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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: 3 stars
Summary: I wish I could give 2 and a half stars.
Review: OK...the book was an entertaining read. Very absorbing. However, as a female of 5'7 and 230 pounds, I couldn't help but be insulted at the author's perception of people my build being abnormally huge. I have exactly ONE chin. I have a boyfriend. I have plenty of friends. I have a pretty face that gets noticed despite my excess weight. I have a chest that I use to my advantage. I'm not the sad sloppy fat monster Jane Green created. Obviously Green has never been overweight, and didn't talk to any overweight people in the writing of this book. As for Jemima's stunning weight loss, forget it. 121 pounds is well below the safe weight for this height, and no way would she have energy the way she was eating and exercising. If I tried that diet I would be in the hospital within a week. Her roommates treat her like a maid? I'd get new roommates--and in fact I have. No boyfriend? Is she looking everywhere? No promotion? Why isn't she suing her boss or standing up for herself? No, this is a fun read, but completely lacks realism and borders on the insulting. Thanks, Jane.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This is no Bridget Jones. But it'll do.
Review: If you've gotten to my review than you've already read the jist of this story. This is a fairytale. Anyone who's tried to lose weight and keep it off will tell you so - and besides, doesn't everyone always say that being thin won't in and of itself make you happy? While Jemima J is an entertaining, quick read, it is not nearly as clever as Bridget Jones is; the story is predictable, aside from one detail that is too weird to reveal here, and the essence of the fairytale overwhelms Jemima's human quality and real life issues. So, I would recommend this book to someone who wants a quick, engaging read for the beach, but definitely not for someone who is looking for quality reading (like Harry Potter or Bridget Jones...). Also, the author shamelessly name drops locations in Santa Monica as if they are as important as landmarks like Big Ben! I'm from LA and I can tell you that the author's description of Santa Monica is trite and reads like it comes from the chamber of commerce. Aside from this mildly annoying aspect, the book is an OK read that I enjoyed from a fantasy perspective. We should all be as lucky as Jemima J is. From the time she loses the weight and becomes glamorous and self confident, her issues with food are only briefly referred to and seem to disappear - which is a surprise given the state of mind she has in the last chapter of the book... I just didn't get it. But, this is a fairytale and I'm sure there were missing pieces in Cinderella that didn't make sense either...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Appalling
Review: Why oh why do people like this? This is the most narrow-minded book I have ever read! According to Jane Green, fat women are unattractive, which means that they can't have good jobs, boyfriends and a life. I have a lot of great overweight friends. They are all confident and have lives. Oh, and I also hate the stereotypes in this book. For instance, she says that Americans are thick-headed. I so disagree with that ignorant statement. Don't waste your money on this book.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: book gives a horrible message
Review: I have to admit-I almost couldn't put this book down. I felt that I identified with the "first Jemima"-that is the heavy one. But I really resented the fact that as soon as Jemima lost weight, Ben-the love of her life, became interested in her. This can really make women feel that weight is everything. It doesn't teach you that being thin will not always make you happy. I resent that. The book would have been so much more realistic if Ben didn't like her despite her losing weight. Coming from someone with an eating disorder, this book can really encourage a girl to stay or become anorexic or bulimic...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Shallow....
Review: I was excited to get started on this book, and even more excited to finish it. The writing proved to be shallow and the editing errors got boring to count. The story somehow contradicts itself by seemingly holding the view that weight and looks shouldn't be the basis of how we judge one another, but surprise surprise, Jemima J. only finds herself and her happiness (not to mention boyfriends) when she loses her excess weight. There are a few token comments about how having confidence in yourself is the most important, but they seem out of place to the real message of this book- lose weight and you will be happy. Shallow, insincere, and quite frankly, juvenile.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Silly
Review: It would appear that the author has (a) visited Santa Monica, California, specifically the area within walking distance of the pier, and thinks someone flying to Hollywood would stay at Shutters-HELLO, there ARE hotels closer to Hollywood (b) believes one can lose nearly 100 pounds within a very few months and become nearly anorexic without losing her hair or having saggy skin, and cure her own eating disorder by falling love,(c) likes to generalize about Americans (Californians) as too friendly, dense, shallow, obsessed with body image and obviously not smart enough to be British.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Jemima's Jolly Good!
Review: This is a great little book! I enjoyed reading Jemima and finished the novel within a day and a half. Every spare moment I had, I would pick this book up.

Jemima is an introverted overwreight twenty-something at the onset of this book. She's slowly trying to come out of her shell and makes two close friends. As her confidence begins to soar she starts to lose weight and that's when things get interesting....

The pages pass quickly because the writing flows so well. The author has done an excellent job in presenting her characters and their actions. Overall I would recommend this to most of my friends, because it's a delight to see how things turn out for Jemima.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent!
Review: "Jemima J" was excellent! So excellent in fact, that I read it in 2 days. Ok, so the top reviewer was right: Single women should NOT go meet a total stranger. But, HELLO, this is FICTION here! I just adored Geraldine and Ben. Jemima did the right thing about never forgetting Ben and I myself am a firm believer in "good things come to those who wait! " And, if JJ lost all that weight and felt better about herself than that's a good thing. We're not saying she had no friends because she was fat. She had low self-esteem.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Empowerment for curvaceous women everywhere
Review: This is BY FAR the best book I've read in a very long time. It is at once touching, inspiring, heartbreaking and hilarious. I was late to work several times because I couldn't put it down. If you've ever felt alone in a world where your negative body image dictates how you choose to live your life and whether or not you'll allow yourself to be happy just as you are, this book is for you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great book
Review: I thought that this was a wonderful book. From the other reviews you already know the plot and many of the characters. So, there is no need for me to go into detail about them. Althouh I do agree with some of the other reviewers that this book was no doubt fiction, I enjoyed it none the less. This book is addictive! I finished it in 2 days and was actually dissapointed when I noticed that there weren't many chapters left. I didn't want the book to end! I loved the characters, especially Jemima, who is wonderfully developed. I am hoping that Jane Green might write a sequel to this book so that I can once again enjoy peeking in on Jemima's life. But, as much as I would love for her to write a sequel, I don't feel that it is nessisary, or called for, as the book "ties up all the loose ends" of the story and everything is explained and set right. So, a sequel doesn't appear to be in the works, but who knows!


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