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Women's Fiction
Jemima J : A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans

Jemima J : A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans

List Price: $11.95
Your Price: $9.56
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A disappointment
Review: As soon as I started reading, I knew I wouldn't like the book. The character of Jemima is a ridiculous stereotype of an overweight woman, eating 2 bacon sandwiches on the way to work every day and hiding packages of cookies in her dresser drawers. She is fat and unhappy and uncool, but would be so pretty if she only lost weight, which of course she does. Yawn.

As someone almost the exact same size as Jemima (I'm 5'7" and 208 lbs), I hoped to relate to her, but I didn't. It is obvious the author has never been overweight. Jemima spills over chairs and receives stares for her weight? You'd think she is a 500 pound freak by some of the descriptions in the book.

The other characters are cardboard and shallow. Even Ben, Jemima's love interest, is only likeable in a few short scenes where Ben and J are surfing the internet together.

It gets worse when Jemima loses weight. She becomes even more boring and I started skipping paragraphs just to get to the end and see what happens (hint: it's predictable).

The writing is also awful. It skips between Jemima's first person narrative and an annoying third person that jumps between the perspectives of Jemima and Ben. The third person writing is especially wooden, choppy, and difficult to read. The author also uses the character's full name far too often; "Jemima Jones" is sometimes used 3 or 4 times in one paragraph.

If you are an overweight woman looking for a character you can relate to, you are much better off reading "Good in Bed". Much better book, much more pleasurable to read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: LOVED IT... LOVED IT... LOVED IT!!!!
Review: This was the first book of Jane Green that I had read. From the moment I read the book, I could not put it down. I just loved the plot, and how enticing it was! Actually, in the span of 3 weeks, I read all of Jane Green's books, and I have loved everyone of them. But this one is the best. Jemima J is funny, inspiring, captivating, and just leaves you in awe! There were those jaw dropper moments that made you say "No way! This can't be happening." I really loved this book, and would recommend it to anyone who loves women's fiction with a twist of love.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Love this book...
Review: Okay, others may disagree with me and that's fine, but I love this book! Of course, it can be considered light reading, but there are deeper issues addressed within the book that are very timely and addressed quite nicely for that matter. The point is that yes, the main character does lose a large amount of weight because she feels it is the answer to her problems and to feeling better about herself. But in the end, she recognizes that the weight loss does not solve all problems, and is better able to address her feelings and issues. Pretty important lesson, I'd say...I'm impressed! Oh, and to top it all off, Jane Green has a way with words that make all of her books incredibly enjoyable and easy to read...So yeah, I recommend all of her books!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Just plain awful
Review: It is obvious to me from reading this book that the author has never been fat and that she believes that skinny equals happy. As a fat and happy girl I was offended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Feel Good Book
Review: This book was great. Makes you feel that good things do happen to people that deserve it. This was my first Jane Green book and just ordered 2 more. After halfway through the book, I couldn't put it down. It is a great summer read and makes me want to go out, get in shape and feel good about myself!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun and Fabulous Read
Review: This book was a fantastic and quick read. I adore Jane Green's writing style and her characters in this book are so easy to like! Everyone, both 'singletons' or 'marrieds', will appreciate Jemima J's trials and tribulations. I picked this book up in an airport while stuck on a layover--knowing nothing about it at all--and found it to be a great treat. I've already loaned my copy to a friend and recommended it to 2 others. I can't wait to devour all of Jane Green's novels.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not bad, but there are better "chic lit" books out there...
Review: Jemima J was not what I expected it to be. Alot of people had reccommended it to me and said it was a Must Read, but I didn't feel the same about it. I am a big fan of all the "chic lit" books that are so popular right now (Shopaholic..etc). Jemima J was just a book that was okay. I didn't have that same "getting sucked into the story" feeling that other books have done. The worst part of the book was that the book was in the 3rd person. It made it awkward to read at some parts and doesn't help the reader relate to the character as much. Overall, I would say if you just needed some reading and you are totally out of books than it would be good. If not, go check out some other books that are much better (Nanny Diaries, Shopaholic Series)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gemima captured my heart!
Review: She may be obese (207 lbs.), she may be painfully shy but Jemima J. will have you rooting for her the entire way. Set in England, Jemima Jones is a overweight journalist who stares at magazine ads of skinny models. She sneaks chocolate and practically croaks every time beautiful Ben Williams comes over to say hi. Sad life, well almost. This is a character who tries not to feel sorry for herself but just needs a bit of willpower and support to make some changes in her life. Jemima doesn't get any of this from her two roommates skinny Sophie, and curly haired Lisa. They are sort of the books bad girls; they treat Jemima like a servant and and attempt to sabotage anything good that happens to Jemima.

