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    The Almost Sisters: A Novel
    The Almost Sisters: A Novel
    The Almost Sisters: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Almost Sisters: A Novel

    Written by Joshilyn Jackson

    Narrated by Joshilyn Jackson

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    With empathy, grace, humor, and piercing insight, the author of gods in Alabama pens a powerful, emotionally resonant novel of the South that confronts the truth about privilege, family, and the distinctions between perception and reality---the stories we tell ourselves about our origins and who we really are.

    Superheroes have always been Leia Birch Briggs’ weakness. One tequila-soaked night at a comics convention, the usually level-headed graphic novelist is swept off her barstool by a handsome and anonymous Batman.

    It turns out the caped crusader has left her with more than just a nice, fuzzy memory. She’s having a baby boy—an unexpected but not unhappy development in the thirty-eight year-old’s life. But before Leia can break the news of her impending single-motherhood (including the fact that her baby is biracial) to her conventional, Southern family, her step-sister Rachel’s marriage implodes. Worse, she learns her beloved ninety-year-old grandmother, Birchie, is losing her mind, and she’s been hiding her dementia with the help of Wattie, her best friend since girlhood.

    Leia returns to Alabama to put her grandmother’s affairs in order, clean out the big Victorian that has been in the Birch family for generations, and tell her family that she’s pregnant. Yet just when Leia thinks she’s got it all under control, she learns that illness is not the only thing Birchie’s been hiding. Tucked in the attic is a dangerous secret with roots that reach all the way back to the Civil War. Its exposure threatens the family’s freedom and future, and it will change everything about how Leia sees herself and her sister, her son and his missing father, and the world she thinks she knows.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJul 11, 2017
    ISBN9780062682130
    The Almost Sisters: A Novel
    Author

    Joshilyn Jackson

    Joshilyn Jackson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of ten other novels, including gods in Alabama and Never Have I Ever. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. A former actor, Jackson is also an award-winning audiobook narrator. She lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband and their two children.

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    Reviews for The Almost Sisters

    4.5/5

    461 ratings60 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The beginning did not engage me and I nearly gave up. I’m glad I preserved as I enjoyed the second half.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful, thought provoking, clever story stunningly written and narrated ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️five stars from me
    • 5/5
      Great read, narration was very good… this author delivers every time!
    • 3/5
      This book is ok. There are a lot of nice and vivid descriptions of American south, but the plot doesn't develop too much. Romantic line is booooring and feels fake.
    • 5/5
      Such a great read; loved the juxtaposition of the comic book character with the protagonist’s story
    • 5/5
      the story and how it is told, it has several unsuspected twists.
    • 4/5
      WARNING: contains a few plot spoilers

      I've "read" [i.e., listened to] several of Joshilyn Jackson's books already and I've enjoyed them immensely. I like them so much I look for new books from her. I had just finished "Between, Georgia" before taking up "The Almost Sisters."

      This one felt a bit slow and I grew impatient at times. Many scenes felt predictable. I knew from the beginning with the biracial baby that the "dark secret" would have something to do with a story from the "old south" [which is not old enough...it will take several more generations before the evil of slavery that continued long after in different forms]...the standard powerful white man raping a black woman and the result being a pregnancy. I suspected the elderly "almost sisters" were actual sisters. So much of that was implied by the parallel story of Leia's and Rachel's "almost sisterhood." The unknown was how that would come to be. An alternative plot could have involved the sexual and physical abuse of Emily Birch by her father; or Emily having a secret biracial child killed immediately after birth by Ellis Birch. Either story would explain what Emily does when she feels helpless to stop her father's wretched behavior. Any of the three are pretty much cliches.

      But that's the reality of the old south's legacy--of which white people have been reminded recently, and black people never forgot--as it raised its ugliest of heads with the 2016 election of Donald Trump. The old south has become a parody of itself: the same old stories repeated in countless different forms. It's not really possible to tell an honest story located in the South without some of those "cliches" woven in.

      It's kind of like the way #MeToo stories can begin to sound like cliches--and therefore sound less believable--but the fact is they sound that way because the repetition of the experiences are unrelentingly real. Structurally similar stories make up the reality of structural racism, structural misogyny, compulsive heterosexuality [and more]. Those structures form the foundations, holding up cultural, economic, & political conditions precisely because those conditions are built upon the constant repetition of the same stories.

