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Jessica Z. (2008)

by Shawn Klomparens(Favorite Author)

3.51 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0385342004 (ISBN13: 9780385342001)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Delta

review 1: It's such a delight to stumble onto a good book that I didn't choose just because others (meaning the NYTimes, et. al.) told me I should read it.Jessica Z., set in hilly San Francisco, is a fast paced, well-written story about a twenty-something girl trying to figure out who she is and what she wants out of life and love, all while dealing with the post-9/11 fear of terrorism. Jessica has all kinds of problems—family, relationship, work—and the author, Shawn Klomparens, sorts them out one by one, taking the reader rapidly through her associated emotional states.This book has a lot of subplots and red herrings. Klomparens does an excellent job of keeping the reader on his/her toes about several of the characters, namely Josh, Gretchen and Emily; the reader stays wary, a... morend therefore engaged, until the very end of the book. On the surface, this book might seem like Women's Fiction (because of the female protagonist) or even a Romance (based on the cover), but it is quite suspenseful—almost a whodunit. The most impressive part, in my opinion, is immediately following a tragedy (I won't say what). Klomparens expands upon Jessica's emotional state so that the reader truly feels the impact of what she is going through. Then he deftly leads her out of it to tie up one of the many subplots that ties right back to the main plot: how a person's past shapes their present day persona. Very well done.Written in 2008 (or slightly before), this book carries the angst and anger that Americans felt post-9/11. Reading it in 2012, I am reminded of the day to day anxiety we felt then; I think it's important that we Americans do not forget that time in our history.Jessica Z. is an engaging read. I strongly recommend it. Four Stars
review 2: Great book I have never read any of Shawn Klomparens books and the cover was not the usual I would pick up, I was very surprised how the book was.Jessica has a reasonably good job but is bored with it she also has a intricate love life.I found myself settling in to her 'normal' life and then it turns.Her friendship with Gretchen is the catalyst that changer her life and then the arrival of Josh changes her outlook on things in general. The subsequent integration of her life with Josh's is very different to what she has been used to. This is all going on whilst in the background the bombing of buses is going on and josh seems to think that the bombs are inevitable. Where will this all end. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will be looking up the author again. less

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