About the book

Author: Ross, Ann B.

Title: Miss Julia speaks her mind

Publication: William Morrow, 2000. ISBN 9780061978302.

DAISY audio format narrated by Terry Hayes Sales. CELA library call number DA22137. 290 pages in the paperback edition, 8 hrs., 38 min. as a recorded book.

About the story

In this, the first book in the Miss Julia series, the narrator Miss Julia jumps right in and tells the story of her small, Southern US town in the 1950s. Her very controlling husband having recently died and quite unexpectedly left everything to her, Miss Julia is – for the first time in her life – able to make her own decisions and live as she pleases.

…until the unexpected arrival of her husband’s child, Little Lloyd, whose existence she never suspected. Enter her faithful friend and maid, her scheming pastor (who looks tame next to unfortunate boy’s the televangelist “uncle”), the live-in Sherriff’s deputy, the retired lawyer and the feisty young woman who replaced him, and a riotous cast of characters and local thugs.

There is derring-do, there is trickery, there is excitement. Mental health issues are discussed. The narrator, Terry Hayes Sales, makes an entrancing Miss Julia. She really brings to life the strong, hesitant, worried woman at the centre of the story.

This is a fun, quick read. It’s not earth-shattering, but it is amusing and light-hearted, and it seems to portray its time and place in a compelling if slightly hilarious way. It makes few demands on the reader.

It’s a nice little hit of brain candy for the cottage or to take on vacation. This book is followed by Miss Julia Takes Off, and then by Miss Julia Plans a Wedding, neither of which is available in the CELA library.

Recommended?

A good beach read.