Keturah's Review of Milkrun by Sarah Mlynowski

Meet Fern Jacquelyn Norris, a young twenty-something copy editor working on romance novels and living in Boston. At the start of the story, Jackie--as she prefers being called--has just been dumped by her boyfriend, Jeremy, of three years. Jeremy has met someone in Thailand, which sends Jackie off in pursuit of thigh-high boots and a series of disastrous dates in an effort to move on. Along the way, readers are introduced to a cast of characters right out of dating nightmares 101. Also, the cast includes Jackie's friends who are willing to watch Law & Order reruns and eat chocolate chip cookie-dough with her while keeping her just a little grounded.

Sarah Mlynowski presents Jackie as a very likable heroine, someone readers can easily relate to, even if they are in a different age group. The writing is fast-paced and believable. However, there are parts that come across as awkward, most noticeably several references to “the Net.” It causes this 2001 debut to feel a bit forced and outdated, especially in today’s gadget saturated environment. Due to the abrupt ending, everything is not wrapped up in a neat package as Jackie embarks on a path to self-discovery. Milkrun is an often funny, sometimes insightful, girl meets boy(s) story told in the vein of Bridget Jones’s Diary.

Sarah Mlynowski is also the author of Fishbowl, As Seen on TV, Monkey Business, Me vs. Me, See Jane Write: A Girl's Guide to Writing Chick Lit, and the teen novels Bras & Broomsticks, Frogs & French Kisses, Spells & Sleeping Bags, Parties & Potions and Gimme a Call. She also co-wrote How to Be Bad with teen authors E.Lockhart and Lauren Myracle. Her latest YA novel, Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn’t Have), will be out next month. Sarah's books have been translated into twenty-one languages and optioned for film. She was born in Montreal, but now lives in New York City. To learn more about Sarah, visit her Web site and connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.
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What do you think of this review? Have you read Milkrun or any of Sarah's other books? Leave a comment to let us know. Thanks!