“I was born blue.” Joshilyn Jackson’s seventh novel, THE OPPOSITE OF EVERYONE, starts with Paula Vauss’ precarious entry into the world. Kai, her young mother, was in the middle of a sentence in juvenile hall and, due to her fascination with folklore and mythology, named her daughter Kali after the Hindu goddess of destruction. “You can’t think of Kali in such a Western way,” Kai explained to her confused daughter when she was old enough to question the origin of her name. “Kali destroys only to renew, to restore justice. Kali brings fresh starts…” And with that simple query, the groundwork for young Paula’s life was pretty much set, whether Kai knew it or not. But as Paula reflects back on the moment, she thinks “To be fair, the first time I asked her, I had yet to ruin her life.”

Chaos became a familiar theme in young Kali/Paula’s life. Following her transient mother around, living with whichever boyfriend/lowlife Kai was into at the time did not make for an easy childhood. She would “measure the years of my childhood by my mother’s boyfriends… My story is a Frankenstein’s monster made of stolen parts… The only constant in my childhood is us.” When a tween Paula senses that her mother might be getting ready to make another move, leaving behind a place where she finally has been able to carve out a life for herself, with regular school attendance and friends, she calls 911 to report her mother’s boyfriend growing pot. Perfect plan, she thinks. The latest dirtbag boyfriend will go to jail, and Kai and Paula will stay in Asheville.

"You never really know where you’re headed or what’s around the corner in this story, but in such competent hands, you’re completely happy to be along for the ride. And one can certainly hope that Jackson will revisit this feisty character again in future books."

What Paula didn’t anticipate is that her mother also would be implicated when the police raided their home. Kai was arrested along with the boyfriend and sentenced to multiple years in prison, while Paula went into the foster care system. She spent the rest of her life regretting that phone call: “The day I called 911, I was a child myself, unable to predict the consequences. Dwayne and Kai were the adults, and they both regularly indulged themselves in felonies and misdemeanors. They’d both done time before, and their choices made it likely they’d do more… Yet that intellectual understanding didn’t change the way I felt, when I thought of how our lives unfolded, after.” 

Despite not being in Paula’s life, Kai’s presence casts a big shadow --- during her time in foster care, and college, even law school. And, most palpably, on the day an envelope marked “Return to Sender” arrives at her office in Atlanta. Paula had sent a check to Kai care of a Texas post office box every month for almost 16 years, mostly as a way to assuage her guilt. Along with the returned check, Kai had written a note. “It was more than a note. It was an epitaph…” She cryptically writes of having terminal cancer with only weeks to live. “I am going on a journey, Kali. I am going back to my beginning; death is not the end. You will be the end. We will meet again, and there will be new stories. You know how Karma works.”

This curious note sets Paula off on a journey of discovery, not only about her mom and the secrets Kai kept from her, but also of herself and who she was meant to be. She can’t do this alone, though. With the help of Birdwine, her ex-flame and investigator she often works with on her most difficult divorce cases, Paula sorts through the seeds of her mother’s destruction that ultimately will lead to a new beginning for her family.

Jackson has created a compelling new character in Paula Vauss, who is tough as nails because she has to be. She’s also a kind-hearted soul who, despite being hurt so many times before, still possesses the ability to open herself up to trust people again. Despite the southern upbringing, you wouldn’t describe her as a “steel magnolia.” She’s hardier than that. Plus, she’d probably punch you for saying such a thing. She’s spent her life wrestling with the guilt of her childhood and trying to prove she’s not her mother’s daughter. Her relationship with Birdwine is also touching and genuine --- not perfect but real. Seeing a woman trying to reconcile with her painful past while also attempting to sort out her future is something many readers can relate to and respect.

You never really know where you’re headed or what’s around the corner in this story, but in such competent hands, you’re completely happy to be along for the ride. And one can certainly hope that Jackson will revisit this feisty character again in future books.