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Backseat Saints  By  cover art

Backseat Saints

By: Joshilyn Jackson
Narrated by: Joshilyn Jackson
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Publisher's summary

Rose Mae Lolley is a fierce and dirty girl, long-suppressed under flowery skirts and bow-trimmed ballet flats. As "Mrs. Ro Grandee", she's trapped in a marriage that's thick with love and sick with abuse. Her true self has been bound in the chains of marital bliss in rural Texas, letting "Ro" make eggs, iron shirts, and take her punches. She seems doomed to spend the rest of her life battered outside by her husband and inside by her former self, until fate throws her in the path of an airport gypsy - one who shares her past and knows her future. The tarot cards foretell that Rose's beautiful, abusive husband is going to kill her. Unless she kills him first.

Hot-blooded Rose Mae escapes from under Ro's perky compliance and emerges with a gun and a plan to beat the hand she's been dealt. Following messages that her long-missing mother has left hidden for her in graffiti and behind paintings, Rose and her dog Gretel set out from Amarillo, Texas, back to her hometown of Fruiton, Alabama, and then on to California, unearthing a host of family secrets as she goes. Running for her life, she realizes that she must face her past in order to overcome her fate---death by marriage---and become a girl who is strong enough to save herself from the one who loves her best.

Backseat Saints will dazzle listeners with a fresh and heartwrenching portrayal of the lengths a mother will go to right the wrongs she's created, and how far a daughter will go to escape the demands of forgiveness. With the seed of a minor character from her popular best-seller Gods in Alabama, Jackson has built a whole new story full of her trademark sly wit, endearingly off-kilter characters, and utterly riveting plot twists.

©2010 Joshilyn Jackson (P)2010 Hachette

What listeners say about Backseat Saints

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not my Favorite Joshilyn Jackson Book

I read this book immediately after Gods in Alabama (Rose Mae in this book was a minor character in Gods) - and I give a lot of credit to the author for showing us how different one story can be based on someone's perspective. The Rose Mae in Gods in Alabama was NOT the same person in this book, yet she IS the same person. Without spoiling the story - we got to revisit two specific scenes from Gods and see them from a whole new perspective. Kudos to the author for that.

I *adored* Gods in Alabama and Grown Up Kind of Pretty. Those stories incorporated many characters and kept moving between characters to weave a story together. This book concentrated on one character (Rose Mae Lolly) - and a good percentage of the book is Rose living in her own head. She's as flawed (if not more) as the characters in Joshilyn's other books - fleeing her life as Rose Mae to be "Ro", then someone else completely -- and in the course of one paragraph, she will be Rose Mae one sentence, then Ro another, then some else another ... I get that she is trying to find out who she is, however this style of writing did not do it for me.

I was bored at some points during the book, but kept listening to see how the story tied together. In the end, I missed the depth that her other books had - this book, although deep in the development of one character, left me wanting for more layers with more characters.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This book has potential but lacks something too

I read the reviews of other readers before I purchased several of Joshilyn Jackson's books, and I purchased this one because it had some great reviews. My mistake.

I was on the edge of my seat during the 1st part of it. When she ran away from Texas on the search for the gypsy, I thought that it was really going to turn out good. However, I was wrong. It just left this reader wanting more. The way that it ended was just wrong. I wanted to see her actually develop a relationship with the characters towards the end of the book. I wanted to see her finally have a relationship with the mother that didn't raise her. I wanted to see forgiveness for several family members that she refused to give. I wanted her to find a really good man who treated her good, spoiled her, didn't always accuse her of things that she wasn't guilty of.. One who would love her until the end of time.. There was the possibility of such with the landlord, but this wasn't ever explored enough to satisfy this longing for her. She needed to explore things with him so much deeper than the author wrote about. There was just a lot left hanging, perhaps for a new book.. I don't know.

To sum it up, Rose Mae Lolly just has a lot of anger in her soul that she refuses to let go of. Anger can be a good thing in some cases, but in this one she had so much potential, and the author just ends the book in such a way that you know she will always be angry and unfulfilled. I was disappointed in this book by the end of it. Unfortunately, I purchased several of her books at the same time, and I have had some trouble getting through "A Grown Up Kind of Pretty," but that is another review for another day.

The book would probably have been a bit better if another narrator was chosen for it. The author doesn't lend anything to the reading. She doesn't change her voice for male voices, and all of the women have some variance of the same voice for Rose Mae. She really should have let the narrators at the publishing house read the book. I think it would have been a bit more exciting and edgy if she did.

I won't say that the book isn't worth your credit. The content is decent. It is just slow in parts and plain boring in others. I think it could have been way more exciting given the excerpt that lures one into buying it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Another good one by Jackson

This was my third book of Joshilyn Jackson's to listen to. I enjoyed it as much as the other ones. Her southern chick-lit stories are entertaining. Jackson does a good job as the narrator too.
If you are wondering which of Jackson's books you should listen to, I would say starting with the best 1. Gods in Alabama 2. Backseat Saints 3. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. I have just started A Grown-up Kind of Pretty. So far, it is as good as the others.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Not for me

This book is a long ranting tale of a disfunctional alcohol and substance abusive family. I can't even feel connected to the women who is the main character. The narration is sickeningly southern, and gets really hard to listen to. I'm sorry I bought this book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow! What a great book!

At first I was hesitant to select this book because of its subject matter--domestic violence. However, the story is beautifully written and exquisitely well read by the author. Several times, I wanted to pick up the phone to quote a particularly brilliant line or two to my daughters. Joshilyn Jackson surprises me with every new book. I loved the characters and hated to come to the end.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Ok, not great

Decent book, ending a little surprising and the narration a bit over the top but decent book. Not my favorite by a long shot but it was ok to the end. I live in GA and sometimes the southern accent just about killed me with the way 'those' people talk. Be forewarned, a lot of southern generalities included in this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Listen

I love listening to Joshilyn Jackson reading her own books. This was a great story. I have listen to two of her books so far and loved them both. Looking forward to reading more.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good, but not great

Between Georgia was a favorite, so I guess that it is guage at which I am judging Backseat Saints. Everything was done well, but there were just too many unnecessary details, making it complex but not for reasons that I could figure out. Quite a bit of domestic violence, so I wouldn't call it light, summer reading...

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

A slog

Way too much meaningless description, and a painful journey. I finished it, but somewhat reluctantly.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

This Book is Definitely Worth The Credit!!!

I don't normally leave written reviews, check the stars, sure, but I had to on this one, I was drawn to the main character in this story which surprised me after having a brief introduction to Rose May Lolly in "There are Gods in Alabama". She had many more dimensions than I gave her credit for, The tale was well told and many times I caught myself wondering how the characters where doing when I didn't have time to listen. I just love Joshlyn Jackson's writing and narration. She has the southern girl drawl and small town life drama down! She writes in such a way I feel like I am there with the characters. She makes me laugh, cry and enrages me from time to time. I have been reading/listening to books for decades and have never been able to answer when asked who my favorite author is, I can now, it is Joshlyn Jackson. The first book I read was there are Gods in Alabama, followed by Backseat Saints, now I am on to Never Have I Ever, I am sure it will not disappoint, none of her other books have,

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