      Before I go on with that, I need to remind my white cohorts who believe in the superiority of the rest of the country that the same conditions and structures permeate racial and gender relations are everywhere. The ugliest aspects are just better hidden behind politeness & pretense outside the South. [And it's well-hidden & unacknowledged in the "New South" as well]. I learned this experientially when I was shocked by the deeply visceral racism of my own white liberal parents--card carrying ACLU members and organizers against neighborhood "blockbusters"--that arose when my sister became pregnant by & then married a black man from South Side Chicago she'd met at college. Our parents had taught us not to judge people by the color of their skin--and we listened to them. But as my mother told me while trying to get me to talk my sister into an abortion, "we never thought one of you would MARRY one of THEM..." followed by a string of racist epithets.

      That was 45 years ago, and my parents gradually accepted their new son-in-law and brown grandchildren, but the event always serves as a reminder to me that what people say when they know others are listening, and what they say in private when confronted by a crisis that strikes at the very heart of socially significant issues like racism, can be two very different, even completely opposite things.

      Throughout the book I vacillated between wanting to shake Leia, to wake her up to the reality of the two Souths--of which she seemed to be dimly aware, but unprepared to acknowledge--how deeply entrenched the old South was still; and wondering if Jackson herself was blithely ignoring the ugly parts [I mean, after all, we HAD just elected a black president? To so many white people that proved racism was dead]. Especially [but not only] the small town South, which was painted early on as rather idyllic.

      In the end, though, I saw why she had done it that way. It takes readers more innocent than I through the process of revelation along with Leia. Emily Birch had her own reveal, only her experience dramatically more sudden and far more shocking than Leia's. She looksed "straight into the eye of it," so to speak, as she witnessed first hand horror of the legacy of slavery through the eyes of someone she loves deeply. That scene as Emily runs through her options, finding only one she can live with, give the reader a clear, almost breathtaking [in the worst sense], unavoidable vision of the intersections of patriarchy, wealth, and racism: The power it gives certain men to ignore the law, and the near helplessness of the women under it to fight against it. Only the wealthiest of white women have a chance, and then only by subterfuge.

      I was mesmerized by the last several chapters. The unraveling of the mystery at the heart of the story is unexpected. I want to say more about it, but if I do, I will spoil the best part of the book for other readers. I will say only that ending makes up for the plodding slowness [for me] of the earlier chapters.

      The story of Leia's contracted development assignment for her graphic novel serves as a parallel to Leia's own development as a character that to me seems so obvious [I guessed its broader structure well in advance], but again, the details of the ending are still surprising.

      I cheered for the "good guys" all along, desperately wanting them to win out all the while knowing, with Jackson as the author, that yearning would be satisfied. But that reminds me of advice a writer friend of mine gave me for the ending of an autobiographically based story [the couple divorces]. She said to make it fiction. That way I could have the "happy ending" I couldn't have in real life, and that readers would prefer. I said I couldn't do that, because it wasn't true. She gave the lecture I'd given myself many times: that the truth of fiction is a truth beyond the truth of "what really happened."

      I couldn't articulate it then, but for me the "what really happened" of memoir and the "truth beyond what really happened" of fiction are the same. Life never matches up to what one desires it to be. The story one wants rarely happens. Dreams never really come true.

      Then again, there I was, listening to two Jackson books and desperately wanting everything to turn out right in the end for the protagonists.

