Weave Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Title of book: Jemima J Name of author: Jane Green Amazon ISBN: 0140276904 Synopsis: Jemima Jones is overweight - about seven stone overweight. Treated like a slave by her thin and bitchy flatmates, lorded over at the "Kilburn Herald" by the beautiful Geraldine, her only consolation is food. That and a passion for her charming, sexy colleague Ben. Her life needs to change and soon. 'Jemima J' tells the story of the very lovely, funny and lonely Jemima Jones, a thin girl stuck in a fat girl's body, as you read the book you can sympathise with Jemima on so many levels, her frustration at her life, many readers can identify with Jemima in a lot of ways, she is stuck in a job she hates, lusts/loves after Ben Williams who works at the same newspaper (the Kilburn Herald) as Jemima, Jemima writes a column called 'Top Tips' which entails giving readers advice on how to get stains out of kitchen tiles, Jemima knows and the reader knows she can do so much better. Jemima thinks she will never be good enough for Ben and lives in the shadow(as she sees them) of her ever glamorous flat mates, Lisa and Sophie, who frankly see Jemima as a non-entity. Then everything changes.... Jemima discovers the joys of the internet, and she meets Brad in a chat room, he is lovely, sweet, gorgeous and from Los Angeles, plus he is all the things which Jemima feels she will never be and Brad is a man which Jemima feels she can never have. Following advice from her work colleague, Geraldine lies to Brad by telling him she is a tv presenter and sends a fake photograph of herself to him, and the web of lies begins.... From there 'Jemima J' gets better and more interesting, as the story progresses we see Jemima joining her local gym, losing 8 stone in weight and basically finding herself but with every triumph, there is regrets, which Jemina finds herself facing more and more. Will it all work out for Jemima? Will she live happily ever after with Brad? Or will Ben finally see what has been right in front of him the whole time? My thoughts on 'Jemima J' : At first I found Jemima quite annoying but in all honesty it was because she reminded me too much of my self. Jemima proves to be an amazingly strong person, a person who realises that beauty is only skin deep and personality goes a long way. 'Jemina J' shows very well the whole idea of what beauty is, how people do treat you because of the way you look. I found Jemina J to be a very light and heartwarming tale of a girl just trying to find her place in the world, an enjoyable read and you will find yourself at the end of the book, very happy for Jemina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 Oooh i like the sound of this one.... i'm gonna need a bank loan at this rate to enable me to get all these books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 Oooh i like the sound of this one.... i'm gonna need a bank loan at this rate to enable me to get all these books You sound like me! You are welcome to my copy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 You sound like me! You are welcome to my copy... Aww thank you Gyre, pm me and let me know how much you want for it including postage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I read this a few years ago. I remember being annoyed by her at times too! Really not my cup of tea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarahrob Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I enjoyed this one too - it's a bit of a fluffy book, nothing too taxing. As an aside, have you ever noticed how, in books, whenever a character loses weight they become gorgeous? Are there no ugly thin women? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Well I'm fairly thin.. and I'm certainly not gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted December 19, 2006 Author Share Posted December 19, 2006 Oh don't say that Michelle, everyone is pretty, regardless of whether they are fat, thin, whatever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted December 19, 2006 Author Share Posted December 19, 2006 I read this a few years ago. I remember being annoyed by her at times too! It's not my favourite JG book, but is a good read. I enjoyed it too, but she did annoy me at times as well, I want to give her a good shake!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Well I'm fairly thin.. and I'm certainly not gorgeous! Well i'm not thin and i'm definately not gorgeous, I was at the back of the queue when those were being given out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted December 20, 2006 Author Share Posted December 20, 2006 Well i'm not thin and i'm definately not gorgeous, I was at the back of the queue when those were being given out Behave yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 I was only being honest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philipa_Kay Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Just finished reading this book and I thought it was great! My first Jane Green novel. For some reason I never thought I would enjoy Jane Green books as the blurbs never really caught my attention too much, but it seems I was wrong. But I do agree with the above statement, just because someone loses lots of weight it doesnt mean they instantly become beautiful. No erm stretch marks, cellulite or anything of the sort anymore? It's Magic! I know if I lost some weight then yes, I'd look a lot better, but its about more that that I feel. Anyway... is this a one off, or would I enjoy other Jane Green novels? I'm not sure which one to go for next...any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 I am glad you enjoyed the book Philipa_Kay, its the only book I have read by Jane Green but I do want to read more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philipa_Kay Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I've got my mum reading it now. She's just joined a slimming club so it couldn't have come at a better time, haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Jemima J was my first read by Jane Green, and I read it probably 5 years ago.. I absolutely loved this book. From start to finish, I enjoyed the entire read. It definitely led me to read more of Jane Green's books.. I've read them all at this point, but some are more recent reads than others. Philipa, For suggestions on other Green books I liked, I'd say go for "The Beach House" (loved this.. read the entire book in 1 day), "The Other Woman," and "Second Chance." I also think I remember "Mr Maybe" being a fun, light read, and the same goes for "Bookends." Sorry for my rambling.. I just haven't read many bad books by Jane Green. I hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Jemima J was my first read by Jane Green, and I read it probably 5 years ago.. I absolutely loved this book. From start to finish, I enjoyed the entire read. It definitely led me to read more of Jane Green's books.. I've read them all at this point, but some are more recent reads than others. Snap! This was my second ever chick lit novel after Bridget Jones Diary and I loved it. I've even re-read it a couple of times - one of the few chick lit books I re-read, along with Mr Maybe and Going La La by Alexandra Potter. I'll probably add The Beach House to that list, but I read it in hardback borrowed from the library, so will need to wait for the paperback version to come out before I stump up the money for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
France Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 I dislike this book intensely, the first and least important is that Jane Green doesn't write very well, the second is that as the mother of three daughters I find the message - that if you're overweight you won't get anywhere even if you're better than the blonde who has the desk next door to you or get the boy of your dreams, any boy in fact, and that being thin equals success and happiness - absolutely repellant. Let's not go into the fantasy that you can stuff your face with bacon butties then magically lose - what was it seven stone - in practically no time at all without loose skin hanging down to your knees etc etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philipa_Kay Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Let's not go into the fantasy that you can stuff your face with bacon butties then magically lose - what was it seven stone - in practically no time at all without loose skin hanging down to your knees etc etc.y I def agree with this bit, it seems far too easy and slightly partonising, but I still enjoyed the book. I found it inspirational (not that I think you can lose that much weight in a short time and be in perfect shape) but because you can lose weight over time and it is possible to ahcieve a goal of that kind. Also, not because being thin equals success, but more at feeling happy and healthy within your own body. But if success means confidence, then I do feel losing weight can bring that to a person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busy91 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 My favorite Jane Green book as well. I read this years ago. I don't even remember how I found out about it. Someone probably suggested it to me. I've read a few other Jane Green books, but none have stuck with me like that one did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philipa_Kay Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Let's not go into the fantasy that you can stuff your face with bacon butties then magically lose - what was it seven stone - in practically no time at all without loose skin hanging down to your knees etc etc. Hope you don't mind if I add this in as a quote in my dissertation, just as an example of criticism as one of the novels I am writing about is Jemima J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melisa Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I read this Jane Green book a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. I've read a couple more of her books over the years and think 'Bookends' is probably my favourite. Has anybody read this particular one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrugalBookShopper Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I didn't mind this book, but it wasn't my favorite. She was annoying at times and there were some things in the story that didn't really advance the plot and just added bulk (no pun intended). It was a decent book. I would like to read another one of her books, just to see if it's better or about the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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