The Opposite of Everyone: A Novel

"I measure the years of my childhood by my mother's boyfriends..." Holy crap, that was a good book! This is the first book I've read by Jackson. I had previously heard of Gods in Alabama and it is somewhere in the middle of the 2000+ books on my to-read list, but someone on a Facebook group shared this book last week when it was on a sale on Amazon for .99 and recommended it. I bought it and added it to the 1000+ unread books hanging out in my kindle library and figured I'd get to it eventually. I have started no less than 6 books in the past three days but I just couldn't get into anything. This morning at work I was scrolling through my library trying to find something to read between calls during my 5 hours in the office and finally figured I'd check this out. After all, I do have 1000 other books to choose from if I decided it wasn't the right book today. 8 hours later I was finished. And trying (and failing) not to cry. That last chapter. Ugh. So. Good. The story goes back and forth between present day Paula, and her life and job as a ball-busting divorce attorney, and her nomadic childhood with her mother, Kai. Despite Kai's faults, Paula practically worships her mom and it's pretty much them against the world. Until Kai goes to prison and Paula goes to a state group home. Paula's world as an adult is pretty empty. She has her cat, Henry, three or four friends, and a sting of exes that she hooks up when she's feeling the need. Otherwise she has her job, which she is very good at, and she feels like she needs nothing else. One day she receives a note from Kai, whom she hasn't spoken to in more than a decade, and her life basically flips upside down. I really liked the characters in this book. Because of the back and forth way the story is told you don't get full character development straight on in the story but it worked. A few times I felt like I shouldn't like Kai but I couldn't help but like her. And then a few times I felt like I shouldn't like Paula because she was such a self-admitted bitch, but she was also pretty bad ass, and well, just likable. I definitely recommend The Opposite of Everyone and I look forward to reading more by Jackson very soon.

As soon as I saw the author of this book I requested it. I didn't even care what it was about. That's how much I loved her book "Somebody Else's Love Story". So, I had no idea what I was in for when I sat down to read it, because I didn't even read the blurb. What a totally different book this one was. And I don't mean that in a bad way. Her first book was one of those that just stayed with you and had you wondering just whose love story was it anyway. This one had you wondering why Kali's mother had to go through a journey before (oops all I can say without a spoiler). Both books left you reflecting and thinking and stayed with you long after I had read them. I would do the same with the next Joshilyn Jackson book. She could write the dictionary and I would read it. Her stories are so good and her characters are so well developed that you really feel like you know them or really want to know them personally. This was a wonderful book that I highly recommend. I'd like to thank Harper Collins/William Morrow for pulling my name out of a hat and allowing me to win this fantastic book. I literally jumped for joy when I got it in the mail as my request was denied on Net Galley. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Before reading this, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the twist in Joshilyn Jackson’s “change” from her usual fare to this seemingly different story. I put off reading it for most of this year. I’ve been trying to find time to catch up and finally read some of these actual books lying around, and I’m so glad I did in this case. The story alternates timeframes, from Kali Jai’s days of childhood, to her years as a Divorce Attorney who goes by Paula Vauss. Her grandmother claimed she misheard the name Kali Jai’s mother gave her as they dragged her back to juvie lock-up, thus her birth certificate bears the name of Paula Jane Vauss. Mother, Kai, serves her time, and the two are reunited, and their bond grows over time. There is a time when Kali is closely bonded with her mother. “Odd to think of myself that way, small and blind and tethered to her. In that time before memory, everything I touched was hers. I heard her voice from the inside, with no idea that she was a separate person. Back then, she had simply been the world.” Things change, people change, and the two girls bouncing around the country, following boyfriend after boyfriend of Mama Kai (whose birth certificate bears the name of Karen Vauss.) A little like the cartoons and songs of old, just follow the bouncing ball, or, in this case, boyfriend. “Boyfriend love is the light on a bug’s back end, flicking on and off across a lawn. It begins with lies and kissing. It devolves into fighting and boredom. It ends with hasty packing and sometimes robbery. It is easily replaced by fresher love.” What I loved about this story was how wrong I was about the story not sounding like a Joshilyn Jackson story. It is still completely her, albeit JJ with a dash of spices. There’s an edgier spin, perhaps, but there’s that signature voice that is still within hearing. What I loved about this story was the blending of the Hindu stories within, the tales upon tales. What I loved about this story was how easily the transitions were between times, how her characters, as ruthless, as broken and dysfunctional as some were, are still worthy of love, and that there is a healing, of sorts. It’s not a Disney healing, and everyone doesn’t get a trophy for participating but healing does occur.

