Jimmy's Girl

Rating:
Summary: Can you ever go back again? A heartwarming tale.
Review: Emily Hudson has a settled life. He husband is successful, her children happy, and she is able to pursue her love of painting. She is haunted by the memories of her first love, Jimmy Moran. They spent one wonderful year together, until Jimmy was shipped out to book camp, and then left for Vietnam. The memories of a brief meeting, between bootcamp and Vietnam haunt Emily, and she wonders what if? Jimmy has his own life, married and father of one. His quiet life is inturrupted when Emily contacts him. They decide to meet, Emily expalaining she needs help with a series of paintings she is beginning. The story alternates between the two of them, telling of the memories, the indecision, the fallout with family. There is so much truth in the emotions described, the thoughts you have at certain points in life, "is this how it was meant to be, what if I had followed my first love"? This is a masterful first novel, giving voice to an emotion that many of us have when we reach midlife. Stephanie Gertler has crafted a wonderful story of trying to return to your first love. That time when you were so alive with love and belief that you could face anyrhing together. What rings most true is the characters themselves, the emotions, the choices they eventually make. The characters remain true to the selves we come to know. I was so sad to finish this book, I hope there are more books to follow.

Rating:
Summary: Not to bad...
Review: I thought this book was alright. I think my main problem with it was that I couldn't relate to any of the characters. Not even a little. Emily is 47 yrs. old (I'm 23), has 4 kids (I have none), and her marriage is in a rutt after 20+ yrs. (I've only been married for a year). The only thing I could identify with was we both live in Connecticut. It just wasn't a stimulating book.

All Emily can think about is the love of her life Jim, whom she hasn't seen in 30 yrs. They had a 4 month summer fling back in 1967 and she feels he's the 'one-that-got-away'. Anyway, she tracks him down and they make plans to get together, and the story goes from there (I don't want to give anything away, so I won't elaborate).

When I finished this book I thought, well, that was nice I guess, but I also felt it was kinda a waste of time. I didn't really get anything out of it. When I closed the book I though, well, another book read, and that was that. I didn't give it another thought. A good read if your looking for a 'filler' book, but don't sit down and expect anything great...you'll be disapointed.

Rating:
Summary: First Love..Last Love
Review: I'm usually a reader of best sellers. I grab the latest paperback from the grocery store shelf and read a few chapters when I find the time. It takes me forever, since I only manage to find snippets of uninterrupted time here and there. So it was a bit unusual for me in the first place to search for a book in hardcover by a newly published writer. I knew Jimmy's Girl was about finding a first love. Being the romantic that I am, how could I resist? And so it was with fingers crossed that I picked up Jimmy's Girl and began reading. WOW! Two hours later....I never put it down until I finished the last word. Stephanie Gertler spins a tale that actually left me speechless. She spoke to my heart. She touched my soul. Her story of a woman, married with children, finding the need for something..anything..to rekindle those feelings of first love, passion, hope, and the excitement that one feels waking up to another day in love. Even with a husband of 25 years. I look forward to reading a lot more of Gertler's work.