Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind

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) show more 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. show less

Miss Julia is just getting used to being a widow -- and a wealthy one, at that -- when a visitor comes to her door with another legacy she didn't expect: her late husband's nine-year-old son.

This is part comedy of manners, as Miss Julia, childless throughout her 47-year marriage, attempts to do the right thing for the boy while simultaneously coming to a slow boil over her husband's infidelity, part adventure romp as various claimants to the estate attempt to get their hands on the kid, and part velvet-gloved smack at that particular variety of religious belief that insists no woman is capable of managing her own affairs, all wrapped up in small-town manners as sugary and corrosive as sweet tea.

Readers who enjoy Fannie Flagg's novels show more will eat this one up like hot corn bread with honey. show less

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) show more 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. show less

This is not normally the type of book that I usually read, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. It's funny, but also a very interesting social commentary. The main character is somewhat unlikeable at first (though still funny), then pitiful, then admirable. I found that the book was actually very insightful on a number of interesting subjects, including religion and women's rights, but still very entertaining.

One issue I took with the book was the portrayal of Miss Julia's African American housekeeper, Lillian. Lillian was actually my favorite character, but the way she was portrayed initially seemed like a offensive caricature. Her character does ultimately become more developed, but I was put off by the way she was portrayed in the show more beginning of the book. show less

I loved this story...I loved the characters...most of them anyway! You have the "villains" in here like any other story....And their villains were that....Made you love to hate them! No, this isn't fantasy, sci-fi or anything like that...It's just regular fiction. Little bit of a suspense and having you wondering what's going to happen but knowing that things could work out.

Now, Miss Julia, sometimes got on my last nerve...but I adored her! But I could understand why she did some of the things she did and thought the way she did...but it was annoying still mostly because, at the age she is, she should know better...but...even that has a flip side because for so long...things went one way all of her life, and after she got out from under show more those things, they were still deeply instilled in her.

When I saw these books at my local bookstore, I grabbed one of each title that I saw and had to order this one online because it wasn't with the books I bought and this is the first in the series. But I do have the first eight (8) books in what I believe has at least fifteen (15) books total. I'm not quite sure if it has to be read in order, but I do suggest you read this first so that you can understand what's going on in the other books and how things ended up being how they are.

There is very little cussing in this book and Miss Julia and her people are spiritual people but you're not bombarded with it. I really can't say too much more than that without giving spoilers, which I try not to do often.

This was an easy, light read that I will gladly go on to the next one soon. I will read them between other books I am trying to catch up on and/or when I just need a light, cute, make you smile and/or laugh kind of read. show less

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross is a 1990 William Morrow Paperbacks publication.

Miss Julia’s husband suddenly dies, leaving her with a fortune she was not expecting. That’s not the only thing he left behind she wasn’t expecting, though...

An unexpected visitor named Hazel Marie Puckett claims Miss Julia’s recently deceased husband has left her high and dry with no way to care for the son he fathered. As a result, she’s leaving the boy with Miss Julia while she heads off to get an education for herself.

This leaves Julia flabbergasted! Does the whole town know what her husband had been up to? Was she the only one surprised by this young boy who remarkably resembled her husband? With her standing in the community at show more risk, and the local pastor scheming to get his hands on her money, it’s time for Miss Julia to grab some southern grit and stand up for herself….

I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book. I’d collected the first handful of installments thinking this was a cozy mystery series. It is not a mystery series, but a humorous piece of Southern fiction, something I did not realize until it was too late.

The book took me completely by surprise. Some situations are confusing. The author did not explicitly state the year this story takes place in, only suggesting it was somewhere between the mid-eighties and early nineties. Miss Julia is in her sixties and up to the point when her husband keeled over, she had been living the life akin to a 1950s housewife.

She’s entitled, bossy, and has no filter, and is woefully sheltered, but she gets a rude awakening when she realizes she’s the one out of step with everyone else and must scramble to protect herself, her ward, and her fortune.

Miss Julia learns to speak up and speak out, and it’s often hysterically funny. At other times her opinions and internal monologue rankles, and it comes off sounding like a lecture… to the reader, something I’ve grown so weary of. The last place I was expecting to get preached at about social issues was a book published way back in the nineties, which is part of the reason I chose this series in the first place, but no rest for the weary, I suppose.

Overall, the book was almost as out of time as Miss Julia. That said, there were some sweet, heartwarming moments, zany capers, and laugh out loud antics that certainly gave the book the southern charm it advertised. I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series as planned, but despite a few sour notes, it was entertaining enough to keep it under consideration.

2.5 rounded up. show less

I love stories that take place in North Carolina, and listening to a story that takes place in NC is a treat because I love that southern twang.

Miss Julia is full of piss and vinegar, but a true southern bell. She is not, however, a push over. Having been wronged by her husband, then left a widow, she has the surprise of a lifetime when her dead husband's mistress and son show up on her doorstep. Before she knows it, Julia is taking care of a child she didn't ask for, and all hell breaks loose. Cool as a cucumber, she says, "I declare...." and then sets about dealing with everything that comes her way.