https://www.amazon.com/Shampoo-Effect-Novel-Jenny-Jackson-ebook/dp/B0FTF73GVN/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0
Now, for a palate cleanser...
The number one criterion for a book is readability. It's got to be something that people want to read!
Which is why you can buy the vaunted award-winner, the book with all the hype, and find yourself falling asleep on the second or third page. Those people are not writing for readers, they're writing to impress their brethren, usually overeducated people who believe descriptors are the essence of good literature.
Now I've been on a run of mediocre books. It's late at night, I pick up what I'm reading and within a page or two I'm not in the mood and I find myself on my iPad, doomscrolling and watching ski videos. I'm not proud of this, I don't like wasting time, but I haven't found a book that has called out to me, that I wanted to read, that I had trouble putting down, until "The Shampoo Effect."
My expectations were not high. I read Jenny Jackson's previous novel, "Pineapple Street," and it was middlebrow at best. Satisfying but not life-changing. And I'm trying to avoid books like this, which are about killing time more than emotional fulfillment.
But it was long after midnight and I started "The Shampoo Effect" and was immediately hooked.
What do we have here...
Thirtysomething millennials, dealing with children and everyday obligations, all the questions of life.
This isn't about politics.
It's partially about family. Why did your parents get married, did they get divorced? Never underestimate role models.
Who do you hook up with and why.
And that person of your dreams from long ago, are you destined to be with them or in truth have you outgrown them?
So the setting is the north shore, up the coast from Boston. It's hard to leave a coastal town, don't underestimate the pull of the beach. And despite so much lousy weather, which requires character to endure, the people in this area stay. As do the people in "The Shampoo Effect," except for the interloper, Caroline, who is there to write a book.
But Caroline has her own issues... Her mother is a very successful novelist, far from stupid, but narcissistic. Ever call someone wanting to convey important emotional news and they're so busy talking about themselves, doing chores at the same time, that you don't even bother? That's what Caroline is confronting.
So many issues of life...
Do you marry your partner...do you need to?
And it's the modern world, with betting apps, and people living beyond their means, one bad bet away from losing everything.
Do you stand up for yourself or go with the flow?
If you make trouble will there be trouble?
Now one good thing about "The Shampoo Effect" is you don't have to wait until the end for certain action to happen. You know, when you can foresee what will happen between two people and you've got to read the rest of the book to get there. Not in "The Shampoo Effect," the action moves right along. The expected occurs, then what?
Now let me be very clear... This is not highbrow literature. I'm not recommending "The Shampoo Effect" to change your life, because it won't. But you will resonate with some life dilemmas and choices.
This is made for a market. Avid female readers. But it's a cut above most of the predictable dreck.
So if you're a woman who goes from one novel to another, read "The Women" by Kristin Hannah... Hannah is a cut above Jenny Jackson. But having said that, what happens in "The Shampoo Effect" rings more true.
And you'll get totally caught up in its world. The world of everyday life, not the one of people promoting themselves online.
As for men... There is a certain type of male that likes to read fiction and is very interested in relationships and family dynamics. They will enjoy "The Shampoo Effect." If this doesn't describe you, don't even start.
On one hand "The Shampoo Effect" is a summer beach read.
But really, it's a cut above that. Not a huge cut, but definitely on a somewhat higher plane.
Life is all about people. How they react. Their choices. And that's what "The Shampoo Effect" is all about. It's not going to win any awards, at least none of the major ones, but if you are a reader and you like to be engrossed in a book that calls out to you, I recommend it.
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