A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

March 21, 2023

Ginny, aka Big, lives with her daughter Liza and Liza's daughter Mosey. Big was 15 when Liza was born, and Liza was 15 when Mosey was born, and Big is hoping that Mosey will break the family pattern now that she is about to turn 15. Liza had a stroke the year before, and Big is responsible for her care as well as working to support the family. When an infant's skeletal remains are found buried in their backyard, Mosey and her BFF Roger decide to investigate.

I love family secrets. My parents and grandparents worked very hard to be beige, boring and middle-classed. Their biggest goal was keeping up with the Joneses (or in their case, the Asches). And this book has lots of family secrets, and also a lot of family love and loyalty. I have read previous books by Jackson and enjoy her tangled family stories with a little mystery thrown in. Fans of Diane Chamberlain and Kate Morton will enjoy Jackson's novels.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

August 1, 2019

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

This is a story about games and people who play them, especially about the worst thing you've ever done (and more than one character has a dark secret).

Amy Whey is living a quiet orderly life and she likes it that way.  She has her husband Davis, her stepdaughter Madison, and baby son Oliver.  Her career as a diving instructor is currently on hold since the birth of her son, but she looks forward to going back to it soon.  About the most exciting thing she does is host her friend Charlotte’s neighborhood mommy book club, which focuses on classical literature and 19^th century comedies of manners.  That is, until a new neighbor named Roux moves in and takes over the book club, insisting that they play a game similar to the high school game of Never Have I Ever.  But the game seems to be specifically aimed at Amy, and Roux hints that she knows all about the past that Amy left behind.  Unless Amy gives her what she wants, Roux will make the information public.

Several party and “icebreaker” games are mentioned:  Never Have I Ever, Mother May I, Truth or Dare, Two Lies One Truth, Spin the Bottle, Bet.

Having read Jackson’s last novel, The Almost Sisters, this title is something of a departure for her.  Probably 20 pages of baby chores could have been omitted (feeding the baby, changing the baby, checking the baby, etc.), but unlike Ruth Ware’s The Lying Game, the baby conversation doesn’t hijack the story.  Several good plot twists kept me turning the pages.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for a review.