Funny or frustrating? 2 or 5 stars?
Grown Ups: A Novel by Emma Jane Unsworth
Definitely funny, Obsess..ss..sive moments are scripted as our gal Jenny McLaine decries life and all relationships in general, online. Inventively stealing others stories to make them her own ‘cause her own life’s in tatters even as she possessively clutches her one true prop, her phone—even during sex (and then wonders why her boyfriend Art moved out!)
Working for an online magazine that sounds more like some sort of pop-up than a stayer, adds to the transient, ungrounded feel of Jenny’s life.
Then there’s Jen's relationship with her mother, one that seems to have parented our 35 year old obsessor into being locked into inaction and stuck Alice like in a somewhere-too-young place on the never ending merry-go-round of life.
I felt I was watching Bridget Jones on steroids. The angst and worry is EXHAUSTING!
The urge for recognition, the attention to who’s following you on Twitter, and then maybe not, watching for those little microcosm boosts of acceptance. 👍 Be it likes, or hearts or whatever!Oh my!
I was overwhelmed, as was Jenny.
I really liked the switches between writing modes from descriptive to texting and somewhere in between.
And just maybe in between is how I feel about this novel. I didn’t really relate with Jenny's world but I do accept the brilliance of its description. So depending on your point of view this will be either a two or a five star read.
I’m giving it 2 for my ability to relate (which I suspect is more a comment about me) and 5 for the amusing, frenetic writing style. All that psychedelic energy!So I’ve landed in the in between 3 star zone. Mmmm! There’s that 'in between' concept again!
I did love the piece of writing around The Croissant! Great!! I was actually transfixed! Maybe I was hungry?
I’m sure others are going to just love this book and find it a wonderfully cynical comment on life in the Millennial Lane! or maybe it's just Sex in the City moments updated?
The big question is, "Does our Jenny come of age?"
A Gallery Books ARC via NetGalley
***
Definitely funny, Obsess..ss..sive moments are scripted as our gal Jenny McLaine decries life and all relationships in general, online. Inventively stealing others stories to make them her own ‘cause her own life’s in tatters even as she possessively clutches her one true prop, her phone—even during sex (and then wonders why her boyfriend Art moved out!)
Working for an online magazine that sounds more like some sort of pop-up than a stayer, adds to the transient, ungrounded feel of Jenny’s life.
Then there’s Jen's relationship with her mother, one that seems to have parented our 35 year old obsessor into being locked into inaction and stuck Alice like in a somewhere-too-young place on the never ending merry-go-round of life.
I felt I was watching Bridget Jones on steroids. The angst and worry is EXHAUSTING!
The urge for recognition, the attention to who’s following you on Twitter, and then maybe not, watching for those little microcosm boosts of acceptance. 👍 Be it likes, or hearts or whatever!Oh my!
I was overwhelmed, as was Jenny.
I really liked the switches between writing modes from descriptive to texting and somewhere in between.
And just maybe in between is how I feel about this novel. I didn’t really relate with Jenny's world but I do accept the brilliance of its description. So depending on your point of view this will be either a two or a five star read.
I’m giving it 2 for my ability to relate (which I suspect is more a comment about me) and 5 for the amusing, frenetic writing style. All that psychedelic energy!So I’ve landed in the in between 3 star zone. Mmmm! There’s that 'in between' concept again!
I did love the piece of writing around The Croissant! Great!! I was actually transfixed! Maybe I was hungry?
I’m sure others are going to just love this book and find it a wonderfully cynical comment on life in the Millennial Lane! or maybe it's just Sex in the City moments updated?
The big question is, "Does our Jenny come of age?"
A Gallery Books ARC via NetGalley
***
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