In the beginning of the book, Jemima suffers from mild depression. Her boss refuses to give her a chance at writing meaningful articles (leaving her to answer the house cleaning questions , such as "How do I get cat pee out of my rug?) and her good friend Geraldine seems to have it all looks, brains and money. Then things begin to change. The paper that Jemima works for wants to get in with the times so it has all its employees go through Internet training. In a funny bit that has Ben, Geraldine and Jemima looking at porn on the net, they stumble on to a chat site in which Jemima meets Brad (from Santa Monica) The two chat for some time and Jemima decides she has to lose weight no matter what it takes. It comes to this point when Geraldine has a coworker doctor Jemima's picture to make her skinny and blond! The book gets kind of hard to believe at this point. In a matter of two paragraphs Jemima goes from 207 lbs. to 120lbs!! Wow if only it were that easy!

Once Jemima is skinny and her roommates see how gorgeous Brad and Ben are, they turn green with envy. Who knew that beneath all that fat was a beautiful woman inside and out? You'll want to laugh out loud when they get what's coming to them eventually! Jemima contemplates meeting Brad and after much soul searching (ok like five minutes soul searching) she decides to fly to California. A theme that frequents the book is the idea of fate. Is it Jemima's fate that her and Brad live happily ever after? Or is it Ben she should focus on? Do we care? YES!! I couldn't book the book down and although it is sort of long the book moves at an incredibly fast pace.

Jane Green brings you into the life of a woman so unsatisfied with her body that she takes extraordinary steps to lose weight and catch the man of her dreams. After Jemima lands in California and ascends into the role of JJ, she is met at the airport by Brad a handsome, wealthy gym owner. Things seem perfect until she meets Brad's secretary, a surly overweight woman that reminds Jemima of her old self. Jemima tries to help the young girl out but low and behold the secretary acts like a snake! She is rude and weird (what is her problem you'll be aking yourself) Situations in California range from heartbreaking to life altering but I won' t give them away. I will say that Green writes a story that everyone can relate to in one way or another, whether being an ugly duckling or a beautiful swan.

Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What is everyone thinking!?
Review: Yet another chicklit book where the main character has absolutely no confidence in herself and has no personality. At first we're led to believe that Jemima Jones is overweight because she has an obsession with food. That's not quite the case. She has an addictive personality and is always obsessed with something. When she discovers the Internet, she no longer cares about eating. When she discovers the joys of working out, she no longer cares about the Internet. And the cycle goes on and on.

I suppose this book was designed to make women feel good about themselves, but I don't know how with such mindless characters. Always doing what they do for the sake of men.

To top off the poor plot, the writing is atrocious. I felt like I was reading a book for a person with a limited vocabulary - say a nine year old. I've seen online journals with much better writing than this.

Jane Green also keeps switching from first-person to third-person, but it isn't well done as with Jodi Picoult's Perfect Match. She seems to switch back and forth from first person to third because she write well enough to tell the story through Jemima's eyes alone. And several places throughout the book, she makes reference to what will happen later. "As you'll soon find out..." and "For {character} and {character} already knew..." are probably the two most commonly used phrases in the book. Please don't tell me what to think. The proper way to indicate what will happen later in the story is called foreshadowing. Jane Green, please learn something about it!

I've read several reviews of this book and many people thought it was great, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Lose 80 pounds in months; change your life forever!!!!
Review: After reading all the other reviews of this book, I realized that I am not alone in thinking "huh?" I started reading this book per the suggestion of my fitness-obsessed friend. About two chapters in I started to wonder "what's the deal?" I began reading the details of all of Jemima's rolls, bulges and chins and I have a mental picture of a woman getting to work via forklift. Much to my surprise, I find out a few chapters later that she is a little more than ten pounds heavier than me. I wear a size 14, have one chin, and I have 4 inches shorter than she is. I am already a little tweaked, but I decide to keep reading. Like everyone else, I was shocked that as the pounds came off she was showered with good fortune. Sure her attitude changed, but does a smaller rump really affect the outcome of your life?
A little shallow and disappointing, but an entertaining read none the less. Just be sure to have something to read after that will replace the brain cells you lose reading this.


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