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Dec 31, 2008

Jen B rated it:

I LOVED this book, and I will miss it now that I'm done with it. I'm having trouble putting exactly how I feel about it into words, so I'm copying this review from a post I wrote about it on my blog:

This book is like literary crack - I can't stop reading. I was up two hours past my usual bedtime last night devouring its pages. The premise of the book seems simple: Jessica meets Josh, a handsome artist, at a party and immediately falls head-over-heels. She ditches Patrick, her upstair More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 08, 2008

Becky rated it:

Shawn Klomparens accomplishes a major feat in his first novel: capturing the voice of a young woman. Protagonist Jessica Zorich is charming, intelligent, multi-faceted, and realistic. I never once thought, "A woman wouldn't really say/do that." In fact, until I wikipediaed the author, I thought maybe it was a woman with a female name. Thanks, Metro Book Club for sending me this one. I didn't want it to end.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 09, 2008

Lizzi rated it:

There are some books that leave me yearning to read more like them; this is one. The cover states that it's unsettling and it's true. The events and characters are complex and all too real, and keep you intrigued up until the very end. The fact that nothing is clear cut and cookie cutter perfect makes this book all the more enjoyable and thought provoking.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 12, 2009

Courtney rated it:

I really enjoyed this book! It really hangs on to you days after you are finished and you are still left wondering how the characters are. I found it interesting how I thought I had the whole book figured out many of times and the author surprised me each time.

0 comments like

Feb 06, 2009

Holli rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

14 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2008

Brandie rated it:

This book was an amazing story. I loved the characters and wanted more when the book ended. Great book!

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 21, 2009

karen rated it:

people who like this book are frothing over it. i have had several complete strangers recommend it to me on goodreads. and its good. its a very solid first novel by a man writing womens fiction. and i dont mean that to sound disparaging. its not chick lit - its more mature and considered than that, but it is most certainly womens fiction. there are a couple of things that are more literary than realistic, but i dont live in san francisco, maybe all the young well-off pretty people all end up liv More...

28 comments like (19 people liked it)

Nov 12, 2008

Karen rated it:

The author was a high school classmate of my sister's and this is his first novel. Wanted to read it and support his effort. Set in a post-9/11 world, it explores a relationship between a young woman and a mysterious artist. It was an adequate read, except I felt the author broke his own rules regarding character development in the last third of the book. The perameters he set for the characters were broken in order to resolve the main mystery/conflict. I ws disappointed in that regard.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 24, 2008

Carolyn rated it:

Great summer read -- fast paced, mystery and romance. What could be better?

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 07, 2008

Tammy rated it:

This book started out with such a unique, fun voice. Then I got lost in the maudlin, weirdness of the middle and end. The whole art subplot was completely boring (laying still while your body is scanned is NOT interesting... what was the author thinking?)

The characters of Jessica, Katie, Gretchen, and Patrick are great, sadly they are replaced by the unlikable and ridiculous Josh character. I really disliked when Jessica visits Emily which is totally unrealistic. If only the aut More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2008

Becca rated it:

I needed to digest this for a few days before I wrote the review. I was stunned by how real the whole thing seemed: the characters, the settings, everything. And a big part of that realism was how the characters weren't always sympathetic, and rarely were able to make easy decisions.

Have you ever had a friend talk you into going to see a movie you knew nothing about, and once you see it, you think, "oh my gosh, this is the best thing ever, how did I never hear about this before? More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 26, 2008

Jessica rated it:

A ambitious novel from a new writer. The writing and characterization completely pulled me in-- plus there was a dynamic relationship between two sisters. I love that!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 29, 2008

Hannah rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 21, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

I got so sucked into this book by the breezy, fun tone, then it turned serious in a way I did NOT expect. Josh was so manipulative, but really Jessica was too, and when I realized I was sympathizing with her that way it made me mad. When I finished, I couldn't stop thinking about it for a few days, I just wanted to *talk* to someone about it. This was (not exaggerating) the best book I read this year.

ALSO!!! I had to check twice that the author was a guy. I was so convinced by th More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 01, 2008

Corinne rated it:

Mr. Klomparens creates a version of San Fransisco that feels like when I dream about it. It's like I'm there, and I know it, but it's different. And like a dream, you don't know if it's going to be good or bad, and maybe you wake up and wonder if it really happened for a moment. The quote on the cover calls it "unsettling" and that's not far from the truth (and not in a bad way, it just challenges you.)

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2008

Cynthia rated it:

Oh how I loved this book; oh how I loved that it didn't have an easy ending; oh how I loved that it didn't insult my intelligence; oh how I loved that is made me ask questions of myself; oh how it made me wonder if lithography is really like that? Anything else? Oh! I really liked Gert. Please come marry me in my next life, Gert.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 02, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Contemporary romance is one of those genres that I tend to stay away from. I can only take so much fluff, and, yes, I realize they aren't all fluffy and cute. I like my romance to be real and gritty, and that is precisely what you get in Shawn Klomparens' debut novel Jessica Z.

