I thought the book was very enjoyable. The ending is a surprise and tells you how close a family relationship can be.

The book "Gods in Alabama" was quite an appealing read. I enjoyed the twists and turns of Arlene's personality and her "struggle" with the ones around her that she loved most. All of her relationships were complicated, especially the one with herself and the one with God. I recommend this book with no reservation if you are looking for an easy, enjoyable read with minor "suspense" and an unpredictable ending!

The book was an easy read. However, I found the characters' reactions to situations to be unrealistic. And, the development of the characters was not fully completed.

I enjoyed the writing style that the author used. Knowing the characters thoughts during different situations, at times, were quite humorous. Reading the evolution of the main character's ascent from adolescence to adulthood was at times sad, but it did make for interesting reading. Overall the book was good and gives a small peak into a slice of the South that may not be familiar to most.

I was quite interested in finding out if Arlene pact with God really work or if someone else had killed Jim Beverly.
Over all this book was an easy read. The author made it easy to keep up with the characters in the book.

I found this book to be an easy read. However, the characters were not well developed. The author jumped around a lot. Thus , it was alittle difficult at first to know that the author kept going back to Arlene's past. The transition was not well done. Some of the conversations held between Arlene, her family members and Burr were not realistic. I did not like the book at all. I felt that Arlene's character was very selfish and a little complicated. The author tried to do some psychoanalysis on her character which I found to be quite shabby. I did not get anything from the book except for the incredible love that Aunt Florence had for her child, Arlene and her entire family. Twisted as she seemed, she would do anything to protect them. That's about all.

This book is about normal people, and how we may put people on a pedstal forgetting that they are just people. Also forgiveness is at the heart of this book. We have to move past hurts and past expectations to get to the truth.

Arlene or 'Lena, must learn to live with herself before she can come to terms with the varied events of her childhood. She learns to grow up and to accept herself, then she sees the relationships in her life as what they are, real, heartfelt love and care, not just tenuous strings but lifelines.

This book was entertaining enough but I found it lacked any sort of real depth. I could not identify with the characters and found myself with the "so what" attitude very often. It was an interesting read but ultimately, it was not one of my "You've got to read this!" picks.

Our club enjoy this book and it did provide a good discussion base. We found many different ways to talk about the book and what was going on with the characters. This is a great summer read since it is easy to pick up and just start reading.

We thought this turned out to be a good book club selection. It generated a lot of discussion about the South, racism, relationships, keeping secrets, bargaining with God, perceptions. Some of us knew people who were like Aunt Florence. A few of us were embarassed about the R-rated antics of Arlene/Lena, but most felt that it all tied into the story.

I picked this up on sale and then could not put it down! If you are from the south you will love the quirky relatives and their relationships and giggle at the dialogue. But the tone changes part way through and there is also a good mystery that you can't figure out til the end.

I liked this book, but there were elements of it that were too far-fetched. I wish the author had explored the relationship between Lena and Burr a bit further, and hadn't glossed over the racial tensions so much. There were a lot of brilliant themes in this book, but it was ultimately missing something. It did spark some good theoretical discussions, however.

I read Backseats Saints first and loved it, so I couldn't wait to read this one. While it was interesting to hear another point of view I didn't care for it as much. Maybe I would feel the opposite if I read this one first.

Audio book performed by Catherine Taber -- 3.5***

I have to admit I was engaged and fascinated by the thought processes of the teen-age (and “adult”) Arlene. Assumptions are flung around by everyone, leading even the principle players astray. I was sure I had it figured out, only to be surprised – not once, but twice.

This is a fun, quick Southern gothic read. Jackson doesn’t dwell for long on the dark side – thank God, because it IS pretty dark. Instead she gives the reader plenty of diversions as Arlene and her cousin (practically sister) Clarice Lukey wend their way through high school and young adulthood.

Catherine Taber does a great job performing the audio book. Her southern accent is spot on perfect. Her pacing is brisk enough to maintain suspense and interest, but slow enough to allow the reader to absorb it all. My only quibble with the audio is the totally unnecessary use of background music to set the scene. I really do not need “spooky” music as a background to the darker scenes in order to understand the setting and importance of what is happening. Lost ½ star there.

I had trouble with the first 2 chapters and didn't think I would like the book but, kept reading since it was for book club. I'm glad I did. I really enjoy stories that deal with human relationships and have interesting characters. People have different perspectives about a situation due to their past experiences. While we may not agree with how a person handles a situation or the choices that person makes, it's interesting to look at it from their perspective and try to understand. Useful tool for real life too!