      Something to ponder for future writing.
    • 5/5
      Cute and very endearing. I love all of JJ’s books, and this may well be her best one so far! The only thing perhaps better than the book itself is Ms. Jackson’s oh so very wonderful narration, making all of her characters so alive they practically bounce right off the “page”!!
    • 5/5
      I love this author, especially all the voices she gives her characters.
    • 5/5
      This book opens with a woman having a one night stand with a man she doesn’t know and he’s wearing a mask. This is not behaviour anyone should endorse. It’s one of the many issues that this book tackles as the main protagonist, Leia tries to deal with the outfall of that night and with her ailing grandmother.It is no spoiler to share that Leia finds herself pregnant from her ill advised decision as the synopsis on the back of the book lets that bit of news out to the reading public. Nor does it keep secret that Leia’s baby is going to biracial. This opens up further discussion which is particularly of interest in this time we now find ourselves living in – in real life as forces have found themselves more emboldened to speak out in support of so called “white supremacy.” Plus Leia is from the South where racial issues are particularly challenging – at least historically if certainly not currently.Just as Leia finds out that she is pregnant she learns that her “perfect” sister is experiencing marital problems and that her grandmother – a grande dame of the town where Leia grew up – is having some manner of serious health problem. It’s a lot for her to have to deal with – plus she has her young niece along for the ride as she tries to give her sister some space to deal with the fallout from her husband’s betrayals. A husband that used to be Leia’s love.Complicated much?You can see why all of these interwoven issues would make for good reading. I’ve not read anything by Ms. Jackson before so I didn’t know what to expect. What I found was a truly readable novel full of quirky and interesting characters – OK, some of them were a touch over the top at times but if you’ve ever lived in a small town you know that these kinds of people really do exist.I enjoyed the complications in this book. The small town life. One of the big family secrets at the center was a bit odd to me and didn’t really add up but I am going to just let it slide because I enjoyed the book otherwise as a whole. It was an act that for some reason didn’t ring true – but perhaps I’m just missing something. The relationships are really what drives this book and they do ring true, like the bells at each of the churches in the tale. (OK – I don’t know for sure that they bells but it made for a good metaphor.)This is a messy book full of all manner of human emotions; love, lust, hate, and forgiveness among others. That is what made it such an engaging read for me. It tackles some big issues and makes you think.
    • 4/5
      Joshilyn Jackson?s books are favorites of mine for the same reasons that I enjoy Fannie Flagg: they reflect regionalism (in this case, the South) that?s unfamiliar to me. Jackson also confronts small town racism in a manner that reflects the change that must come about. This novel centers on Leia, a graphic artist, and on her grandmother Birchie, the center of a small Alabama town, and the secret in her attic (perhaps a tiny bit too predictable). Her books are always strongly plotted and sprinkled throughout with humorous southernisms. Birchie?s afflication with Lewy Body dementia is horrifying and instructive. This is a light, but not weightless, read.
    • 4/5
      I always enjoy Joshilyn Jackson novels and although the Southern Fiction category makes her a draw for many, I like her because of her characters. Her heroines are always flawed - but not in a dark twisty way that makes you uncomfortable, but in the way that makes you want to be best friends with them, because their foibles are similar to yours. And who likes friends that are perfect? Her recent books have addressed some heavier issues - spousal abuse, racial tensions, etc. - and it makes the stories have a little more meat on them. Jackson narrates her own audiobooks and although some authors should only let professionals do this, she pulls it off with spectacular success. Very enjoyable!
    • 5/5
      The author's voice is so unique and endearing. The twists were executed splendidly. The story was amazing, heartfelt, sweet, sad, painful, honest and completely unexpected. And funny as hell. Loved it so much.
    • 5/5
      So good but I love this author.. a sweet and sad story ... and not predictable at all... I love all the characters... well cept the mean cop and his grandma.. well I don’t wanna give anything away. And if u do audible.. the author is reading it. And she is awesome. Loved it
    • 5/5
      Loved the book and the story line. Was not too interested in the comic strip line, to me the book would have been just as good with out it. Loved the narration. Second book of hers I have listened too, will listen to more.
    • 5/5
      A new book from my favorite author! I love the main character in this book. Leia is a comic book artist who wrote her own graphic novel, and now has to create an origin story for the character. She delves deep into the character and starts learning about herself and her relationship with others, particularly her sister. During this time, Leia also finds out that her grandmother’s mind is deteriorating quickly, so she has to go back to Alabama to help out. Not to mention, she’s pregnant from a one night stand, her brother-in-law left his family, and her niece is growing up too fast. There is so much going on in this book, but it’s woven together perfectly, and isn’t too over-the-top in the drama department. Jackson’s writing is gorgeous as always, and her characters come to life so much that I’m still thinking of them.
    • 5/5
      They had great characters and it kept you guessing for most of the book.
    • 3/5
      I give Joshilyn Jackson credit for writing about a tough subject and pulling it off fairly well. I wasn't in love with the narrative of this book, however, and I found myself wanting the main character to STOP TALKING more than once. I also didn't think the graphic novel concept worked very well and it's not a genre that's universally known. I'd recommend this but I think she's done better work in the past.
    • 5/5
      5 stars. Every time I finish one of Joshilyn Jackson's books, I think it's her best one yet. This is no exception. Wow. Just. Wow.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book! It made me smile every time I opened it up! My favorite was Watty.
    • 4/5
      I found The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson to be a satisfying and entertaining read. This author excels in writing about the south in America, and in this book she tackles a family that has more than a few complications. The main character, Leia, single at 38, is a writer of graphic novels and is dealing with a number of issues, some career orientated but also she finds herself pregnant with a biracial child after a one night stand and she is trying to look after her beloved 90 year-old grandma, Birchie who, it appears is suffering from dementia as she openly revealed a marital affair between the new pastor and a parishioner. Meanwhile her step-sister is going through a marriage breakdown so Leia takes on the temporary care of her niece, Lavender. Leia is the author of a popular graphic novel series featuring a super hero, and the author dedicates a lot of time in supplying details of the thought process that goes into the drawing and developing of the series. I wasn’t as interested in this as I was in the family drama.I listened to an audio version of the book as read by the author and it originally felt like a very light read, full of southern charm and humor but as the story develops, the author shines a light on some very serious issues – pregnancy, separation, murder, Alzheimer’s and racism. Jackson creates vivid characters that are distinct and authentic and has placed them in serious, life alternating situations which makes for an interesting read. She also includes a mysterious, old family secret which amps up the drama. I will be looking for more by Josilyn Jackson as this was the second book by this author that I have enjoyed.
    • 4/5
      When 38-year old graphic novel writer/artist Leia discovers she is pregnant, she is not unhappy. But she is single and this is the result of a one-night stand with someone she knows only as “Batman”, whom she met at a comic convention. Before she gets a chance to tell any of her family, she discovers her brother-in-law has been cheating and has left her sister, AND her grandmother is in bad shape with dementia. She must go see her grandmother, Birchie. Birchie is a rich woman who lives in a town that bears her family name and her best friend Wattie has been living with her for a long time, taking care of her. I listened to the audio and it was ok. It held my interest more the further I got into it. The author herself read it, and she did a good job. I could have done without the entire plot of Leia’s graphic novel, though; that bored me, and there was too much of it. But overall, I’m calling this one “ok”. Nothing overly exciting or special, but it wasn’t bad.
    • 5/5
      fiction; family drama/secrets (mostly set in a small Alabama town, with the main character being a successful comic book author/illustrator). Leia's character and the others were really well-fleshed out--the backstory of Leia's "Violence in Violet" comic series also felt very real and complete. This was a book that was difficult for me to put down until I'd finished reading to its conclusion. Definitely looking forward to more from this author.

