Customer Reviews

Milkrun

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

If you are in the mood for a quick, light, refreshing read, then Milkrun is for you. I recently finished a very lengthy, heavy book, so reading Milkrun was like a breath of fresh air for me. A simple tale about a girl getting dumped and her determination to get over it quick -- something a lot of us can relate to.

Twenty-four-year-old Jackie Norris just got the boot in the tackiest way -- via e-mail. Her boyfriend, Jeremy, has been off "finding himself" in Thailand -- in the arms of someone else. Jackie is devastated but will not let it get her down as she swears to get back in the dating game. Meanwhile, Jackie's roommate, Samantha, is fed-up with Marc, her no-commitment boyfriend of five years. So she issues the ultimatum -- and the response wasn't quite what she was expecting.

Told with a funny, wise-cracking sense of humor, Milkrun is definitely a winner. Not a deep-meaning dating drama by any means, but there are many situations in the story that are highly relateable, and readers will most likely recognize a part of Jackie in themselves. I urge all readers who want an easy, no-frills read to pick this book up and enjoy. The perfect in-between-books book or for a lazy day on the porch swing.

I bought this book after reading the many rave reviews on here about it. As a fan of the Bridget Jones type of genre, I thought the premise for this story sounded cute and like a quick, fun read. It was neither of these things. I found it very difficult to identify with the main character or to care about what happened to her. Halfway through the book, I started rooting for the boyfriend who had dumped her. Near the end, I was hoping that any nice guy would steer clear of her. And speaking of the ending, I won't give anything away here except to say that the book ended very abruptly in my opinion with no satisfying resolution. I was very disappointed in the whole story. One final thing I found highly annoying were the numerous mistakes throughout the book - misspellings, words wrongly used, etc. (for example, "he motioned for her to sit on the coach [instead of couch]). The publisher needs to get some decent proofreaders. This is one of the most disappointing books I have read in this genre. For anyone looking for some great ones, I highly recommend the Bridget Jones books (both the original and the sequel) and also the excellent books by Sophie Kinsella (Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan).

There isn't a character or situation in Sarah Mlynowski's novel Milkrun that I couldn't relate to in my personal life. In fact, the book reads like it was torn from the pages of my own diary, probably similar to every other woman dating today. The witty, twenty-something protagonist, Jackie Norris, is on the rebound from her boyfriend, "Jilting Jeremy," who left her on an excursion to Thailand in order to "find himself." Surrounded by her college friends--Natalie, the Boston socialite, and Wendy, her best friend and workaholic investment banker in New York--and her roommate--Sam, whose own relationships leaves her both jealous and nauseous--Jackie discloses her most personal details in Milkrun on her search to find a boyfriend and deal with the rejected feelings left by the previous one. Like an episode of "Sex in the City" or a re-run of "Friends," we tag along on her series of dates with former high-school hunk Jonathan Gradinger, Stripe-boy Damon, and Tim, the Saint and brother of co-worker Julie. Jackie works as an editor at Cupid, publishing home to the romance novels, and in between time spent there avoiding fellow editor and punctuation-obsessed Helen, she attempts to earn the next belt in her Tae Kwon Do class and ventures out on a weekly basis with Natalie and friends to her favorite bar, Orgasm, occasionally running into Andrew, Jeremy's best friend. Then, of course, there's her family and extended family and dealing with the fact she's dating a man with the same name as her father. I see myself in Jackie; every single near college-aged girl has dated and been hurt by a Jeremy; we all try to please but end up dreading dealing with the families; and we all lean on our friends to make it through the tough times. I recommend this book because it makes you feel normal about your own life, smile at your own bad dating experiences and look forward to an ending like the novel itself.

The writing in Milkrun is as cute as the cover!
A perfect read for any 20 or 30 something...or any girl who is single or remembers what it's like to be in the dating world. The main character Jackie is a 24 year old single gal who recently moved to Boston to be with her boyfriend Jeremy. When Jeremy decides he needs some time alone touring Thailand, Jackie finds herself boyfriend-less in a new town. As a result, you will become one of Jackie's closest friends, following her around in the search for Mr. Right and experience her female friendships along with her. This book is fun and humorous and the perfect read if you're looking for some light-hearted single girl in the dating world entertainment!

