3.7 out of 4 stars.

“I was born blue.”

I picked this book up blindly at the library. Meaning I hadn’t heard much about it (most likely since it is a new release as of this past February) but the title intrigued me. Who wouldn’t want to know what the opposite of everyone else means about someone?

In this case, the title is referring to Paula Vauss, the lead character of Joshilyn Jackson’s “The Opposite of Everyone”. Vauss’ current life is a bit erratic. She is a divorce attorney that takes no prisoners. Her love life is dismal after breaking up with her alcoholic ex, Birdwine, and she just found out she has a brother that she never knew existed. Her attitude with all these low blows and negativity is surprisingly light. She is used to the universe not handing her a cake walk.

Let’s just say her life hasn’t been all roses and rainbows. Her background consisted of her following her wacky mother around the South shacking up with the boyfriend of the week. Each one having a not ideal track record. Finally, Vauss’ mother, Kai, has her luck run out. The cops got a tip about mysterious activity going on and they took her to jail. This left Vauss apart of the system and pining for her mother back. She knew that her mom was a good person but just made wrong choices in men. After months and months of being in foster care they finally reunited. However, the secrets that Paula kept from her leaked out.

The humor in this book is very mature and sharp. Although seeming like just another adult contemporary with crazy boyfriends and mixed up families the main plot falls on the unique idea of Southern storytelling and the Indian culture.  What an unusual pairing! I love how Jackson played around with the current and the historic. It left the reader switching between a dream like state and the harsh realities of society nowadays.

I recommend this interesting read. It isn’t like many others I have picked up. Also, funny how I selected it randomly. Seems fitting!