      I felt the cover of the book was beautiful but somewhat misleading as to its contents--I didn't remember ordering this book until I read the first page (and the inside of the book jacket), and then the teaser details of the plot came back to me.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars.

      The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson is a poignant and thought-provoking novel of secrets, complicated family relationships and the complexity of race relations the South today.

      Just as Leia Birch Briggs is trying to figure how and when to break the news that she is going to become a single mom, her family begins imploding around her. Her "perfect" stepsister Rachel's marriage is in serious trouble but the biggest blow is the discovery that her beloved ninety year old grandmother Birchie is suffering from Lewy Body dementia. With her thirteen year old niece Lavender in tow, Leia heads to Alabama to help Birchie and her best friend Wattie Price put their affairs in order while (hopefully) convincing them to move into assisted living. However, a stunning discovery sets the town's tongues a wagging and an unplanned pregnancy becomes the least of Leia's concerns as she tries to protect Birchie and Wattie from the repercussions from something that occurred in the very distant past.

      Leia is a self-proclaimed nerd who successfully parlayed her love of superheroes and graphic novels into an extremely lucrative career. Her recent attendance at a comic book convention turned out to be a double-edged sword as she enjoys her still unbelievable success as the author of a wildly popular graphic novel while coming face to face with the life she could have been living if not for her fear of getting her heart broken again. This culminates in her out of character decision to drown her sorrows and indulge in a drunken one-night stand with a fan who Leia only knows as Batman (due to his cosplay costume).

