A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty

A Novel

By: Joshilyn Jackson

Narrated by: Joshilyn Jackson

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2011 Joshilyn Jackson (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"A mesmerizing tale of a family coping with the revelation of a secret that will change their lives...Jackson's most absorbing book yet, a lush, rich read with three very different but equally compelling characters at its core." (Kristine Huntley, Booklist, starred review)

"A deeply felt, engaging story." (The Atlantic)

"Highly immersive... a compelling page turner." (Publishers Weekly)

Entertaining enough

While the story itself is entertainment big enough, I found the need to draw stories out to create suspense tiresome, especially after you've guessed what comes next.
But there were a few laugh out loud moments due to turns of phrases that I enjoyed.

I already miss the characters!

I already miss the characters, and I just finished the book. The narrator (and author!) did an amazing job of capturing the nuances of each character - I felt like they became part of my life. The story was part mystery, but not so much that you did not know what was going on. You learned what you needed to know, when you needed to know it. My favorite part about the story is that the characters are flawed, and you love them more for each of those flaws.

I saw another reviewer called this "Southern Chick Lit", which I liked. I'll also add "Intelligent Chick Lit".

Suspensful and Charming Southern Family Drama

I loved this book! This is the story of three-generations of strong women overcoming mistakes and tragedies to move forward with their lives. Well-developed characters worth caring about, plenty of surprises, some mystery, plenty to laugh about and a some to cry about. Joshilyn Jackson's narration is superb and exactly right for this story, which is not always the case when the author narrates. Very satisfying.

Wonderful Story of Family Redemption and Triump!!

I just finished listening to this book in less than a week (Mon-Fri, no weekends!) which should indicate how much I thoroughly enjoyed it. Johshilyn Jackson's voice was great for this story of three intriguing southern women and their journey to get through their "trouble year". I will definitely be listening to more of Ms. Jackson's books, and recommending to my friends.

Outstanding

Well I just found my new favorite author. I just loved this book loved it so much. Highly recommend author and book

excellent storytelling, as always!

Joshilyn Jackson never disappoints, and she has continued to create characters that are easy to fall in love with in A Grown Up Kind of Pretty . I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this book and Joshilyn Jackson's reading of it. The only thing that I felt detracted from the reading was the odd music that randomly played. I kept thinking that I was hearing things, as it didn't seem to correlate with anything that was being read. It was, at most, a minor distraction, and once I realized that it was intentional, I was able to ignore it. I highly recommend this book as yet another phenomenal creation by one of my favorite authors.

Light entertainment

It was hard to tell characters apart because of the narration. The story did not engage me right away but I ended up enjoying the read and would recommend this book for light, casual distraction.

Great Book, It will Get You Hooked on the Author

What did you love best about A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty?

This is a great book and the author's voice and narration is wonderful. I loved the storyline and the mix of chick lit and drama.

Liked Between, Georgia Better

I was up to Chapter 3 before I realized there were different people speaking! None of the voices had different inflections and it was much different in Between, Georgia.

I adored this book

Great book. Sorry it ended. Characters seemed very real. I am going to recommend it to my friends and family.