Jennifer Johnson Is Sick of Being Single

by Heather McElhatton

Book Overview

A wicked comedy about the perils of making your dreams come true Quirky, clever, cubicle-bound Jennifer Johnson is desperate. Everyone around her is getting married, while she's still single and stuck writing ad copy about men's dress socks. Her life hits crisis level, launching her into a humiliating and painfully hilarious quest to find Prince Charming at any cost. This includes agonizing online dates, diet-clinic cults, drag-queen fights, and a...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061461369
• ISBN13: 9780061461361
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Funny but chilling

The author has a very wacky sense of humor, and several passages of this book made me laugh out loud. Her protagonist, Jennifer Johnson, doesn't really fit into her religious community in Minnesota. She collects kitschy figurines, has dolls that do naughty things, and has a gay best friend. However, her dream is rather conventional: find a millionaire, marry him and live happily ever after. Then that dream takes a nasty left turn. This is one of those books where the ending is *not* predictable.

A Must Read for Any Girl Who Has Ever Thought a Cute, Rich Husband Would Make Her Life Perfect.

A must read for any girl who has ever thought a cute, rich husband would make her life perfect (ahem, like me). I love Jennifer Johnson and I love this book. It was laugh out loud funny! There is a scene with a motivational speaker at Jennifer's boring corporate job that is funnier than anything you've seen on "The Office." Also, one of my favorite side characters to come out of a book in a long time is the Cinnabon counter girl who acts like Jennifer's trusted bartender. She knows all Jennifer's secrets and is there with a helpful hand when needed. It's genius. This book is funny and fun like good chick lit should be but it also realistically deals with the fantasy that chick-lit usually hands out and turns it on its head. It's a very fresh take on a popular theme (girl is single, girl meets rich guy, girl lives happily ever after). Kudos to Heather McElhatton for taking a chance with this twist and for being so dang funny while doing it! Seriously, if you're looking for a fresh take on the chick-lit genre then you should read this book. I am a huge fan of chick lit (Helen Fielding, Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Weiner, Meg Cabot, etc.) and I can safely say that Heather McElhatton is right there with them. It's not a romance novel, Jennifer Johnson might not always do what you think she is going to do but you will love her all the more for being real (and for making you laugh loud and hard in the middle of a crowded bus during your commute to work and shed a tear or two on your commute home).

Don't simplify this as a "chick-lit" book.

McElhatton has finally done it; she's taken the wit, cynicism (and the inherent hope that germinates the seed of cynicism) I've come to expect from our generation of writers (yet rarely delivered), and packaged it into the most wonderful book I've read in years. By all accounts, this doesn't appear to be marketed as "my" book. Nevertheless, after attending a few of McElhatton's readings, productions, and enjoying the hell out of her "Pretty Little Mistakes" book, I decided to give this a go. I figured, "if I've not taken to it within the 3rd chapter, I'll pass it on to my girlfriend." A week later, my girlfriend has been left to buy her own copy. I *adore* this book. Everything about it - the honesty, humor, and deconstruction of neurosis vs. jack-assery is brilliant. If this isn't made into a film within 1 year, I'll be very surprised. 5 enthusiastic stars!

An amazing jaunt of paralizing brillance

My God this is an amazing book. a journey of the soul that still has a romper room zeal for life. This is the kind of book that all the Sex In the City types aspire to be. Funny and heartfelt, hitting you with a one two punch, that will make you laugh and cry often at the same time. The author creates an ultra-vivid world full of delight. If you don't know these characters then you must live in some sort of cavern, most certainly one without basic cable. Jennifer Johnson is more then just type on a page, there is a life beyond words in her character. I envy those of you who get to read this for the first time,it truly is a remarkable ride.

David E Sunderand

OK...I love this book. It is witty, well written and a bit like potato chips....one is not enough. Kudos to Heather McElhatton for a fun read. I feel as if I personally know all the characters and have a much better sense of life in Minneapolis, MN. The perfect read if you are looking for an escape into the wacky world of dating. Applicable to both men and women...well maybe I got a little crazy but what the H***..."WRITE ON"....