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Summary: not exactly Bridget...
Review: this book, while compulsively readable, doesn't sparkle like Bridget Jones. i actually read Jemima J before the two BJ books and i'm glad i did it in that order. Jemima is a quirky character and it's fun to watch her transform herself, but she's got nothing on Bridget. The supporting characters and internet element are what make this story both different and interesting. the plot is highly contrived - but that's what makes a book a beach book. if you've read Bridget Jones, try this but realize there's no comparison. if you haven't, spend some time with Jemima and then dive into Helen Fielding's world!
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Summary: Jemima J by whitestonebooks.com
Review: Occaisonally you find a book that strikes a personal cord; A book where you can completely identify with the main character. Random House sent over an advanced reading copy of Jemima J by Jane Green--an author I had never heard of before last week. The novel is based in a suburb of London and the main character, Jemima, who is a hundred pounds overweight, is a columnist with a small, local paper. The story revolves around a co-worker, Ben, who is doing his time at the local paper before he moves on to bigger and better things. The book addresses self esteem issues, internet dating and the treatment of large people in our society. Jemima J also discusses when weight loss is taken to extremes and becomes an obsession. Jemima takes us on a whirlwind trip to California with her internet romance gym owner, Brad, for whom she loses all the weight. Inside, she is still fat and questions her new dalliance--with good reason! The book has some great twists and I inhaled it in two days. All 416 pages. This is one of those books that you look up at the clock and it's three in the morning and you wish you didn't have to get up in a few hours to go to work so you could finish it!
Rating: 
Summary: British humor - with a kick!
Review: If you loved Bridget Jones's Diary - you'll love this! Jemima is a witty, charming woman - trapped in a body she doesn't like. An email romance spurs her on to lose weight - and Jemima realizes that sometimes what we think we want, isn't what we need. Unputdownable.
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Summary: LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!
Review: I'm completely amazed by the talented British, female, hilarious writers I have been discovering in the past few years. Why are their books so much better than the ones I have been finding by American writers? I really think there is an untapped market in the UK. I'm a huge fan of Jane Green and have ordered NUMEROUS books by her from amazon.uk and have loved them all...BUT, this one "Jemim J." is tops on my list. It's everything a fun, sweet, sexy, interesting, and well written book, SHOULD be. I loved the characters, the story, the settings..EVERYTHING. It deals with the amazing lead character of Jemima (J.J.) and her life as a over-weight English gal who just wants to find the perfect man and be happy. (Don't we all? That comes (well..she thinks) in the perfect package she discovers on the internet. (What a great set-up) But, she soon discovers that even though she completely makes herself over, that love many not be where she first thought. It's got twists, love, humor, and loads of whitty conversation. One hundred percent enjoyable! Can't wait for more by Jane Green. A super read..and I highly recommend it!
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Summary: Jemima J: A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans
Review: I loved this book! My favorite of all Jane Green's novels thus far. Green has such a way with words that she brings every character to life. It is so easy to get to know and fall in love with each and every one of her characters. You will devour this book in one sitting. As each chapter ends, you can't help but want to continue to see what else is in store. I highly recommend this book to any woman interested in friendship, love, and beauty - inside and out.
Rating:
Summary: It's truly fiction but I loved it!
Review: Judge this book for yourself. I can identify with the Jemima character as much as with the Fielding's Bridget. If you are looking for a quick read and want a bit of laughter, then read it.I agree that Green does stretch the truth a great deal in terms of Jemima's weight loss plan. Truth is, if we all took to losing weight the way Jemima did, we would all end up in the hospital. But this book is a work of ficition. Sometimes it's fun to escape from the fact to the world of ficition. I loved this book.
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Summary: Fabulous read!
