Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson (book #64)

I've been meaning to write this post for a while; in fact the reason I haven't written a book post in so long is that I needed to write this one first. I was sent a book to review back in June and I've been procrastinating ever since, for fear of not saying the right thing. What if I misrepresent it and put people off? What would I do if I didn't like the book? And even if I did, wouldn't they be expecting a real book review, not just my usual few-sentence-long synopsis? Luckily, I did enjoy the book, although not unreservedly.
The central character is Nonny Frett, the adopted daughter of Stacia, who was born with Usher's syndrom, meaning she was deaf from birth and went blind during Nonny's childhood. Nonny is caught in the middle of the antagonism between her adoptive family and her biological family, the Crabtrees, who resent the fact that her teenaged mother gave her up to the Fretts when she was born.
At the time of the book, Nonny is 30 and, as you might guess from the title, the story revolves around her position in the middle of a number of conflicts in the tiny town of Between. Not only does she have adoptive and biological families who hate each other, she also has a husband she's trying half-heartedly to divorce and a male best friend (sorry, did I just ruin the ending for you?), who's also a Crabtree, and she's taken responsibility for protecting her Aunt Bernese's granddaughter from the worst of the aunt's domineering nature.
Despite her aunt and mother's strong temperaments, Nonny is fairly content to go with the flow and let circumstances make decisions for her. When things come to a head and Nonny's other aunt, gentle and anxious Genny, is savaged by the Crabtrees' dogs a couple of days before the divorce date, she has to try to figure out what she actually wants from her life and find the strength to make that happen.
I'm aware that my description makes it sound like "one of those novels. You know, three generations of women blah blah blah. Triumph over adversity. After many trials, it all turns out okay in the end", but I think that's unavoidable. It is one of those books (in a way The Family Tree, from which that quote comes, wasn't), but that doesn't mean it's a bad book.
Sure, there were a few things that jarred my inner book snob out of the world of the book. I would have cut a few of the cliches, like the loser-ish husband's apartment being furnished in "Early Piles of Crap", and the exaggerated description of how long it took to make a cup of plain coffee with the fancy machine. I didn't quite buy all the dramatic enmities and some of the set up tension seemed slightly forced and fell flat as a result, especially on a second read. These flaws didn't stop my heart from pounding as the book reached its dramatic climax, though, or prevent me from caring about the characters, who were real and complex.
I think what ultimately lost the book my whole-hearted approval was the fact that the meaning of deus ex machina (a key plot point) was spelled out in detail, which perhaps shows how much of a book snob I really am.
In the end, I thought it was a sweet, engaging book with interesting characters and a satisfying ending. If you're not a book snob, I'd definitely recommend it, and even if you are, I think it's a perfectly enjoyable read.