Jimima J

Jimima J was a great novel. It had all the elements needed for a chick lit book - love, struggles, men, job troubles, and everyday life situations. Jane Green created a theme that was easy to get into and follow because as humans we deal with these situations daily or know someone who is struggling with these same problems - weight issues, job issues, friends - boy or girl.

In the beginning Jane Green introduces Jemima as a large women who believes that the only way to get ahead in life is to be "thin". Unfortunately that is how our society thinks as well. All you have to do is look at what is on TV or in our magazines and the pictures are worth a thousand words. We see thin attractive young ladies. This is the message our youth is receiving and trying to be " thin" is what guys like and the "thinner the better". As a high school teacher I have witness many young girls who believe this and develop a serious life threatening disease - anorexia nervosa. The message that this book is sending is that the only way to get the guy of your dreams or ahead in your job is to be thin. As JJ takes us through her battle to be thin and the inward thoughts about the thin people in her life we also see that she has gone from one addiction - food- to another - exercise and not eating properly. This addiction brings rewards that are glamorous to all - a promotion, attention from all men, and the guy on the net, and finally the guy of her dreams but what are the costs physically? In the book it mentioned that she received a fitness test and her personal trainer set up a program of exercise and diet. That is all good and should have been followed. Why did Jane Green insist on having JJ lose 20 more pounds then what the trainer recommended as healthy and why mention that she was hardly eating anything. This could have been a great opportunity for the young and old to see that listening to the trainer of eating properly and exercising is the best route to getting fit. JJ finally realizes this at the very end but the message was long sent prior to her figuring this out and still getting all that she wanted when she was 20 pounds under the recommended weight. Another message that was conceived was the promotion. Couldn't JJ have still received the promotion prior to losing the weight? Why couldn't her boss finally noticed the hard work that she did and realized that she was doing Geraldine's job as well? It seems like the only reason she was held back was because of her weight not because she could not do the job. We see that today, in some places it is not what you do or how much you know but how you look and who you know that gets you moved up the ladder.
Another big issue in this book is the fact that Jemima and the Internet. This is a important piece of technology in our world today that opens many doors for our jobs and personal life. I believe that the Internet has down played the face to face interaction with people today. It is much easier to type our views than it is to say them to people via the phone or in person. We have lost the personal touch. That being said I do believe that the Internet was a tool that helped JJ start to open up and share her inner self because she could hide behind the screen and people would not judge her by how she looked. She was able to talk with Brad and develop a relationship with him for who she was on the inside before he saw what was on the outside. Unfortunately that relationship did not work out. JJ was lucky in the way that Brad was not someone out to hurt her physically - he just did not know how to live his life the way he wanted without feeling like he was going to be judge by how his date looked. She was lucky, we hear horror stories about predators searching the net for a new victim. JJ was able to have an experience that she probably would never have thought she could have and that was good for her because it allowed her to finally realize what she wanted and how she wanted her life to be. She finally decided that she was the happiest when she gained some weight and was a voluptuous, feminine, curvy size 10. This is important to note, because she decided that being that thin was not making her happy but what made her happy was finding someone who shared the same interest that she had- her love for books, technology, being able to talk about issues, and staying fit and healthy.

I liked this book a side from all the negative messages that it holds for the young and naive. As an adult I was able to relate to JJ because I have been in those shoes or known someone who has struggled with the same issues. This book gives us hope that our dreams can be reached with a little effort and not to forget our values and morals just to get someone or promoted. If we do forget those then we will still be unhappy until we go back to what we believe in. Who we are on the inside is what will make us happy.