Rating: 
Summary: Women and weight, something to which we can all relate
Review: Being a person who suffered from anorexia for four years, the book was rather disturbing in that Jemima didn't get her man and change her life until she lost a lot of weight. The author did try to redeem herself in the epilogue when she said Jemima is happy now being a size 10, etc. (I won't give the whole ending away!) and eating what she wants. I am a size 10 who is coming to grips with the fact that I am a good person who doesn't need to weight 120 pounds to be loved. Therefore, I would certainly think a female author would know better than to shove outer beauty on us, unless she's a stick figure and doesn't understand what it's like to struggle with your own self image. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book and wanted to see how JJ would end up, but I was disgusted that the author didn't allow Jemima's life to change for the better until she became tiny.
Rating: 
Summary: Annoying, insulting, and shallow
Review: Ok, so it's fiction, not to be taken seriously. Got it. But it's shallow fiction, with insulting references to overweight people and bad information. And it's not exaggerated enough for me to believe it was meant to be fantasy or satire. Jemima J barely does enough at work to get byand constantly complains about the paper she writes for. She's a whiny doormat. Yet once she decides to lose weight - POOF! it happens and life gets better for her. While the book touches on her weight being unhealthily low, that's only briefly and no problem with anorexia is addressed. Jemima even makes the comment that the only excuse for being fat is eating too much - and she should know. Uh-huh. Nice of Jemima to have the inside scoop on the rest of the world. I can't imagine this book being part of a reading assignment as someone mentioned. The teacher should be slapped for sharing the shallow, judgmental philosophy. Then again I must be wrong since everything worked out like magic for skinny Jemima... After reading Jennifer Weiner's "Good in Bed," this was definitely a disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: this book was amazing.
Review: i really liked this book, and im going to keep this short. the way JJ showed emotion, the way the felt about people, the way she was lonely and lied to herself about eating breakfast so she could eat again, how she fell in love and then didnt know what to do, the way she changed for someone else, and realized there was nothing she could do. and in the end, she realized that she didnt have to be a twig to be loved or be beatiful.
Rating: 
Summary: Of course she gets her man... once she slims down.
Review: I was excited about reading this book. I picked it up in the airport, and it was a fast read.
But it did rankle with me. Quite a bit. First of all, if Jemima is 5'7" and 200 lbs, well... then really, she is not all that fat. Probably she is a size sixteen at most. And the author's flowery descriptions of all of Jemima's rolls and bulges are enough to make any self-respecting plus-sized woman put the book down right there.
THEN she starts to lose weight, unhealthily and unrealistically quickly, I might add... and of course everything starts going right for her! Yes, there is a "twist" at the end if you want to call it that.
I just think this book was an example of bad writing from a plus-sized woman's perspective from a woman who's clearly never been plus-sized, or else the details would make sense. I also don't like the alignment of Jemima losing weight and then everything MAGICALLY falling into place. Because, sorry to spoil the book for you... but that's what happens.
Rating:
Summary: Shallow but entertaining...