Review: I only finished 2/3 part of this book, and I can't wait to write a review. I love this book! The story has some interesting twists as you go along. I love Jemima Jones. She is smart, snappy and kind. She has inner beauty that I want to be friend of hers no matter she lose her weight or not. She is a girl that many of us can relate to. I am by no means overweight (if I was, this book would motivate me to lose weight), but I can still understand how it feels. Many of us wished we could be slimmer, thinner like those striking models. When she was fat, I wished she could be slim and be adored by Ben. When I finally got to the pages reading she became slim and beautiful, I wanted to celebrate with her. I know from this point, her life is going to be changed forever. Nobody deny that men like beautiful, thin women. A lot of people are shallow and hollow, that's just the way it is. In fact, I don't agree with some readers that the book conveys a message "being thin being happy". It was a story about Jemima and the adventure she has while overcoming her weight problem. At the earlier pages, Jemima pointed to readers that underneath her fat appearance, she was smart, funny, had blue eyes and glossy hair, but nobody looked at her the way she looked at herself. All people saw her was she was fat. Is this 100% lie and untrue?
I've also read Bridget Jones' Diary, believe it or not, that was just an ok book for me. Jemima J is more fun. Well, this book is not perfect though. At first, I was not so used of the first person and third person switches. But now I manage. The unrealistic sense was Jemima seems lose her weight too quick. However, you never know, it could happen if she put her mind to it. Anyway, this is just a chick lit, not a stellar literature. It is not intended to be very realistic anyway. Just view it as an adult fairy tale - a Cinderella story. Do Jemima's two roommates look exactly like Cinderella's two cruel stepsisters?
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the time
Review: I got half way through this book and had to put it down for good. After reading the stellar reviews on this site, I thought that it would be a good read. However, the portryal of Jemima's weight loss was unrealistic and surprising shallow given the care Jane Green takes in portraying Jemima at the novel's start. Also, the supporting characters were one dimensional and hallow. I couldn't imagine them as real living breathing people, and unfortunately, Jemima became one dimensional as the novel progressed. Every character seemed stuck in a trite cardboard like portrayal of reality.
Also, as a full figured woman, I found the book a bit patronizing and at its core offensive. Jane Green describes pre-weight loss Jemima in such unflattering terms that at times I winced while I read it. I expected a lot more from this novel. I do not know if Jane Green was every a plus sized woman, but to me she fails to portray Jemima true to life. She misses the mark widely and relegates her character to the "fat friend" turned "blond bombshell" that is neither refreshing or new.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible and offensive
Review: Please, please, please don't read this book. If you are larger than a size 2 you will want to throw yourself out the window by the time you've reached the third chapter. This is so offensive and mean-spirited. The main character is described as a gigantic, disgusting, sex-depraved (she's so fat and ugly no man would even touch her) hideous beast of a woman. She has no friends. She eats like 15 bacon sandwiches for a mid-morning snack. She is so fat and lazy she can barely stand up and walk across the room to answer the ringing phone. Then they tell you how much she weighs. She's 200 pounds, 5'7, and a size 14. Um, excuse me, that's NOT that fat. Not at all.
If you want to read a good "big girl" novel that's not offensive and that will touch your spirit, read The Next Big Thing by Johanna edwards, Good in Bed by Jennier Weiner, or Inappropriate Men by Stacy Balis. All so much better.
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Summary: Why do I feel like my intelligence is being insulted?
Review: I agree with the review before mine and I have struggled with my weight pretty much my entire life. I'll try not to have any spoilers. Overall, I would described the book as forced and trying way to hard to profoundly deliver some twisted feminist message. Except for Jemima the characters are one dimensional at best. Their personas change in the blink of an eye, leaving me behind confused & wondering what the heck happened. At points the perspective changes were so confusing, I had to re-re-read paragraphs to figure out who was "talking"(and how I should interpret it---but wait I'm not supposed to be trying to use my brain when reading this book.) The "twist/surprise" in the story (in CA) is just plain bizarre. Why did Brad have to have a "foreigner"? Couldn't he find some beautiful person walking down the street in So. CA? And the extremes didn't make any sense either....Jemima was so fat, so down, so depressed, so invisible....then she was drop dead-movie star-model gorgeous with men approaching her every other second. Please. Are we supposed to be ok with the final message, "Get really skinny to catch the guy - lord knows your personality won't be enough - then once you get him you can stop being quite so anorexic?" I don't know...maybe Bridget Jones spoiled me, because this book seems completely devoid of a meaningful or realistic point. It was a fast read though, that kept me hanging on, hoping that it would all work itself out.
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