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oliviapengle's review
2.0
2.5 stars. Though much of this book resonated with me, I felt it tried to do entirely too much within 300 pages. It tried to be a history of female pain, her family, La Roy, Jell-O, and American patriarchy - in doing so, it was a bit of a mess. Though many of these things intersect, the connections were tenuous at times. Indeed, the premise of the "curse" was unconvincing as Rowbottom's family sold the company many decades ago and hadn't even invented the product. I really appreciated that she tried to weave all this together but felt like she was simultaneously writing four different books. (Also a few too many "breaking the mold" metaphors.)
timetravelingnerd's review
2.0
Not what I was sold on- more of like the story of the author’s mother written entirely in purple prose than a history of a Jell-o curse
ramonamead's review against another edition
2.0
There were parts of I found extremely interesting, and others that were confusing and/or unnecessary. The overall feel of the book is choppy. It's clear that the author had a lot of different threads she tried to weave together. It works in a few spots but overall leaves the reader feeling scattered and disconnected from the material and characters.
This is part family memoir, part history of Jello, and part commentary on sexism and the power of the patriarchy. I most enjoyed learning about Jello's role in American culture throughout the decades. The connection between Jello's story and the author's family is there, but seems she could have made it stronger.
The book should have had pictures. There are many times the author describes a Jello advertisement or her family photos. Trying to visualize what she's describing took me out of the story. Photos would have been fun, broke up the text, and emphasized the points the author was trying to make.
This is part family memoir, part history of Jello, and part commentary on sexism and the power of the patriarchy. I most enjoyed learning about Jello's role in American culture throughout the decades. The connection between Jello's story and the author's family is there, but seems she could have made it stronger.
The book should have had pictures. There are many times the author describes a Jello advertisement or her family photos. Trying to visualize what she's describing took me out of the story. Photos would have been fun, broke up the text, and emphasized the points the author was trying to make.
eager_reader_'s review against another edition
2.0
Do not recommend. I love a good family drama, but this was snoozeville. This is the actual story of the Jell-O dynasty apparently. The women are "cursed." ZZZZzzzzzzZZZZZzzz The author also did the narration and nearly put me to sleep. If you read this one, I don't recommend the audio.
sdbecque's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. It's even subtitled a "family history" but it still really wasn't what I was expecting. It mostly focuses on the author, her mother, and her grandmother. The sections on Jell-O's corporate history kind of felt thrown in for padding, even though I was more interested in that. /shrug.
anithetic's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like this book speaks beautifully to trauma, grief, and how deep the roots of patriarchy run in American society. The storytelling is gorgeous and the informative pieces peppered in between narrative chapters ties everything together.
jenception's review against another edition
I picked up this book as a fan of the kitschy appeal of jell-o, but BOY did it deliver far beyond that. This sweeping personal and commercial history is a feminist exploration of the pitfalls and benefits of wealth, the complications of motherhood, food, health, and how we treat our bodies. This book is about everything and this book is everything. I adored it. So glad Rowbottom was able to share her family's story this way.
nouf's review against another edition
3.0
Not enough of this and not enough of that! However if Allie Rowbottom rights another book I will read it.
inquisitivebookworm's review against another edition
4.0
JELL-O Girls is not at all what I expected. It’s a memoir by the latest generation of the family who owns the JELL-O brand: Allie Rowbottom. Rowbottom writes about the family “curse” brought upon by their ownership of JELL-O, specifically how it’s affected the women in her family (namely her mother and grandmother, as well as herself). Interestingly, this memoir turned out to be an in-depth look into female oppression, and the consequences of developing a highly successful product in a patriarchal society. If you enjoy reading about history and feminism, then I’d recommend giving this book a shot. It might just surprise you!
jeanettegtf's review against another edition
3.0
I felt like this book tried to be 3 books, a book about how Jello changed as society changed, a memoir about her mother and manifesto about the patriarchy. It didn’t really do any of them well and as it tried to intertwine them, I totally lost characters and plot.
The writing itself is good, just would have been better served if they had better picked the goal of the book.
The writing itself is good, just would have been better served if they had better picked the goal of the book.