Meet Jemima. No, not the maple syrup. She’s an overweight journalist from London who is looking for love. She is the amazing woman created by Jane Green, the author of “Straight Talking,” “Mr. Maybe,” “Bookends,” and international bestseller, “Jemima J.” “Jemima J” is one of Green’s greatest successes, and I couldn’t have picked a better book to read if it flew off the shelf and hit me in the face. Now, I’m not a “reader,” but I am an English major. Go figure. I don’t usually read for entertainment, but after reading Jane Green’s novels, I find myself in Barnes and Noble more often than I go to class. Green takes real situations, adds humor, a touch of romance, and a pinch of plot twist, stirs it all up, and comes out with a delicious confection. “Jemima J” is a novel that follows one woman’s journey to become what she’s always wanted to be: thin and loved. Don’t we all?
We start off with a shy, seriously overweight Jemima Jones, who turns to food in times of need. Then the batter thickens as the gorgeous, loveable, sweet-yet-unattainable Ben is thrown into the mixing bowl. Jemima realizes she needs a major change if she is ever going to be with Ben, or someone half as amazing.
While goofing around on the Internet, Jemima meets Brad, a California hottie, and she finally has the opportunity to write a recipe for herself as JJ, the petite, gym-obsessed blonde with wit that kills. But when her long-distance Internet boy-toy requests her presence in America, Jemima has to defeat her cookie addiction, and become the goddess of her e-mails.
I can’t give any more away, but while a plot that has more layers than her favorite cake unfolds, “Jemima J” has an unexpected ending that will make you beg for a second piece. It is a story of love, humility, addiction, humor, and finding the perfect recipe to frost the life of an imperfect woman.
Every woman can identify with Jemima Jones on her voyage to self-discovery. We often lose sight of what is really important in life, and as Jemima starts coming around to this conclusion, she inspires the reader to realize it too. Jane Green whisks her readers away into a melting pot of emotions, and I couldn’t recommend a sweeter slice of a best-selling dessert.