Project Jennifer by Jill Amy Rosenblatt After losing her job, getting kicked out of her apartment, and getting dumped by her fiancé so he can marry a woman named Jennifer, sweet, likeable Joanie realizes that all Jennifers have mystical powers: they are always perfectly groomed, work in the most promising job field, have people hanging on their every word, and get any man they want. Joanie decides she will transform herself into a Jennifer so she can take control of her life. But will her conversion really help her get what she wants?
Unfortunately, no. Joanie’s problem is that she doesn’t even know what she wants. She tries to become someone she isn’t, develops her acerbic side, reaps the consequences of an affair with her married boss, and completely alienates her friends while going further into debt. Once Joanie snaps out of it, ends the affair, finds a new job and goes back to school, she tries to settle into a relationship with her college sweetheart. Soon realizing that she doesn’t want even her rebound life, she ends up moving away from Long Island to start anew.
I really had hope for Rosenblatt’s debut novel, but in the end, it just wasn’t worth it. The pacing of the book was off, in that the big climax in the storyline happened only halfway through the book. I wondered how the author was going to handle the next 150 pages. The second climax, intended to the be the more significant one, fell flat as the author was already on the home stretch towards the end. I got bored halfway through, because cheering for Joanie became increasingly pointless and difficult, as Joanie changed into someone completely unlikeable. I repeatedly seconded her friend Carrie in the book, who told Joanie to stop being so mean. Joanie really changed for the worse through her Jennifer project, and she couldn’t erase those effects.
Unfortunately, no. Joanie’s problem is that she doesn’t even know what she wants. She tries to become someone she isn’t, develops her acerbic side, reaps the consequences of an affair with her married boss, and completely alienates her friends while going further into debt. Once Joanie snaps out of it, ends the affair, finds a new job and goes back to school, she tries to settle into a relationship with her college sweetheart. Soon realizing that she doesn’t want even her rebound life, she ends up moving away from Long Island to start anew.
I really had hope for Rosenblatt’s debut novel, but in the end, it just wasn’t worth it. The pacing of the book was off, in that the big climax in the storyline happened only halfway through the book. I wondered how the author was going to handle the next 150 pages. The second climax, intended to the be the more significant one, fell flat as the author was already on the home stretch towards the end. I got bored halfway through, because cheering for Joanie became increasingly pointless and difficult, as Joanie changed into someone completely unlikeable. I repeatedly seconded her friend Carrie in the book, who told Joanie to stop being so mean. Joanie really changed for the worse through her Jennifer project, and she couldn’t erase those effects.
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