Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann Ross

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind was on my bookclub list, so I read it. Nice contrast to Abbie Deal in Lantern in Her Hand.

Abbie Deal did what was right. What was necessary. What was expected.

And so does Miss Julia, the character in Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind. But then her husband dies and Miss Julia adapts to her new life where she doesn't feel that she needs to play a role for anybody. So she's in her later years, learning to be opinionated and independent, because she finally feels like she can be.

Funny. Ross is good at dialogue, developing characters, and situational irony. The tale Ross weaves around this character is charming.

My favorite thing about reading Miss Julia is that I KNOW women like Miss Julia who feel they have to play a role, but really are feisty and sassy underneath. They say, "Whatever works for you," when they really want say "No, that doesn't work at all." They say, "I'll have to ask someone else before I give you my opinion," when they really have an opinion of their own. Truthfully, I don't know what to do with these polite, ever-pleasers. I want to say, "Let it out! Level with me! Just tell me what you want!" Maybe it's because I married OLE-DUR and had an opinion plenty long before I got married. So it's incredibly satisfying to read about Miss Julia, finally coming to her own. It's about time, Sister. Sing it.

This is the first book in the series and I'll probably pick up the others eventually if I can find them in the library. Not sure that I need to One Click it buy it on Amazon, but still, fun to keep on my "go back and read the rest of the series" list.