Paula's teenage mother gave birth to her while she was serving time in a juvenile detention center. Upon her mother's release, they lived a hippie/ gypsy lifestyle, moving a at least one a year and reinventing themselves with each move. Fifteen years later, Paula, successful attorney and estranged from her mother, learns her mother has passed away. In addition to this, she finds her entire life had been turned upside down. I really loved some parts of this book but found some parts hard to find believable. I don't want to give too much away by naming those parts; they would be spoilers. Aside from a little credibility, I think if a reader can get past a few things being a bit too coincidental and pasts a couple descriptive bedroom scenes, it's a good book and worth reading.

I would like to thank BookBrowse for a copy of "The Opposite of Everyone" by Joshilyn Jackson. The author writes about family, betrayal, trust,traditions.love and growth.The story centers around a character ,Paula Vauss a successful divorce attorney, and her journey to discover her relationship with her mother, family, and boyfriend. Paula's roots start with a dysfunctional young mother,Kai, who tells stories using Hindu as well as southern tradition. Kai makes many wrong choices, and goes to jail leaving Paula to grow up in a foster system. The children and the foster system contribute to Paula's poor self esteem. Paula feels guilty that she is separated from her mother, and believes that she betrayed her. This starts a pattern when Paula is constantly trying to make amends with Kai. As a successful attorney Paula sends money to Kai, to try to make amends, and mend their relationship. Paula has no address for her mother,just a post office box, and at one point Kai sends the money back with a cryptic note. The story starts off very slowly, but picks up and there are different twists and surprises. Many of the characters in this novel and Paula's life are broken and dysfunctional. I do like Paula and feel that she does show courage and growth. In my opinion this novel has many layers , and is very deep. I would recommend "The Opposite of Everyone" , but please keep in mind it is a heavy read.

"The Opposite of Everyone" by Joshilyn Jackson was a refreshing read for me. I enjoyed the mixture of Hindu Mythology with broken, but colorful reality. It has clever story weaving. Paula Vauss spent her life travelling through the south with her mom, always re-inventing themselves into a new person. They never stayed in one place long enough to actually call it a home. Surprisingly, Kai, Paula's mother finds a place she just may like settling down in. Unhappy with that life, Paula cannot accept that it will be the end to their ever changing and evolving story. She will be forced to live a life that is harrowing for her. It is not at all like the usual story that her mom tells her. Paula makes a choice that changes her life in more ways than she could have ever imagined. I couldn't stop reading. It kept me intrigued from beginning to the end. Jackson made this story so personal that I could feel the emotions coming from these characters. I could smell and taste Kai's famous pancakes, and find myself getting pulled into one of her stories of Kali and Ganesha.

I am awed by Joshilyn Jackson's ability to write realistically-flawed, intriguing characters in addition to an incredibly complex, flawlessly woven storyline and plot. Paula Vauss is written as a strong, smart woman who has no problem telling it like it is. Who she is today has everything to do with her childhood and the choices she made as a kid. This story is about our need for human connection, family, story, as well as what domino effect our choices have in our life. "The wold was full of us, the leftovers and the leavers, the bereaved and the broken." The amount of time to research and painstakingly plot out this story is evident in its quality of content, pace, and emotions delivered. Incredible story. Easily one of the best books pubbed in 2016.

Tough, thirty-something Atlanta attorney Paula Vauss had a vagabond existence as a child as her hippy, mystic mother Kai traveled the Southeast as she met men, even landing in jail at one point due to drug possession. Despite barely communicating over the last fifteen years, Paula receives a cryptic message from her dying mother that she is bringing the past into Paula’s life. Paula with her sometimes boyfriend and investigator Birdwine sets out to track down Kai to find a resolution to her past. Meanwhile she continues her work as a very successful divorce lawyer; finding dirt on wayward spouses is her specialty. The book is a bit disjointed as it bounces among several threads, both past and present. Nonetheless, Paula is a sympathetic character: smart, good-looking, tough, sexy. She is the reason to read the book.

Only disappointment is if there is a next instalment - it's not ready yet! I liked the link to the previous book - picking up the story of Paula and running with it for this book. A trilogy perhaps though I'm not sure if there is another story I am dying to know... Candace's - not sure - glad things turned out the way they did - but more of her...? Joshilyn Jackson is one of my favourite writers so whether another thread is picked up and spun for the next book doesn't matter. I am pretty certain I will be entranced by it.

Loved it