Don't get me wrong--I'm a big fan of chick lit, like the Marian Keyes and "Bridget Jones" books. But even light entertainment should be well-written, and this book isn't. It's a huge, almost plotless mess, dull and full of errors. The narrator, Jackie, works as a copy editor for a publisher, but ridicules a co-worker who actually cares about good grammar and punctuation. Well, somebody associated with this book should have cared a little more about those things. In addition, Jackie is an annoying and unlikeable heroine who feels compelled to share her boring, unremarkable thoughts on every little thing. For instance, she thinks soy milk tastes like regular milk with sugar in it. She doesn't drink red wine because it stains her teeth. And, she feels that if you go to a cosmetics counter for a free makeover, it's not really free because you'll be expected to buy the products that were used, although you can usually get away with buying just a lipstick, but if you get a free gift with purchase, that usually contains a lipstick as well, although it's never the color you want. . . . WHO CARES??? Does the author really think Jackie's thoughts are interesting and original? The book is not only tiresome, it's at times downright unpleasant--the author seems fixated on the topic of body odor. I'm shocked at the good reviews on this page, but I figure most of them were written by the author's friends and relatives (a dead giveaway: the numerous "unhelpful" votes the negative reviews have received). The first Red Dress Ink book ("See Jane Date") was better than I expected, but this one was much worse. I truly wish I hadn't wasted my time on it, not to mention my [money]. There are a lot of books out there--please trust me when I say you can find a better one than this!

Run from this book--even if you aren't lactose intolerant! Disappointing and trivial heroine, this story has been told a hundred times and a hundred times better. Totally predictable, boring and annoying. The only thing that kept me reading was trying to catch all of the "Canadianisms" in a story supposedly written from the point of view of a Connecticut-bred, Penn-educated, Boston-inhabitant.

I hate books like these-you know, the ones that you start to read before bed and you can't put down. I spent a few nights past my bedtime enjoying this tale of dating in your twenties. Actually, I am in my thirties but little has changed.

This is the tale of Jackie, a copyeditor in Boston searching for her true romance after being dumped by her longterm boyfriend. I just loved her acerbic take on the dating scene and her reliance on "Fashion Magazine Fun Facts" as a mantra to live by. Anyone who has ever endured an evening sitting in a bar like "Orgasm" being oogled by idiots will appreciate this book.

Her friends join her on her quest for the perfect man-all experiencing romance pangs as well. The e-mails regarding a certain date named Tim are a riot! Also loved the bits from the romance novels Jackie edits (they are more like soft core porn).

Sarah Mlynowski is a fun author and this is a great first book. I would be very interested in reading more from her and her take on single life.

Jackie is 24 year old single woman who recently moved to Boston to be near her boyfriend Jeremy. Of course, before he moves, Jeremy decides he needs some time alone touring Thailand to 'find himself.' Before he leaves, he suggests that they see other people, and she says nothing. Of course, during the course of his trip, he finds someone, and sends Jackie an e-mail telling her that he's seeing someone. Jackie decides to make him regret his decision, and starts going to a local bar, Orgasm, with her friend, to try to meet a new man...and of course Jeremy eventually comes back into her life...and well, I won't ruin the end.

One of the biggest things that annoyed me about this book was the extremely poor editing. There were misspelled words everywhere, which is rather ironic considering Jackie is a copy editor! One would think that they would take the time to at least check for misspelled words.

I found Jackie and the other female characters to be extremely shallow and weak. It seemed that their lives revolved around finding a boyfriend, as if they couldn't survive without a man. Jackie oscillates from liking Jeremy, to her high-school crush Jon, to Tim, to Andrew, to Jeremy, to Andrew....it seemed like a different man every chapter. She started to like any man who paid attention to her. Andrew touches her shoulder at one point, and she 'realizes' that she likes him. Please. One would think she would take a step back and try to figure out what she really wanted....but she felt like nothing without a man.

I'm extremely disappointed in this novel. I enjoy books in this genre, and this is by far the lowest-caliber one I've read. Skip this one.

Jackie Norris, the main character, is so likeable--I wanted to call her up and commiserate with her by page 20! What is this nonsense about finding oneself? She doesn't seem to get 'it' either. If you're lost, how do you know when you've finally been found?

It is so much fun to peek into the mind of this character, I couldn't put this book down! She's witty, wry and confused--all ingredients for a fantastic read about her dating days. You'll be in stitches, seriously!

There aren't a lot of complex issues, or unbelievable events, but this book was a fabulous read--truly one of my favorites by the halfway point. I found myself reading parts out loud to my friends and when I stopped, they asked for more. You won't be able to NOT like Jackie Norris-her voice is so easy to relate to and enjoy.

Overall, this was an awesome book that flowed really well. My only complaint was that the ending left me wanting...more, I suppose! That's probably also a positive thing about the book. I won't miss any future books by Sarah Mlynowski. I was absolutely sad that it was over, but now I can start reading "Fishbowl". This book comes highly recommended.

...

Milkrun was among the most painful reading experiences of my entire life (and I am a rather promiscuous reader). It was entirely predictable (the only chicklit trope not trotted out for our delectation was the fabulous gay friend), clunkily conceived, poorly edited (as many others have pointed out), even more poorly imagined, and the writing was just bad. There's no other way to say it.

I loved See Jane Date, and I really admire RD Inc for publishing young female authors who might not otherwise get the chance, but you've got to think--there are reasons they might not otherwise get the chance. ...