What readers think of The Opposite of Everyone, plus links to write your own review.

An #1 Indie Next Pick, this beautifully layered novel features Paula Vauss (aka Kali Jali) who spent the first decade of her life on the road with her free-spirited mother, Kai. Her mother was a Georgia storyteller who blended Hindu mythology with southern tales to reinvent their family’s history. Soon the mother-daughter bond is fractured landing her mother in prison and Paula into foster care system.

As the story begins Paula is now a tough-as-nails divorce attorney with a successful practice in Atlanta. Even though she hasn’t seen her mother in fifteen years, she does continue her obligation by sending her monthly support monies until the day her last check is returned in the mail, along with a cryptic letter containing words about a final journey, death, and a new beginning when we met again.

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, Paula sets off on a journey of discovery that will take her back to the past and deep in her heart. With the help of an ex-lover and her newly discovered younger brother, she now has to figure out how the other missing family pieces are put back together.

I am a huge fan of Southern writers such as Jackson. In this book she delivers another one of her quirky, Southern-based, character-driven novels that combines writing with a vivid and imaginative storyline. This novel is an intense look at broken people and how they heal themselves and each other through forgiveness, love, and the power of “stories.” “The Opposite of Everyone” has been a bright spot in my last few months of leisure reading. Jackson hits both this reader’s emotional nerve and the funny bone by using evocative language and creating memorable characters to carry her story.

This was the first book I've read of Jackson's and I'll be looking for more. Great characters and a good story.

This is a quirky and engaging story starring almost believable characters. It has everything I like in a novel--a clever and original plot that doesn't get too wrapped up in philosophical lectures--reader has to figure out the subjective, underlying meaning, if any.

You can never really escape your past but it is your past that makes you who you are, whether you chose to use it is another story. Once again, Jackson introduces us to quirky, complicated characters who, whether or not you want them to, touch us in places we don't expect with feelings we are surprised at ourselves.

Paula Vauss has had to reinvent herself so many times during her lifetime it is amazing she has become as successful as she has as a lawyer. It is obvious that her past and upbringing have not only haunted her and driven her but it has also held her back in ways she didn't necessarily fully understand until 1 fateful day when the past alluded to in a long forgotten letter comes to visit and draws out emotions that she never knew she possessed.

I promise the reader will not be able to put The Opposite of Everyone down. It is a complicated web of a story but one that will touch you to the core.

In Joshilyn Jackson's new book "The Opposite Of Everyone" we find main character, Paula Vauss, on a journey of unintended self discovery...Paula is a hard nosed divorce attorney with a very tough outer shell...As the story progresses we slowly peel back the layers of this personality and discover what makes her who she is..This story will not disappoint the many Joshilyn Jackson fans of which I am one. Joshilyn's use of the English language is delightful as always.This book is sure to be another hit and a wonderful wintertime read..

This was a great read from the authors craft of the written word, to a lovely story about a mother and daughter. Having lived through the late1960s as a college student I could relate to the cultural influences of those times.
This novel easily becomes...."well...one more chapter before I finish reading tonight"?

When I first started this book, I wasn't sure if it was for me. New author, unfamiliar territory, etc. But the characters of mother and daughter and other characters were interesting and well drawn. I enjoyed the style of going back and forth in time and between characters and liked how she tied up all the loose ends. I wanted them to win. I could not put the book down and will be recommending this book and author to others. I also liked her wry sense of humor. The plays on words were pleasant surprises. I now want to go back and read her other books. Thank you for creating characters that were believable and real. This book will stay with me for a long time.

I love the writing of Joshilyn Jackson, and her characters and plots, usually what I describe as quirky and active, seem even more so here. For this reason, I was not sure how I would take to this book - the first few pages were stranger than usual. But I am so glad that I persevered. The diverse and deep themes of this book, delivered in frenzy and flashback, take us from southern culture to Karma and may appear dichotomous at times - but in the end - and surprising that ending is - Jackson delivers to her readers one of her richest works in so many ways - one that is truly the opposite of what most everyone who reads it will expect but all will find deeply enlightening and satisfying. So much to think and talk about here.