brendaclay's review
3.0
An enjoyable tour through Jen Lancaster's childhood and into her 20s. As usual, she's very funny and likable!
radiojen's review
4.0
** I downloaded this onto my Kindle & then read it on the Kindle app on my iPhone. There were two mistakes a noted in the electronic version. In one case, there was no link for footnote 126. The other problem was that it appeared to be missing an electronic page. I'm not sure if it was a few words, a paragraph or an entire page. I'm not sure how much I missed or if it was only in the Kindle for iPhone version or if it was for the Kindle version as well. **
I just finished reading Jen Lancaster’s fourth book, a look into how she became who she was before she became who she is today.
In “Bitter is the New Black,” Jen Lancaster described how she went from being filthy rich in the dot com era, carrying and wearing designer labels, to a Target-loving, coupon clipping, purse pawning girl. I fell in love with this snarky girl-next-door. Only I sure as heck never wanted to live next door to her! (She’s kind of mean in a “fun to look at from the outside world” way.)
Jen tells us in “Pretty in Plaid” how she became the label snob she once was. She didn’t start out that way. She grew up in a middle class family with penny-pinching parents. She moved to a one horse town that would likely have been impressed with a label that read JC Penney. She was a Brownie and a Girl Scout, for crying out loud! (And we learn how much she loved that sash and all its glorious pins!)
There were a few chapters where I felt like the book just wasn’t as much fun as the old stuff. It was as though she was writing to fulfill her contract, not to entertain her readers. But most of the book was not only very good, it also reminded me so much of myself. *I* was that girl -- the one who did whatever it took fit in. I did the accents (Jen didn’t want to stand out with her “Yankee” accent in a Midwest town, and I quickly adopted “ya’ll” upon moving to the South), I begged for the labels (Jen ended up getting a pair of designer jeans from a friend of hers who could no longer fit into them, and I remember telling my mom I just HAD to have Jordache jeans or I’d absolutely DIE!) and I needed the approval of the girls who had status (Poor Jen never did get the approval of the long-haired sorority girl with the pretty purse, and I refuse to tell you how I parallel in this area on the basis that one of those girls I went to school with may read this blog since, thanks to Facebook, I am once again in touch with a lot of people from my school days).
(read the rest of the review at http://www.jennifermarceaux.com)
I just finished reading Jen Lancaster’s fourth book, a look into how she became who she was before she became who she is today.
In “Bitter is the New Black,” Jen Lancaster described how she went from being filthy rich in the dot com era, carrying and wearing designer labels, to a Target-loving, coupon clipping, purse pawning girl. I fell in love with this snarky girl-next-door. Only I sure as heck never wanted to live next door to her! (She’s kind of mean in a “fun to look at from the outside world” way.)
Jen tells us in “Pretty in Plaid” how she became the label snob she once was. She didn’t start out that way. She grew up in a middle class family with penny-pinching parents. She moved to a one horse town that would likely have been impressed with a label that read JC Penney. She was a Brownie and a Girl Scout, for crying out loud! (And we learn how much she loved that sash and all its glorious pins!)
There were a few chapters where I felt like the book just wasn’t as much fun as the old stuff. It was as though she was writing to fulfill her contract, not to entertain her readers. But most of the book was not only very good, it also reminded me so much of myself. *I* was that girl -- the one who did whatever it took fit in. I did the accents (Jen didn’t want to stand out with her “Yankee” accent in a Midwest town, and I quickly adopted “ya’ll” upon moving to the South), I begged for the labels (Jen ended up getting a pair of designer jeans from a friend of hers who could no longer fit into them, and I remember telling my mom I just HAD to have Jordache jeans or I’d absolutely DIE!) and I needed the approval of the girls who had status (Poor Jen never did get the approval of the long-haired sorority girl with the pretty purse, and I refuse to tell you how I parallel in this area on the basis that one of those girls I went to school with may read this blog since, thanks to Facebook, I am once again in touch with a lot of people from my school days).
