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malibee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
julie_reads15's review against another edition
4.0
Summary
Jinx by Margaret Wild is a young adult novel written in verse about a teenage girl who believes she's jinxed.
Jen has always been the good girl, who was well behaved, did her homework and studied hard. When Charlie, Jen's boyfriend, dies, Jen starts rebelling. When Ben, her second boyfriend, dies, Jen thinks she's cursed and gives herself the nickname 'Jinx.'
Jinx wonders if she can ever go back to being Jen, or if she's cursed forever. Her friends and family are also dealing with problems of their own.
The novel is told in different points of view, and switches between third and first person.
A bittersweet novel about love, loss, and forgiveness.
Review
I liked how the novel was written in verse, it was easy to read. The format of the verse novel suited the range of important topics the book focused on.
I thought the characters were well developed for a verse novel, and I liked their diversity. I thought the characters were flawed and realistic, and liked how they were going through realistic problems.
Jen goes through significant character development for such a short book.
I found the switching between first person and third person point of view worked much better in this book than it did in Wild's One Night.
The novel was quite sad, but the humour balanced it out a little.
I recommend this book for anyone who's 14 years and older, and wants to read a bittersweet novel in verse about a cast of flawed and realistic characters.
Jinx by Margaret Wild is a young adult novel written in verse about a teenage girl who believes she's jinxed.
Jen has always been the good girl, who was well behaved, did her homework and studied hard. When Charlie, Jen's boyfriend, dies, Jen starts rebelling. When Ben, her second boyfriend, dies, Jen thinks she's cursed and gives herself the nickname 'Jinx.'
Jinx wonders if she can ever go back to being Jen, or if she's cursed forever. Her friends and family are also dealing with problems of their own.
The novel is told in different points of view, and switches between third and first person.
A bittersweet novel about love, loss, and forgiveness.
Review
I liked how the novel was written in verse, it was easy to read. The format of the verse novel suited the range of important topics the book focused on.
I thought the characters were well developed for a verse novel, and I liked their diversity. I thought the characters were flawed and realistic, and liked how they were going through realistic problems.
Jen goes through significant character development for such a short book.
I found the switching between first person and third person point of view worked much better in this book than it did in Wild's One Night.
The novel was quite sad, but the humour balanced it out a little.
I recommend this book for anyone who's 14 years and older, and wants to read a bittersweet novel in verse about a cast of flawed and realistic characters.
lyndajdickson's review against another edition
5.0
Jen is good girl who becomes a troubled teen. All she wants is to be loved. But when her boyfriend Charlie dies in tragic circumstances, she starts drinking in order to escape. After a series of unfortunate accidents, Jen is nicknamed Jinx - "Jinx, they say, but she likes it and takes it as her new name." Will Jinx ever find happiness and find her way back to Jen?
This novel-in-verse is written in a simple, yet lyrical manner, and is full of interesting characters: Jen's father (the Rat) who abandoned her when her sister was born, Jen's mother who is in love with a man who doesn't know she exists, Jen's friend Ruth who is known as Ruthless for being ruthlessly honest, Connie who hides from her Greek parents the fact that she is a lesbian, Serena who craves the attention of her parents, Jen's first love Charlie, Jen's sister Grace who has Down's Syndrome, the Rat's new wife Stella who is admitted to a psychiatric clinic for depression, Ben who has a chip on his shoulder about being short, and Hal who blames himself for an accident that wasn't his fault.
The subject matter is heartbreaking and deals with many kinds of loss, but especially the loss of a child by their mother. As a mother of two teenage daughters, and having once been a teenage girl myself, I related to this book on many levels. I especially loved "what we don't like about our mums" and the later "what we like about our mums".
Best read in one sitting, this book is sure to be a hit with teenage girls - and their mums.
Full blog post: http://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/jinx-by-margaret-wild.html
This novel-in-verse is written in a simple, yet lyrical manner, and is full of interesting characters: Jen's father (the Rat) who abandoned her when her sister was born, Jen's mother who is in love with a man who doesn't know she exists, Jen's friend Ruth who is known as Ruthless for being ruthlessly honest, Connie who hides from her Greek parents the fact that she is a lesbian, Serena who craves the attention of her parents, Jen's first love Charlie, Jen's sister Grace who has Down's Syndrome, the Rat's new wife Stella who is admitted to a psychiatric clinic for depression, Ben who has a chip on his shoulder about being short, and Hal who blames himself for an accident that wasn't his fault.
The subject matter is heartbreaking and deals with many kinds of loss, but especially the loss of a child by their mother. As a mother of two teenage daughters, and having once been a teenage girl myself, I related to this book on many levels. I especially loved "what we don't like about our mums" and the later "what we like about our mums".
Best read in one sitting, this book is sure to be a hit with teenage girls - and their mums.
Full blog post: http://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/jinx-by-margaret-wild.html
readwkc's review against another edition
3.0
I read the whole book in about 10 hours. Although, I was not a big fan of the book! I think the main reason is because I just didn't connect well with the book.
cecetales's review against another edition
I read this some time in middle school and I adored it. It influenced my own poetry... Which, in hindsight, was absolutely horrible, heh. I'd like to re-read this and see what I think of it now that I'm not an angsty teenager (I've graduated to angsty 20-something! Much different dynamic, I think!). When trying to source this book again, I described it as "full of morbid free-verse poetry, I think it was in a story format and switched perspectives". I don't remember any of the plot, though. I didn't even remember the "Jen's boyfriends die" plot point. I couldn't rate it based on my love for it several years ago, so I'll have to find it again and see what happens.
margaretann84's review against another edition
3.0
Good, but I think it tries for too much at once. I feel like the side stories with Jen/Jinx's friends should've either been fleshed out more fully or omitted entirely. Not a bad story, but I think the execution could've been better.
mellamaron's review against another edition
4.0
This was really beautiful. I don't usually like books that are structured like this one. But somehow I was entranced by each page. I really felt connected to Jen even though her story was "shorter" than a normal one.
Definitely worth reading!
Spoiler
I'm glad things worked out for her in the end.Definitely worth reading!