With empathy, grace, humor, and piercing insight, the author of gods in Alabama pens a powerful, emotionally resonant novel of the South that confronts the truth about privilege, family, and the distinctions between perception and reality—the stories we tell ourselves about our origins and who we really are.Superheroes have always been Leia Birch Briggs’ weakness. One tequila-soaked night at a … weakness. One tequila-soaked night at a comics convention, the usually level-headed graphic novelist is swept off her barstool by a handsome and anonymous Batman.
It turns out the caped crusader has left her with more than just a nice, fuzzy memory. She’s having a baby boy—an unexpected but not unhappy development in the thirty-eight year-old’s life. But before Leia can break the news of her impending single-motherhood (including the fact that her baby is biracial) to her conventional, Southern family, her step-sister Rachel’s marriage implodes. Worse, she learns her beloved ninety-year-old grandmother, Birchie, is losing her mind, and she’s been hiding her dementia with the help of Wattie, her best friend since girlhood.
Leia returns to Alabama to put her grandmother’s affairs in order, clean out the big Victorian that has been in the Birch family for generations, and tell her family that she’s pregnant. Yet just when Leia thinks she’s got it all under control, she learns that illness is not the only thing Birchie’s been hiding. Tucked in the attic is a dangerous secret with roots that reach all the way back to the Civil War. Its exposure threatens the family’s freedom and future, and it will change everything about how Leia sees herself and her sister, her son and his missing father, and the world she thinks she knows.
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I enjoyed this book.
What an interesting read! I’ve never read a book from this perspective and I found it to be bitter-sweet. Thank you so much for portraying African American men in such a positive light.
Something about this story just stuck with me for days. I tried to tell my mom about it but there was just so much history and back story I couldn’t do it justice.
I was surprised at how this book grabbed me and how I couldn’t put it down.
Many emotions are expressed in this book along with many surprises. It is a good read and the reader will think about it for a long time after having finished reading it.
I liked the story line for the most part. I sort of guessed some of it but that was ok
While on some levels I enjoyed the book, overall I found it a little too precious.
I read the book in two days. I loved the character Birdie for many reasons. The main character, Leia and I share a love of Wonder Woman. I know this book will cross my mind in the future and I will reflect on how Birdie kept that secret from her best friend for sixty years. Read the book to find out…sure glad I did!
A really interesting dialogue regarding racism in today’s South was interwoven in to a wonderful story about generations of women taking care and emotionally supporting each other. I highly recommend it…not just another romance full of tawdry, explicit sex.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were realistic and loveable anyway. The plot was also great, with things that can actually happen. Can you tell i’m tired of books with ridiculous plots?
Absolutely Love this book!
It was well written & had lots of twist
Terrible book. I couldn’t get more than 10% in before I quit reading. When a reference was made to a food item looking like the pastor’s penis I immediately deleted the book from my kindle. Really stupid book.
True southern flavor, with busybodies, good neighbors and casseroles.
I loved this book. It wove so many stories together seamlessly. It has a surprise ending. And, it imparts a message concerning racial relations that is relevant to today.
Moving account of all the complicated relationships in our lives and within our families.
Leia Birch Briggs is pregnant with a bi-racial baby from a Batman character she met at a comic book convention. Her step-sister Rachel has been having her own marital problems and to top that off their 90-yr old grandmother Birchie has dementia. Leia discovers that there is a secret in Birchie’s attic that could change the family’s future.
This is a story of mixed bi-racial step-sisters in the south. A beautifully written story full of southern richness and characters.
An interesting story about family secrets. A very entertaining read!
The author again pulls you into the turmoil and friction of family relationships. Sisters are full of love, competition and sometimes hate. This book lets you feel all of those emotions while you are cheering for each character. I bought this book because I loved “gods of Alabama”, I loved this one also. Jackson does it again with “Almost Sisters”.
It’s a well told story, a light read and entertaining but not a book that stuck with me or one I’d recommend for a book club. Some books are nice to read, sometimes I want simply to be entertained and for that this book is good.