Jemima J (Jane Green)

I loved this book. This book is what Chicklit is all about. Fun, easy with laugh-out moments. British writers, I have found, seem to have a grasp on writing the true chicklit, what their counterparts the American writers seem to lack. American chicklit writers tend to turn what should be a fun read into something serious. With the exception of Meg Cabot. I'm sure (and hope) there is more out there, but as of yet I have not found any others who have been able to capture the Chicklit style. I have heard some critism claiming the book is insulting and not taking the issue of self-esteem and body image seriously. I say, if you're looking for that type of book then I suggest you pick up a woman's fiction novel (think Danielle Steele, Jodi Picoult). This is Chicklit. Pure to the core.

The following is the blurb for the backcover: 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 (less talented, but better paid), her only consolation is food. What with that and her passion for her charming, sexy colleague Ben, she knows her life needs changing. But can Jemima reinvent herself? Should she? A brilliantly funny, honest novel about ugly ducklings and swans, about attraction, addiction and the meaning of true love.

Odd Mom Out (Jane Porter)

I didn't like this book. I struggled to get through it and had to give up around the 300 page mark because I couldn't stand to read another word. I had actually been looking forward to reading this book since I have experienced being the odd mom out. However, I wasn't impressed with it. The author showed her Harlequin roots. Now, this may sound like an insult, but if you're a Harlequin fan then you will very much enjoy this book. I'm not so much of one. The mother's obsession with the interest in her love life was so out of a harlequin romance novel it was on the point of irritating. The melodrama was so bad it made me want to gag and was the ultimate reason why I finally gave up reading this book. The thought of returning to those sappy, overwritten dramatic scenes was unbearable. And what was with the author's habit of blanking out swear words. Hello, am I twelve? That didn't jive with the fact she was trying to make the heroine some tough Harley Davidson bike riding mamma! That was just weird.

On a positive note, and I think the only one I could muster, there was definitely some uncomfortable parts of the story I could relate to when the author did step on familiar territory and I felt that old stab of being left out of the "mommy clique". But, unfortunately, it was actually the subplot of children dealing with popularity struggles where I felt the most discomfort in reading this book.

As a mother of two girls I felt their pang of not being included in the popular group, so I could relate to the character and her daughter's struggle. However, it was the mother's lack of communication that drove me insane. Throughout the majority of the book, she practically remains mute when it came to her daughter's wish to become a part of the popular girls. A group who made it no secret from the beginning of the book that the little girl was not welcome. Instead of teaching her child that she was better then them and to find true friends, the mother continues to allow her daughter to harp on this fantasy of becoming popular. Even after hearing her daughter being openly ridiculed by one of the popular girl's mother! It would have been at this point that a mother steps in and directs the child in a healthier path. One that won't harm her self-esteem. However, this mother seems more preoccupied (more like obsessed) over a complete male stranger (and again not jiving with her supposed tough go-it-alone feminist momma character). By remaining silent, the mother appeared, contrary to what she claimed, to actually want her daughter to be part of the popular group and was sitting back and seeing how far her daughter could push before she either was accepted or ultimately and painfully rejected.

Teaching children about relationships and the unfortunate presence of social hierarchy in the schoolyard is a parent's huge responsibility. And with so much prejudice and bullying in the schoolyard, what I think the lesson should have been was acceptance and equality. Teaching children to accept and yearn to be a part of the popular group is, in my opinion, an unhealthy message. Instead the focus should be on becoming part of a group that resemble and respect your child's individual personality. And if that happens to be with the unpopular kids, then so be it. Not sure sure if this was the author's message, since I couldn't finish the book, but since it was taking the entire length of the book to do so, I found that pathetic since, quite frankly, any parent would have caught on and quickly averted their child toward healthier relationships.

I would not recommend this book as it is far too melodramatic for my style or taste, but, as I said earlier, if you're the type who enjoys the drama of Harlequin romances, then you'll probably enjoy this book and should pick it up.