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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A great story with comical and complex characters that draws the reader in – very enjoyable read.
So many fun plot twists in this book! I love this author.
This book is about family, but not the traditional definition. She discusses the “Second South,” dementia. and hidden secrets. The main character is a writer of fantasy comics and weaves the characters in her stories with the story you are reading. The end of the book is a short chapter and not what one might suspect.
This is truly the most creative, entertaining, thought provoking book I have read in a long time. I was sorry when it ended. Maybe it didn’t
I really enjoyed reading this book. I finished it over a weekend because I had trouble putting it down! I loved the family loyalty displayed in the book. The characters have their mess-ups, but they all are trying their best. And even though it was witty there is a really deeper meaning in this book.
Not what I expected, but a great read.
Enjoyed the book but, thought the ending was a little rushed
Really good book. Unexpected turns.
Great book with many twists and turns across many generations of family.
I didn’t really like the graphic novel aspect of the book.
I did not like this book and could not get through it.
I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
Joshilyn Jackson is unparalleled at creating memorable characters, hysterically funny dialogue, and stories that catch the heart. I adored this book. This one also had a mystery at the heart of it that was absolutely compelling and ultimately heartbreaking. If you have not read this book yet, you absolutely should.
A book to read,if you just want a quick read,that’s just entertaining!
Really enjoyed.
Redefined family on many different levels. A very good read.
One of my favorite Southern storytellers
A wonderful book; rich with story, tears, laughter, and a great cast of multi generational characters. I stayed up half a night to finish it!
This book sounded good with the description of a trip to the deep south to assist a grandmother with dementia, and the discovery of a secret in the attic. I stuck with it for the sake of the mystery, but unfortunately, while the plot was good, I wasn’t impressed with the story-telling or the narration, so I found the book less than satisfying.
I loved this book. Very funny and also poignant.