I've been inundated with tons of great novels lately.  I wish I could spend all day reading, but since that isn't very financially rewarding, I've been trying to squeeze in every little bit of leisure reading time I can when I'm at home.

This past weekend I had the chance to curl up on the couch on Friday evening after I sent my family off to a football game.  I had no problem getting excited about a few quiet hours with a book and a drink, and The Education of Dixie of Dupree did not disappoint.

In fact, I loved, loved, loved this novel by Donna Everhart. Dixie's family has always had problems. Her mother is often angry, and seems to take her anger out on Dixie. Dixie's dad seems to have issues of his own, and the marriage certainly isn't happy. Dixie is a girl with an imagination and often feels the need to tell lies. Mostly her lies just get her in trouble, but eventually her penchant for lying has bigger consequences.

When a tragedy befalls Dixie's family, Dixie is forced to confront some deep issues that the family has long been covering up. Unfortunately one of them directly impacts Dixie, but because of her lying, she doesn't have an audience who believes her.

I hadn't read enough about this novel to know where the storyline was heading, which I was grateful for. What happens to Dixie is upsetting, but Everhart does a great job of writing about it in a way that most readers will be ok with.

Spoiler: if you are someone who cannot read about sexual abuse, then you should avoid this novel.

I'm handing this one off to my mother-in-law with hopes that she'll enjoy it and perhaps use it for a book club selection. I can't wait to see what Everhart writes next.