Good book. I enjoyed it. ( )

'Jimmy's Girl' is built on a couple of interesting premises: first that fantasy of chasing down your first love and finding out what might have been; second, telling that story in alternate chapters with his and her version of events, differently remembered moments and alternative interpretations. For me it dragged around about two thirds of the way through. But that it was an early reviewer copy I would not have finished. But Gertler handles the former sweethearts' meeting and its fall out with real skill. A sensitive, believable ending that didn't feel compromised.

Gertler’s prose aptly captures the memories and emotions of a first love looking back after thirty years. She deftly guides the reader through the experiences of Emily Hudson and Jimmy Moran by juxtaposing each character’s narration in separate chapters. It is an engaging novel with a unique but not strident feminine perspective that one can tune into. Each character has changed. Both are married but reaching out to capture the past, Emily as mother and artist and Jimmy as Vietnam veteran and parent. In the end Emily remains “Jimmy’s girl” but neither leave their current families. ( )

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. It was light reading about a married woman who longs to meet up with her high school sweetheart, and eventually is able to reconnect with him. This leads to the exploration of various themes around fidelity and the reality of marriage. I enjoyed the book for the most part, but struggled a bit with the writing style, especially the first two chapters where it felt like a long and rambling series of unstructured thoughts, taking us through the lives of the two main characters. After that it got a bit better, but it was strange (yet creative) to be taken through every scene twice, once through the perspective of the woman, and the second through the perspective of the man. In the end, it was an interesting read with some thought-provoking themes, but it left me slightly underwhelmed. ( )

I loved this book! I think most people have a "Jimmy" or "Emily" in their past so it's easy to identify with the characters. For me, it was even more personal. I had my own "Jimmy" who also went to Vietnam in 1967 as a Marine. That's where the similarity in my story ended - I never had the opportunity to put my 'what if' thoughts to the test; but I could totally understand what the characters were feeling.

The author does a wonderful job with description - she paints a very realistic picture of the times. I loved the references to Rod McKuen, The Prophet, and the music from the 60's. The descriptions of the styles - bell-bottom pants, long ironed hair - - were spot on.

The story was bittersweet and I hated for it to end while knowing it had to. ( )