A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A pot-boiler! I listened to this on my recent drive to Madison, Wisconsin to attend a writers' workshop and it kept me occupied the entire way (eight hours).

This story is told from multiple viewpoints: Big/Ginny, the 45-year-old grandmother; Little/Liza, the 30-year-old mother; and Mosey, the 15-year-old daughter and granddaughter. Liza has had a stroke, caused by extensive drug use in her extreme wild-child youth, and they all live together and take care of each other. Early in the book, a metal box is unearthed in the back yard. The box contains the bones of a newborn baby, along with a blanket and toy that Ginny recognizes. Liza can only make limited, garbled noises, so Ginny and Mosey separately try to find out what happened and if Liza was involved.

Each character is well-developed, and the story is intriguing, disturbing and realistic. It's a feel-good mystery/mother-daughter tale/coming of age story.  Enjoy!


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