Customer Reviews

Pretty in Plaid: A Life, A Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have read all of Jen's books. Bitter was amazing! I told tons of people to read it and not one was disappointed. Pretty in Plaid sadly I will not be giving a hearty recommendation for. I agree with another review, chapter one was a gas! And there were moments of great stuff in this book, but not enough to make you want to turn the page. I am sad this book did not live up to my Jen standard. Read her first two, maybe her third but take a pass on this one.

I hesitated in buying this book thinking that going back to Jen's childhood could not be nearly as Snarky and hillarious as doing such adult things as pretending you have a homeowner's association and that you are the president. I saw that other readers didn't love this one as much, so that made me hesitate too. Boy, was I wrong and I'm so glad I read it.

I found this book delightful and HILLARIOUS! Now, that could be because I think Jen and I are about the same age, with a very practical, middle class up-bringing, therefore have we have many of the same experiences and perspectives. If you are a child of the 70's & 80s and remember Kristy McNichol, Jordache Jeans, Polo shirts and Michael Jackson, you may relate too. She walks readers through her real first job and how she though she was RICH! Didn't we all? When you hit the 20k's in salary.. woo hoo!! until you have to pay rent and a car payment. Then the first time you heard people talking about "Their Lewie" - not know ing it wasn't a dog or an uncle, but a Louis (As in Louis Vuitton).

Jen feels like a Facebook friend I don't personally know very well, but because I read her posts and see her photos, I feel like we are BFFs. I think this book is worth the read. Just be prepared to remember who you were at that time. The entertainment lies not only in Jen's story, but who the reader was at that time in their own history.

The publisher got greedy and the author got lazy. (Success can do that to you.) With the triumph of three books, someone got itchy to make some more dough and I guess a prequel sounded like a good idea, as well as a surefire moneymaker.
JL's grammar and high school years are a bore. It also reads like she made it up -- so much for the memoir part.
The book gets going more than half way through when JL goes to college, but didn't really capture my interest until the story about the yellow argyle sweater. That is class Jen.
The stories of her professional life don't hold a candle to her temp stories from the second book.
Then the book just sort of ends with..."and you know the rest...Bitter Is The New Black...blah, blah, blah."
I understand she has three more books in the works. I hope she puts effort back into those.

I'm a huge fan of Jan Lancaster, but I totally agree with what's been written here. Definitely not her best work. Still funny at points, but I don't feel like she went 100% with this one.

If I hadn't read Jen's other books and nearly put myself into a coma with laughing, I would think this was hilarious. In comparison, it's just OK. It's still worth buying and reading, but I just like her adult books better. The memoir stuff is all right, but the timeline fast-forwarded at the end and felt disjointed.

I'm a big fan of Jen and I have all her previous books, follow her blog, and laugh hysterically at things she writes. That being said, I ran out to buy this book as soon as I could and it took me a lot longer to finish than her previous ones. Her previous ones I had great difficulty putting down, this one I'd put down and wouldn't feel impatient to pick it up again.

Don't mistake me, this book wasn't bad and it was an easy read. It got better for me as it went along, but it lacked a lot of the laughter of previous books. Her traveling through the decades of her life was fine but some parts were just not very exciting or entertaining. Her early life wasn't as exciting, for me, until we got through the 80's.

Jen's writing is great and I'm a big fan of the footnotes which have been constant in all her books, but if I were to recommend a Jen book I'd recommend her previous ones before I recommend PIP.

I picked up Jen's first book, Bitter is the New Black, about a year and a half ago. It was funny and witty and made me want to read more. So I read the next book, and started following her blog. Then Such a Pretty Fat came, and Jen hit the New York Times Bestseller list.

This book follows her through her childhood to young adulthood, to place her as an uncomfortable teenager defining herself through a certain size of a certain brand, or a child being made fun of for her accent and too-fancy clothes on her first day at a new school.

Jen Lancaster is a funny, charmingly bitchy woman, who I would love to have drinks with. If anybody reads this review and has the opportunity to meet her on her book tour, DO IT. She's great in person. I met her in Atlanta, and my sister and I had a great time.

My only complaint about this book is that it doesn't translate fantastically to Kindle. The footnotes do not display on the bottom of the page; instead, you have to scroll through and click. I went out and bought a hardcover copy instead.

I had read all four of Jen Lancaster's books and occasionally read her blog. I think she's funny and I'm amused by her sense of humor, however, I did not love this. It felt forced; like she was reaching to think of funny things to talk about. I still chuckled at some points, but its definitely not her best book ("Bitter" is). I will probably continue to read her books, but I certainly won't be paying $25 for a brand new hardcover. Next time I'll buy it used or wait for it to come out in paperback.

I bought this book with such excitement. First chapter was great, and then the book slowed down as if it hit a freeway at rush hour. I am the reader who will keep plowing through thinking it will get better. It didn't and for once I put a book down midway through the read. I was disappointed. It seems she was under pressure to write a follow up and went for a prequel. The only thing is the stories are not so different from my own childhood. I hope she finds her groove again...it just wasn't with this effort.

...but quickly fades. The first entry was funny enough, but subsequent entries wear thin very quickly. I think she is trying to come off as Adrian Mole, but her life isn't that interesting nor her comments that clever. I got a third of the way through and then-enough. Might appeal to twelve-year-olds though.