44. Gods in Alabama

I listened to this one as an audiobook, but, I'm counting in on the books read list because, A) It was 8 hours of listening which was far longer then it would have taken me to read it and B) It was a really good story and while I didn't read it, I got the story by listening, so it counts.

Anyway, Gods in Alabama is by Joshilyn Jackson and was a great mix of funny and serious with a lot of family drama and a bit of a love story thrown in. Here's the description from B&N:

Forget steel magnolias-meet titanium blossoms in Jackson's debut novel, a potent mix of humor, murder, and a dysfunctional Southern family. After high school, Arlene Fleet left tiny Possett, AL, for Chicago, vowing never to return. Despite pleas over the decade to come home, Arlene reconsiders only after a sudden visit from a former classmate. In chapters alternating between 1997 and 1985, the story of what prompted the murder of a football hero in Arlene's hometown unfolds tantalizingly. Arlene's not a saint (even if she has made three vows to God), but is she a murderer? Arlene's boyfriend, Burr, is a saint-he's a black man willing to tolerate her bigoted relatives while also honoring her unusual pact with God (which doesn't, by the way, exclude swearing). While written for adults, this novel reminds us again that the teenage subculture is complex and powerful and that unholy acts may be committed in the name of love.