Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty cover art

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty

By: Joshilyn Jackson
Narrated by: Joshilyn Jackson
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.00

Buy Now for £13.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

My Own Miraculous cover art
The Almost Sisters cover art
The Opposite of Everyone cover art
Gods in Alabama cover art
White Lines cover art
The One I Left Behind cover art
Certain Dark Things cover art
Closer Home cover art
Armadillos cover art
The Weight of Lies cover art
Atlanta Burns cover art
The Blackbird Season cover art
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cover art
My Best Friend's Exorcism cover art
Burying the Honeysuckle Girls cover art
A Prayer for Owen Meany cover art

Summary

A Grown Up Kind of Pretty is a powerful saga of three generations of women, plagued by hardships and torn by a devastating secret, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of family.

Fifteen-year-old Mosey Slocumb - spirited, sassy, and on the cusp of womanhood - is shaken when a small grave is unearthed in the backyard, and determined to figure out why it's there. Liza, her stroke-ravaged mother, is haunted by choices she made as a teenager. But it is Jenny, Mosey's strong and big-hearted grandmother, whose maternal love braids together the strands of the women's shared past - and who will stop at nothing to defend their future.

©2011 Joshilyn Jackson (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"A mesmerizing tale of a family coping with the revelation of a secret that will change their lives...Jackson's most absorbing book yet, a lush, rich read with three very different but equally compelling characters at its core." (Kristine Huntley, Booklist, starred review)

"A deeply felt, engaging story." (The Atlantic)

"Highly immersive... a compelling page turner." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A nice little book, and a good listen

Joshilyn Jackson obviously knows her characters really well, and I think that is why she narrates the book really well, and gives each of the characters their own distinct voice. Initially I wasn't a big fan of her voice and accent, but after listening to the book for a while, she grew on me.

The book is about three generations of Slocumb women, Ginny (Big) age 45, Liza age 30, and Mosey age 15. In the beginning of the book something happens to upset their lives forever, and the book is basically about how each of the women deals with this event.

Ginny, called Big by Liza and Mosey, is the head of their little family, and I fought with her in spirit when she is struggling to keep her girls safe. Liza suffered a stroke, but she is nonetheless a character that will intrigue you. I really like the way Joshilyn Jackson has written Liza's inner world that has been so deeply affected by the stroke. Liza is a flawed character, but that is why I adore her.

****SPOILER****** SPOILER ******** SPOILER ******

The reason I won't give this book 5 stars is because of Mosey. They way she responds to her mother and grandmother often seem unrealistic. If I found out my mother wasn't my real mother, I wouldn't suddenly stop caring about her and my grandmother. She just becomes this ungrateful brat who runs amok. I also could not understand how she could even think Big doesn't know about her real heritage, that just seemed really stupid to me. Any logical person would realise that her smart grandmother would know the truth. The character just isn't very credible. It feels like Jackson tried to create a unique teenager, but instead Mosey comes off as a stereotypical teenage girl (incl terribly annoying frequently used phrases, and text messages, which are read out). that just seemed flat to me. I found myself being incredible annoyed by her at times, but on the whole she was just interesting enough for me to keep listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!