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Different Roads
When Jaycee Stevens is six years old, her mother dies and leaves her with an abusive drunk of a father who only remembers she’s there when she gets in trouble. She grows up a foul-mouthed hellion who doesn’t take crap off anyone, and she lives in fear of anyone finding out she's also a love-starved little girl terrified of the dark. By the time she's seventeen, Jaycee has outrageous behavior down to an art. Her intrepid spirit carries her to college on an athletic scholarship, but she's tripped up there by a poor little rich boy on the baseball team named Bud Stanton. Bud hides in a bottle just like Jaycee's old man, and the last thing she wants is to get mixed up with another drunk. He's everything she despises, and she wants him more than she's ever wanted anything. When she finally stops fighting her attraction to him, they fall hard for each other, and God help anyone who gets caught in the crossfire.
Jaycee and Bud are an emotional paradox: drawn to each other because they're so much alike, and constantly at war for the same reason. They fight as frequently and as physically as they make love, but Bud's arms are the only place Jaycee has ever felt safe from the terror of her recurring nightmares. Their rollercoaster life is gritty, touching, and funny, and just when they think they've made it safely to the end of their wild ride, Jaycee's childhood comes back to derail her when she has to go home and face her biggest fear: What happened to her in the dark?
Jaycee and Bud are an emotional paradox: drawn to each other because they're so much alike, and constantly at war for the same reason. They fight as frequently and as physically as they make love, but Bud's arms are the only place Jaycee has ever felt safe from the terror of her recurring nightmares. Their rollercoaster life is gritty, touching, and funny, and just when they think they've made it safely to the end of their wild ride, Jaycee's childhood comes back to derail her when she has to go home and face her biggest fear: What happened to her in the dark?
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Sterling Scarbrough
21 books44 followersJoyce is an intelligent Southern woman weary of seeing herself and her peers portrayed in books and movies as either post-antebellum debutantes or barefoot hillbillies á la Daisy Duke, so all her heroines are smart, unpretentious women who refuse to be anyone but themselves. In addition to her novels, she has short stories featured in several anthologies.
Joyce has lived all her life in southern Alabama, she's the mother of three gifted children, and she's been married for over 30 years to her husband Tony—a public school teacher, coach extraordinaire, and the love of her life.
Joyce has lived all her life in southern Alabama, she's the mother of three gifted children, and she's been married for over 30 years to her husband Tony—a public school teacher, coach extraordinaire, and the love of her life.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 5, 2010
Different Roads, by Joyce Scarbrough, is a coming of age novel that will hold your attention from beginning to end. Her characters are complex and troubled, but they will immediately grab your attention as they seek to conquer their own private demons. The main character, Jaycee Stevens, carries you on an emotional rollercoaster ride as she attempts to hide her loneness and pain through her outrageous behavior. Her problems are logical and believable, emanating from the loss of her mother at an early age and an abusive father who neglects and ignores her. Jaycee’s outspoken behavior is sometimes shocking, but nevertheless plausible in the turbulent world Ms. Scarbrough has created. I like a plot that is logical, yet remains unpredictable. This story supplies all of these elements and much more. You will, in fact, find yourself holding your breath at times, wondering if Jaycee can possibly get in any more trouble than she has already encountered.
While there are many strong points to this novel, I especially liked the characters. Despite her personality flaws, Jaycee is adorable in a way that is almost unexplainable. Her brash attitude, her impulsiveness, her lack of social grace is captaining, and makes us wonder if we could have done any better if faced with the same predicament. There is a great temptation for me to delve too deeply into the plot and spoil the surprises of this fascinating story for the prospective reader. There are many twist, turns and surprises along the way, and you will come away from it wondering if this story is real. I’m looking forward to reading Ms. Scarbrough’s next novel. I hope there will be many more and each of them will find their way to the special place I have prepared for them on the shelves of my bookcase.