Review: I picked up this book because I've heard from others that it is a really good read and in addition to that, it's an "International Bestseller" (or so it says on the cover). I have to say that I don't really agree with the morals and principles of the characters in the book, most of them come off as shallow, including our heroine JJ who decides to lose weight just to turn into a dreamgirl for some stranger she met on the internet. Couldn't she have done it for herself? Just to make herself feel good for once? Everyone else is so caught up with looks, trends, hooking up with someone and sex. The story goes on and of course, Jemima J learns that looks are not everything, which is not a surprise to us readers. Although I found the characters superficial, I still could not put the book down. Something about it made me keep reading until the very end---maybe just hoping page after page, that JJ and Ben would finally hook up! I recommend this book but maybe it's better off to borrow it from the library instead of purchasing it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very light summer reading
Review: My sister lent me this book. I liked how Jemima J. started. Overweight and quiet, Jemima Jones slips through life with very little notice from the people around her. A journalist for a local paper in London, Jemima becomes friendly with two co-workers, one of whom she winds up falling in love with. The man she falls in love with takes a job on TV and leaves the newspaper, promising to keep in touch with Jemima. He never calls. Jump ahead several months. Jemima lost a ton of weight by working out and not eating. Suddenly she is BEAUTIFUL. So beautiful that men talk to her every where she goes. Men smile and stare. People are constantly telling her how lovely she is. It is at this point in the book that I start to feel like it's a little too cheezie for me but I was curious to see what happens so I read on. Oh yeah, Jemima takes an internet course at work and starts dating someone online. Someone else who reviewed this book said exactly what I was thinking. It's kind of hard to believe that someone in their mid to late 20's in 2001 would only be learing the internet now, but I guess it is possible? Not sure if I buy it but it's possible. The story was cute enough to keep me interested but somewhat annoying. I totally wanted to know what Jemima looked like! I guess the author's point was that Jemima was overweight and beautiful but invisible to most people until she lost weight? The ending was predictable, I'm not going to give it away though. If you want to read this, I recommend borrowing it or taking it out from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Startlingly Predictable
Review: The message of this novel appears to be 'if you are drastically overweight, you cannot be happy and achieve love'. While this may actually be often true in today's society, it was pretty disturbing to discover that this was the message the author decided to deliver. On the other hand, is it Jane Green's job to deliver a Politically Correct novel?
I kept expecting this book to surprise me, and it rarely did. I kept reading, reluctantly, but was glad to be finished. I do not recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Superficial, but what should we expect?
Review: I consider myself a well-read person. I've read lots of snooty pants high brow books, which left me to be a bit of a literary snob. So to keep me grounded, I picked up Jemima J, as a "fun" read- I hadn't any lofty expectations for the book.
For what it is- a "chick lit" beach read not meant to be dissected- Jemima J is a decent book. I found Ms. Green's humor to be delightful, and when she lets her guard down, she produces some great paragraphs that are full of emotion. You really care about the character of Jemima J. However, the abrupt shifts from first person to third are a bit distracting, and can be annoying. Pacing is also frustrating, as is the lack of depth in the other characters (other than his good looks, is there anything interesting about Ben? No.).
Mentioned by other reviews, the weight-centered plotline is unrealistic, and an insult to the reader's intelligence. Jemima J's plot had the potential of being a good story (the first 2-3 chapters are very good), but unfortunately became the victim of rushing, and becoming too influenced from women's fashion magazine. In the end, Jemima J could be a lot worse- I recommend this book over many other "women's interest" genre books. If you don't take the book too seriously and can laugh at the bizarre message it teaches, you will enjoy this, the literary equivalent of cotton candy. As in good for a treat once in a while, but too much will ruin your health.
Rating:
Summary: Great twist
Review: At first, i thought the book would be another pointless story about a miserable over wieght woman but i was wrong. The book had wonderful unsuspecting twist and turns to it. I would have never thought of putting such complicated but yet simply and logical twist to it. Once i got to the climax i couldnt put it down. I became jumpie and overwhelmed with anticipation to know what would happen next. The book is very well written and has a very good lesson to learn. Needless to say, i have very high recommendations concerning this book.
Rating:
Summary: Well . . . It *is* chick-lit.
Review: (Review contains spoilers, be warned.)
I really wanted to like this novel since it seemed different from the other books published out of the Brit-chick-lit craze. Our protagonist is overweight and it deals with the Internet. Unfortunately, the story is just too unrealistic for me to have enjoyed. First, you cannot lose that much weight in three months and still be healthy, like Jemima was. She never even had a craving while on her diet and extreme-exercise plan. Second, on the back of the book, it mentions a surprise that no reader will see coming. Well, I saw it coming *way* before the end - Jenny was in the Pepper the night that Lauren and Jemima were and didn't Brad seem iffy about Jemima being there? Third, the fairy-tale ending at the end of the book was most unsatisfying - Ben only liked Jemima after she got thin! Is that true love? No. That's shallow love, if you ask me. Still, you can't take the novel too seriously since it *is* chick-lit. Not bad, but not great, either. I definitely recommend the "Confessions of a Shopaholic" series to this one!
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