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Reviewed: Apr 30, 2009
No one can love you like family and no one can hurt you like family. I found this to ring true while reading GOING DOWN SOUTH. Olivia Jean has an unstable relationship with her mother, Daisy, which is exasperated by her close relationship with her father, Turk, a man her mother is struggling to hold onto. Daisy is jealous of the time and attention he gives Olivia Jean and doesn't have for her. When Olivia Jean tells her parents she is pregnant at fifteen, for fear of what the neighbors will think, the only option is to send her to stay with her grandmother. Daisy’s relationship with her mother, Birdie is also fragile, so she is surprised when Birdie agrees to take Olivia Jean in on the condition Daisy stay as well.
After settling in with Birdie, Daisy and Olivia Jean are shocked to discover Turk is not keeping in contact with them. This really affects Olivia Jean as she blames her pregnancy on the distance she’s now feeling from her father. As her pregnancy progresses, so does the bond between the three women. Old secrets are revealed and past pain and disappointments are explained. Each of them learn things about each other and themselves that helps to bridge the gaps in their current relationships.
GOING DOWN SOUTH is told from the viewpoint of each of the main characters. Glover incorporates the use of flashbacks to provide the history of how each character came to be the person she is. The strong characterization and plot detail allowed me to become engaged in her fluid and graceful style of writing.
Reviewed by Paula Henderson
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers
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Paula Henderson is an IT Quality Assurance Manager with a book addiction. She is the mother of three children and resides in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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