.
Between, Georgia makes its hardcover debut this week. Be sure to pick it up.