What Jess has in the beginning of the novel with Patrick is complicated, as many relationships are. Are they together? Is the timing right? How do they know if it's real? And then, before either of them know it, More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 27, 2010

Catherine rated it:

Jessica Z. is set in an alternative, post-9/11 future (a flash-sideways for all you Lost fans out there) where our security concerns are more than justified. You see, people are blowing up buses in San Francisco at regular intervals, shaking the world, and reshaping people’s lives in an instant.

Against this tense background, we meet Jessica, a woman in her late twenties who’s struggling to find her place in the world. She’s involved in a dysfunctional way with her upstairs neighbor, Pa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 04, 2008

Roxy rated it:

This was an interesting story. I'm not sure how to describe it. I wish this was a book club book, I really wanted to discuss the character relationships.

My first thought is that it was an odd book, story and character wise. I feel like there is a bigger message that I did not quite grasp.
*POSSIBLE SPOILER*

I immediatlly loved the relationship between Jess & Patrick but knew it wasn't going to last the whole book, how could it if it was great in the first pages? More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 03, 2009

Cher rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 23, 2009

Angie rated it:

read this for the Columbus Book Club's February meeting. Between 3 and 4 stars, I went with 3 because I can't say I will ever read it again necessarily. I think the writing was great and the characterizations were wonderful. I enjoyed how he told much of his story in dialogue. But at the end I almost wondered what the main point of the story was. Much was unresolved in a way I thought odd, and maybe that was the point - the paranoia and disturbia that had mounted within the book turned out More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 16, 2008

Katy rated it:

Interesting, sometimes intense, and almost poignant page-turner about the life of a twenty-something woman figuring out her life in a post-911 world. The author did an impressive job of writing in a woman's voice, although some of the dialogue was awkward. His habit of ending the main character's declarative sentences with question marks got tired pretty quickly: "Thank you?" "I'm sorry?" "It would be so cool if everyone talked like this?"

Spoiler alert! More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 30, 2008

Tristan rated it:

My girlfriend kept asking me to read this. I finally did, and thought it was okay. My girlfriend also kept saying she couldn't believe it was written by a man, do you all really think like this? Have I been missing something?

I really enjoyed the maps. I've always been into maps, and I thought that was very cool, and how he did the scanning thing with the topo maps. I'd be interested in seeing something like that for real.

I did NOT enjoy Josh. Every time that guy showed up More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 18, 2008

Lolly LKH rated it:

A lot of people talked about how amazing this novel is. It was decent enough to keep me reading, but I kept waiting for something interesting to happen. I felt like there was a suggestion of twists but it lead to dead ends. I didn't think the author got into the mind of a woman as much as other people have said in their reviews. I would read another book by the author in the future, I think there is potential in his writing but a better storyline would help. The ending fell flat as well. Things More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 19, 2009

Tara rated it:

So far I am hooked. I can't wait to find out what happens. I am not sure what page I am on because the Kindle doesn't have page numbers. I am in the middle of Chapter 3.

6 comments like

Dec 19, 2008

Allison rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

3 comments like

Jan 10, 2010

Grace rated it:

Shawn Klomparens' debut novel, "Jessica Z.", is one of those novels you can't put down. The characters and conflicts are realistic. The male author does a great job writing from a female point of view and his portrayal of female relationships is accurate.

The story centers around Jessica Zorich, a young advertising professional in San Francisco, and her struggles she faces as a twenty-something woman: a kind of relationship with her upstairs neighbor, Patrick; a job that pr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 16, 2009

christa rated it:

I started reading "Jessica Z" by Shawn Klomparens while getting gas. I was three pages in when the pump clicked to indicate a full tank, and I jumped like a foot. It was like I'd gone into some sort of Klomparens koma or something. "This is a good sign," I thought. "I'm not going to be able to put this book down."

That much is true. I read Klomparens' first novel over the course of a single rainy Saturday. The title-character is an upper 20s copy writer l More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 08, 2012

Morgan rated it:

Such a compelling story...

From the start, I was sucked into Jess's world. The writing was tight, fresh, quick paced, laced with humor throughout. It's been awhile since I was so immersed into a literary book that I couldn't put down. The story stayed with me when I wasn't reading and gripped me while I was. Jess, as a MC was so real. In fact, each character was wholly believable and quirky in their own way. Great balance between plot and character, where they each pushed the story f More...

2 comments like

Jul 13, 2010

Megan rated it:

Shawn Klomparens’ debut novel Jessica Z strikes a perfect balance, shifting flawlessly between major plot developments and the cinematic quiet moments that fill the spaces in between. The reader is treated to a relatively unremarkable 28 year-old San Franciscan career girl who is instantly endearing in her normality. We either all are, were or know a Jessica; a young woman living and working in her own city, someone with close ties to her less-than-perfect family, who finds herself in a less-th More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)