      Now trying to deal with the consequences of her actions, Leia has barely come to terms with her impending motherhood when she walks into Rachel's marital disaster. Their relationship is extremely complicated and she is at a loss at how to help Rachel since her stepsister never reveals any weakness to her. In fact, Rachel is typically a force to be reckoned with as she steamrolls her way into "fixing" Leia's problems.

      Distraction arrives in the form of Birchie's very public meltdown and Leia knows it is past time for her to take a firm hand with Birchie and Wattie. She has barely unpacked when the situation with Birchie spirals out of control and Leia realizes her grandmother is harboring a secret that is much larger and more damaging than her impending motherhood.

      With the small town divided along racial lines, Leia experiences an epiphany of sorts that provides her with an answer to a situation she has been wrestling with. It also opens her eyes to the truth about the underlying racial tensions that continue to plague the South in general and her grandmother's small town in particular. This shocking discovery also leads her to a complicated realization about Wattie that leaves in her a moral quandary about the increasingly complicated situation with her grandmother.

      With an astute storyline, delightfully charming characters and a heartwarming small town setting, The Almost Sisters is a riveting novel of healing and new beginnings. Joshilyn Jackson does not shy away from tough subject matter and she handles these difficult issues with humor, sensitivity and perceptive observations that will resonate with readers. I absolutely loved and highly recommend this incredibly entertaining, insightful and heartfelt story.
    • 3/5
      Almost Sisters brought moments of joy and compassion. Leia Birch Briggs returns home to Birchville, Alabama, to care for her paternal grandmother, Emily Birch Briggs. Birchie has many illnesses that lead her to say unexpected things, see imaginary rabbits, and forget herself. Leia must balance her new pregnancy, her step-sister’s shaky marriage, the huge house in Birchville, the contents of a hidden chest in the attic, and her new graphic novel contract. Jackson presents a novel brimming with comic cells, Southern charm, and small town prejudices. Will a biracial baby found love and acceptance in this closed community? I felt the story heartwarming, but the conclusions too easily drawn, because life is not that simple.
    • 5/5
      This is my first novel by Joshilyn Jackson; it certainly will not be my last. I picked up this book looking for a summer read that's pure chick lit. I got so much more. There was romance, marital troubles, and family support systems which are the trademark of what I think of as chick lit. But there was also humor, graphic novel writing, issues of race, and aging disease. The Almost Sisters takes a look at race in America but particularly in Alabama. This novel was so well written and considered that I hated reaching the end.
    • 5/5
      This novel is her best one yet.
    • 4/5
      Another intriguing read by Joshilyn Jackson. This novel is more of a lesson of the difference of the Old South and the New South and being a Northerner it is extremely difficult to imagine that the color line is still rampant. Given the state of our country, this read will wake up other white Northerner to the challenge that greets all people of color.
    • 5/5
      Not my normal read, but what a great read it was! Mystery, family angst, love and unspeakable secrets.
    • 5/5
      Joshilyn Jackson has long been on my “to read” list, but this is the first book of hers that I’ve actually gotten around to picking up. And I loved it.There was so much in the book that spoke to me… from a woman experiencing a pregnancy at an “advanced” age, to the trickiness of navigating life in a small town, to having a grandparent that you’re extremely close to going through medical issues. Jackson brings it all to us through the eyes of Leah, a 38-year-old comic book artist who is unexpectedly pregnant by a man she doesn’t know. When Leah discovers that her grandmother has been hiding some extreme health issues from her, she picks up her life and goes back to small-town Alabama to stay with her and convince her to get help. Along for the ride is her 13-year-old niece, who is escaping a bit of life drama of her own.I loved how Jackson portrays the relationships between the women, the difficulty of trying to help an elderly relative, and the frustration of having family keep secrets from you. There is often so much that is hidden just beneath the surface, but it rarely stays hidden forever. The story also confronts the issue of lingering racism in the South — sometimes hidden, sometimes blatant — as Leah faces the prospect of bringing a biracial child into the world.Joshilyn Jackson will definitely be staying on my “to read” list! This was easily my favorite read of 2017.