Joe Prentis
While there are many strong points to this novel, I especially liked the characters. Despite her personality flaws, Jaycee is adorable in a way that is almost unexplainable. Her brash attitude, her impulsiveness, her lack of social grace is captaining, and makes us wonder if we could have done any better if faced with the same predicament. There is a great temptation for me to delve too deeply into the plot and spoil the surprises of this fascinating story for the prospective reader. There are many twist, turns and surprises along the way, and you will come away from it wondering if this story is real. I’m looking forward to reading Ms. Scarbrough’s next novel. I hope there will be many more and each of them will find their way to the special place I have prepared for them on the shelves of my bookcase.
Joe Prentis
March 23, 2012
Different Roads is the gripping story of Jaycee Stevens, a foul-mouthed hellion who lost her mother at a young age, and lives with her drunken, abusive father. Nothing can shatter her tough exterior except for maybe Bud Stanton, a poor little rich boy who mirrors Jaycee's soul. Their similarities cause them to love hard and fight even harder. Finding a happy medium in their relationship seems impossible, but before the story's end, two broken people learn that love can truly fix even the most damaged souls.
Joyce Scarbrough is a brilliant story-teller. She breathes life into her characters and they follow you right off the page and into your heart. Different Roads is a jewel of a book. I strongly recommend it. 5 stars!
Joyce Scarbrough is a brilliant story-teller. She breathes life into her characters and they follow you right off the page and into your heart. Different Roads is a jewel of a book. I strongly recommend it. 5 stars!
April 17, 2011
My absolute favorite book by Joyce. The premise for the book is something anyone who has made mistakes can relate to. What would happen if I went a different direction in life? I absolutely recommend it!
March 22, 2015
Great read!!!
I read this book in one day! I just couldn't put it down it had my interest from the first page!!! It made me laugh and cry!! I won't give any of it a way but if you like a good love story and a story about forgiveness you would love this book!!!
I read this book in one day! I just couldn't put it down it had my interest from the first page!!! It made me laugh and cry!! I won't give any of it a way but if you like a good love story and a story about forgiveness you would love this book!!!
January 23, 2018
Three and a half stars.
The only thing that kept it from being four stars for me was the language--which I knew I was getting into from the description, but it's something I personally don't care for.
Laugh-out-loud one-liners that got me stares in waiting rooms and a quick-paced read.
What kept me reading was the cast. Scarbrough is excellent with portraying vibrant characters. Though I don't always relate to them, I find myself invested in their struggles even when upset over their choices.
The last third of the book was my favorite, especially when characters from her other books showed up. (Not necessary to read those books first, but I'd recommend following this by reading AFTER ME. Like Madeleine L'Engle, Scarbrough likes to weave her fictional characters into the same world.)
The only thing that kept it from being four stars for me was the language--which I knew I was getting into from the description, but it's something I personally don't care for.
Laugh-out-loud one-liners that got me stares in waiting rooms and a quick-paced read.
What kept me reading was the cast. Scarbrough is excellent with portraying vibrant characters. Though I don't always relate to them, I find myself invested in their struggles even when upset over their choices.
The last third of the book was my favorite, especially when characters from her other books showed up. (Not necessary to read those books first, but I'd recommend following this by reading AFTER ME. Like Madeleine L'Engle, Scarbrough likes to weave her fictional characters into the same world.)
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March 16, 2015Decent Read
I felt that this was a decent read. I really enjoyed the writing and the plot. The author did a fine job of pulling it all together. The problem I had with this book was the characters. I just didn't care for Jaycee all that much. She was at times, a really cold hearted woman and a tad selfish. Only towards the end, did I kind of warm up to her. I understand she had some problems in her life, but sometimes the way she spoke, was just shocking. I would still recommend this book because of the lessons in it and because I feel like the author did a great job writing this.
I felt that this was a decent read. I really enjoyed the writing and the plot. The author did a fine job of pulling it all together. The problem I had with this book was the characters. I just didn't care for Jaycee all that much. She was at times, a really cold hearted woman and a tad selfish. Only towards the end, did I kind of warm up to her. I understand she had some problems in her life, but sometimes the way she spoke, was just shocking. I would still recommend this book because of the lessons in it and because I feel like the author did a great job writing this.
September 10, 2016
Wow, quite a story!!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews