Between, Georgia

Book review by Jane
I enjoyed this book mainly for the way the characters represented different generations and lifestyles. For instance, one character is the subject’s adoptive mother, who has gone blind and is deaf. The book pulls you in with the strange story of how the main character is born and acquired by the adoptive mother. The main character’s name is Nonny, and she is a deaf interpreter.

The characters seemed real enough, but I had trouble getting past the adoption. It was a strange segment of the story, but it only partially explains an ongoing feud between two families. The feud in the present tense makes sense, but why these families even paid much attention to each other is not clear. I guess it is just because they came from a small town: Between, Georgia.

Nonny’s natural grandmother is an interesting character. She could have had more to do in the story, which is what I felt about some of the other characters. It would be nice to see the characters actually get together somehow, but they do not collide—only come close. Maybe that would have complicated the story and it was part of the story that Nonny was stuck between the two families. It just would have been interesting to see what would happen. But Nonny made sure that it didn’t, for the most part.

I would recommend this book. It does hold a few surprises and an unusual beginning.

Jane.