#2 JEMIMA J by Jane Green

Number of Book #2
Date Began and Finished 1/2 - 1/5 2008
Genre - Fiction
Year It Was Published - 1999
Publisher - Broadway Books
number of Pages 373
Trade paperback
Reason for reading: TBR/group read/trade with friend
Rating 4/5 stars


Blurb or Synopsis: I had forgotten how much I love books by JANE GREEN! JEMIMA J has to be my favorite Jane Green book so far, and to think this one was published nearly 10 years ago. Amazing! Despite being dated (at this stage, the characters are just discovering the Internet as if it's a brand new invention) I enjoyed the story of Jemima Jones and her need to be loved.

Jemima Jones is hugely overweight, and while she seems to have good self esteem and has her group of friends, she notices that it's the thinner prettier people that move up the corporate ladder and get boyfriends. It's not that Jemima hasn't had relationships in the past, and she's had her share of sex, but she's never had a real boyfriend.

Currently she works for the Kilburn Herald, a small town outside of London, and she's in love with Ben, a colleague that may be moving on to greener pastures. She and Ben socialize, usually with another colleague Geraldine, who is beautiful yet finds the time to befriend overweight Jemima, but there is nothing romantic going on. In fact, Ben and Jemima get along famously, but she can never get him to see her in a different light other than as friends.

Jemima discovers a new world in the Internet, when she, Ben and Geraldine take a class, and while Geraldine finds the whole thing boring, Jemima and Ben go ape over it. Jemima soon discovers the world of chatting, and through this new world she meets a really good looking man named Brad, who lives in far away California. They exchange photos, but Jemima sends him an altered photos of herself, a photo that would BE her if she lost 100 lbs. Jemima sees how beautiful she could be, and is determined to lose weight. ASAP. So she can meet Brad and prove to the world she can be desirable.

Jemima joins a gym, and soon the pounds start to drop. Fast. Geraldine is ecstatic, and helps Jemima with a makeover. By now Ben has moved on to his new career, that of a TV personality, and drops out of sight, except via the telly. Jemima misses Ben but she has moved on, and now is focused on meeting Brad and starting a new life. When Jemima hits her goal and Geraldine does the makeover, the world sees a new Jemima J (or JJ as Brad knows her as) and the world is now Jemima's oyster....

JEMIMA J was a wonderful duck to swan story but the twists to the story is what makes this book unique. The only thing that bothered me is that while i read the book, i felt that i had read this story before, and maybe JEMIMA J's story isn't unique and maybe it's been done before, but I still loved it and enjoyed it. This is the type of book that is reminiscent of BRIDGET JONES' DIARY. They don't write them like this anymore it seems, and you have to go back 10 years to find something as charming as JEMIMA J. I highly recommend it.