Page Count: 208
Published on: June 2, 2005
Published by: Speak
Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, YA, Realistic Fiction
Source: Paperback
Source: Paperback
My Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads synopsis:
Meet Jenna Boller, star employee at Gladstone Shoe Store in Chicago. Standing a gawky 5'11'' at 16 years old, Jenna is the kind of girl most likely to stand out in the crowdùfor all the wrong reasons. But that doesn't stop Madeline Gladstone, the president of Gladstone's Shoes 176 outlets in 37 states, from hiring Jenna to drive her cross country in a last ditch effort to stop Elden Gladstone from taking over his mother's company and turning a quality business into a shop-and-schlock empire. Now Jenna Boller shoe salesperson is about to become a shoe-store spy as she joins her crusty old employer for an eye-opening adventure that will teach them both the rules of the roadùand the rules of life. Joan Bauer lives in Darien, CT.
~~~
"My grandma always said that God made libraries so that people didn't have an excuse to be stupid."
~Jenna
Hey, guys!
I read this book for the BookTube-A-Thon and I was really surprised when I actually enjoyed this book. This book was described as something that I wouldn't usually pick up for myself. Courtney actually gave me this book for Christmas and I've been saving it for when I was in a mood for a summer-y contemporary mood.
This book is about a young girl who views herself as the "ugly duckling" of her family. She's a very driven and hard working girl who sells shoes at the local Gladstone's Shoe store. She's passionate about her job and she loves being in the shoe-selling business. Jenna is recruited by the elderly founder of the company to drive her around the country to take her to her other stores, and eventually to the meeting where she is expecting to be forced to retire by her money-hungry son.
I adored the characters in this book. Jenna is such a sassy and strong character. I loved her dedication to helping Mrs. Gladstone and her constant drive to better herself. She's always trying to ensure that those around her aren't hurt. Her sister is kind of oblivious when it comes to how much Jenna protects her from, and when she discovers how much Jenna does for her, it was a really sweet homecoming for Jenna.
I also really loved Mrs. Gladstone. Mrs. G is such a badass lady, and though she is in her late 70's she's still so focused on ensuring that her company's values are unchanged and that money doesn't drive the decisions of the company. She is a tough-as-nails kind of gal, which I really loved. There are very few older women in young-adult literature, and in adult literature as well, that are represented in a positive light. This book dealt with ageism in a wonderful way. Older women are usually treated like nuisances or disregarded because of their age. This book took this problem head on with a strong and spunky lady who didn't take any crap from those who treated her unfairly.
There are so many diverse and unique characters in this book that were laugh-out-loud hilarious. I loved seeing the people that Jenna encountered in her perspective. Her voice was so fresh and entertaining. She was so witty and when you added Mrs. Gladstone to the mix, it was literally laugh-out-loud funny.
There was another aspect to this book that I really loved, and that was that there was barely any romance in it. There was one scene that could be considered romantic, but it was more about Jenna realizing herself.
This is one of those books that represent women and represent us well. This book expressed that women could be in business and be good businesswomen at that. I loved that there wasn't any romantic sub-plot and that it had a wonderful cast of characters -- male and female.
I highly recommend this book. It was fantastic to read. Lovers of Morgan Matson, Jennifer Niven, Stephanie Perkins, or Rainbow Rowell; you will adore this book.
- Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
- The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
- Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
- Lola & the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
- Isla & the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
- Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Don't forget to check out the LivTheBookClub read-along too! For the month of August, we're reading Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw! Click {here} to join!
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