Ann B. Ross

Miss Betty Rose has been telling me how wonderful the Miss Jool-ya books are, and I do declare, this one was mighty entertaining! (It helped to have Betty Rose's lovely southern speech in my mind as I read Julia's words and thoughts.)

I am not quite at "that certain age," and am blessed to have grown up in a less sheltered world and far less confining marriage than those of Miss Julia's era. I nonetheless enjoyed riding along as the newly widowed Julia threw-off the mindset of meek southern womanhood and embraced the joy of thinking for herself - and learning to recognize when she was being patronized and manipulated.

This is a tale with lively characters, a madcap plot, and some very funny (and hysterically subversive, in context) observations about old-time religion, small towns and chauvenism. It's a grrl-power tale for my mother's generation (not that my mother EVER had any problems speaking her mind,) and a delightful read for the rest of us.… (more)