Date Started: 4/25/11
Date Finished: 4/28/11
One-Word Summary: ok
I have a confession to make. A while ago my mother sent me a box of books that she had read and wanted to pass along. Sadly most of these books are the type that you pick up, quickly scan the back cover, and then gingerly put down and tip-toe away, hoping no one saw you look at it. This book follows in that tradition except that instead of putting it down, my mother bought it and then sent it to me. Oy.
I was not raised in the "Deep South" so reading the word "sugar" used in such numerous ways was unfamiliar and overly-sweet: sugar, suge (shortened version), sugar-foot (nickname). The saccharine level was unparalleled. Unless you are from the Deep South or have a fascination with it I think this book could get on your nerves, so be warned.
What was really "left unspoken" after the jump.
My main problem with this book was the love story between our narrator, Jo-Lynn and her slightly estranged husband, Evan. We learn that her decision to marry him, on his condition that they will never have children, was something that **surprise** she wasn't happy about. She wasn't happy in their life together in Atlanta to the point that she didn't miss anything about it after returning to Cottonwood. And yet after he comes to Cottonwood she immediately takes him back without resolving any of their issues. It isn't until the final pages of the book, when she has decided to stay in Cottonwood, that this couple spends about two paragraphs worth of collective discussion about what led them to this point in their marriage. I found this unbelievable (and also, I kept wondering why our narrator didn't ever bring up adoption?).
The mystery side of the story, with Stella and Valentine's secrets and the KKK and the hidden room in the house were certainly more interesting than the relationship, but not enough for me to read this book again. It's not the worst book I've ever read but then again, that's not exactly a glowing review.
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