A review by janp
Jell-O Girls: A Family History by Allie Rowbottom

2.0

Jello-O Girls is a memoir by a descendant of the people who bought the Jell-O patent in 1899. From then until the present, though the family has been financially set and immensely privileged, Rowbottom posits that a "curse" beset the family and manifested itself in suicides, cancer, alcoholism and mysterious ailments. To me, that could be the story of many families, but without the Jell-O connection. And I had trouble relating her personal family story to the impact of Jell-O not only in their lives but the lives of Americans, especially to women and "the female experience". A disappointing read.