On Tour: The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson #TheOppositeOfEveryone

The Opposite of Everyone

The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson
Paperback, 320 pages
Published October 11th 2016 by William Morrow Paperbacks 

A fiercely independent divorce lawyer learns the power of family and connection when she receives a cryptic message from her estranged mother in this bittersweet, witty novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Someone Else’s Love Story and gods in Alabama—an emotionally resonant tale about the endurance of love and the power of stories to shape and transform our lives

Born in Alabama, Paula Vauss spent the first decade of her life on the road with her free-spirited young mother, Kai, an itinerant storyteller who blended Hindu mythology with southern oral tradition to reinvent their history as they roved. But everything, including Paula’s birth name, Kali Jai, changed when she told a story of her own—one that landed Kai in prison and Paula in foster care. With the two of them separated, each holding her own secrets, the intense bond they once shared was fractured.

These days, Paula has reincarnated herself as a tough-as-nails divorce attorney with a successful practice in Atlanta. While she hasn’t seen Kai in fifteen years, she’s still making payments on that karmic debt—until the day her last check is returned in the mail, along with a mystifying note: “I am going on a journey, Kali. I am going back to my beginning; death is not the end. You will be the end. We will meet again, and there will be new stories. You know how Karma works.”

Then Kai’s most treasured secret literally lands on Paula’s doorstep, throwing her life into chaos and transforming her from only child to older sister. Desperate to find her mother before it’s too late, Paula sets off on a journey of discovery that will take her back to the past and into the deepest recesses of her heart. With the help of her ex-lover Birdwine, an intrepid and emotionally volatile private eye who still carries a torch for her, this brilliant woman, an expert at wrecking families, now has to figure out how to put one back together—her own.

The Opposite of Everyone is a story about story itself, how the tales we tell connect us, break us, and define us, and how the endings and beginnings we choose can destroy us . . . and make us whole. Laced with sharp humor and poignant insight, it is beloved New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson at her very best.

My thoughts about The Opposite of Everyone ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—'I was born blue. If my mother hadn't pushed me out quick as a cat, I would have been born dead and even bluer; her cord was wrapped tight around my neck.'

I have been wanting to read one of Joshilyn's books for some time now. I actually saw her at a book signing several years ago and got a couple of her books, one for me and one for a friend. But that book is sitting on my shelf right now, waiting for me to pick it up and read it. Isn't that how it goes sometimes?

The Opposite of Everyone is a wonderful read with some very interesting characters. Paula has had an extremely rough life, with a mother who is just a little bit eccentric and not always there for her. And then one day, a stranger pops into her life and starts her on a journey to reexamine her life and to find some answers.

Like I said, there are some great characters and I especially I loved the relationship between Paula and Birdwine. There is some chemistry there but is that a good thing or is it like dynamite?

I am so glad that the first book of Joshilyn's that I read was The Opposite of Everyone. This was a excellent read that I thoroughly enjoyed and I can't wait to read more of her work. I am definitely going to get that other book down off of the shelf now.

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I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Purchase The Opposite of Everyone

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About the author

Joshilyn Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of six previous novels, including gods in Alabama, A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, and Someone Else’s Love Story. Her books have been translated into a dozen languages. A former actor, she is also an award-winning audiobook narrator. She lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband and their two children.

Connect with Joshilyn

 Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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