(read the rest of the review at http://www.jennifermarceaux.com)
bogfinchgirl's review
4.0
I enjoy the light reading of a good Jen Lancaster book and this one is like all the others. A fun, easy read with laughs along the way.
judyward's review
2.0
I floored by the fact that I only gave two stars to a Jen Lancaster book, but, frankly, this one was disappointing. Such a Pretty Fat was my introduction to Jen Lancaster and I LOVED it. I quickly bought and read her other two books and liked them. This book seems to be a rehash of all of the same smart comments (which, I have to admit are still funny, but predictable). The two parts of the book that I enjoyed the most were Lancaster forging Girl Scout badges while in elementary school and attending sorority rush parties while in college. I think that the problem may be that after reading the first three books, that I was able to anticipate where each of the stories was going and what Lancaster's reaction/attitude was going to be. Her voice has been the same in each of her four books and while that can be comforting, it can also become repetitive. I deeply value Lancaster's sarcasm and bitterness, but as I read this book and discovered that I was becoming somewhat bored, I found myself in emotional turmoil. I'm sarcastic and bitter and maybe my friends are finding me as predictable as I'm finding Jen Lancaster. The horror.
malinda_nevitt's review
4.0
Hilarious! She dropped the F-bomb to much for me to recommend this to most people but it was really funny! And full of everyday nonsense! I loved it!
damnthereiam's review
2.0
I'll give another of her books a try but this really wasn't that hilarious and was actually pretty boring... there were some funny parts that made me smile but I just felt like the book tried too hard.
musiquedevie's review against another edition
3.0
This probably wasn't my most favorite Jen Lancaster book. And by this being my least favorite of hers, it still ranks higher on my list than a lot other books so take that with a grain of salt. ;) I enjoyed it; some parts moreso than others. My favorite sections were the 70s & 90s as I felt the 80s section had a slower pace than the overall reading. I laughed and I enjoyed reading about Jen's life via her clothes - it's a neat twist on a biography. Overall a good read and one I'd recommend to any new Jen Lancaster fan to get familiar with some key people in her life that she writes about in her other novels.
steph01924's review
4.0
This was my first introduction to Jen Lancaster, even though she has three previous books. I think it was a fine place to start, especially with it focusing on her childhood, so it almost felt like this could've been the first in the 'series' about her life.
When I picked up this book, I expected it to be really focused on the clothing and trendy, expensive 'labels' she would wear through her life, like so many 'chick' books are so focused on, but I was pleasantly corrected to see she was simply a young girl with a love of cute clothes, however expensive or cheap they may be.
I really enjoyed Jen's voice - even though she writes from an adult's perspective as she reflects on her childhood, but you can tell she was probably a very smart, tenacious kid who would've had similar thoughts even then. (I loved the lobster dinner scene!)
I particularly liked the parts about her parents - I could see things my own parents have done reflected in her own's cluelessness sometimes. My dad would always try to stop me from being so sarcastic, but it's not something you pick up - that kind of cynicism is just something you're born with.
One part that really made me like her, near the beginning, was when she was at her friend's house and the friend told her that the family friend - unknown to Jen - could drive her home. Jen smartly declined and insisted that her friend's mom, whom she knew quite well, drive her home instead of getting into a car with a strange man. I was proud of her for sticking to her beliefs when she felt could be in an uncomfortable situation. It gave me an idea of what kind of person she is.
When I picked up this book, I expected it to be really focused on the clothing and trendy, expensive 'labels' she would wear through her life, like so many 'chick' books are so focused on, but I was pleasantly corrected to see she was simply a young girl with a love of cute clothes, however expensive or cheap they may be.
I really enjoyed Jen's voice - even though she writes from an adult's perspective as she reflects on her childhood, but you can tell she was probably a very smart, tenacious kid who would've had similar thoughts even then. (I loved the lobster dinner scene!)
I particularly liked the parts about her parents - I could see things my own parents have done reflected in her own's cluelessness sometimes. My dad would always try to stop me from being so sarcastic, but it's not something you pick up - that kind of cynicism is just something you're born with.
One part that really made me like her, near the beginning, was when she was at her friend's house and the friend told her that the family friend - unknown to Jen - could drive her home. Jen smartly declined and insisted that her friend's mom, whom she knew quite well, drive her home instead of getting into a car with a strange man. I was proud of her for sticking to her beliefs when she felt could be in an uncomfortable situation. It gave me an idea of what kind of person she is.