Rating: 
Summary: Not Jane's Best Work
Review: I loved Jemima J and Mr. Maybe, but Bookends was not as good as either of them. It was good, but not Jane's best. Too many characters lives covered and if you are into love stories, this is not the best love story and the character barely has one. Not much covered on that topic. This is mainly about a group of friends and the interaction between them.
Rating: 
Summary: Follow your dreams
Review: Cath, our main character, who has been sitting on the sidelines of love for well over 5 years now, has made a decision to give up her job and open a bookshop. It is the fulfillment of a life long dream. Si jumps into every relationship searching for "The One", only to be disappointed when that "One" turns out to be "No One" special. Lucy and Josh are a match made in heaven but even in heaven there is a little bit of hell. Portia, the magnificently beautiful ice queen alienated herself from the group in college when she showed them just how superficial she could be. It is when she returns to the scene that trouble starts to erupt in our group of thirty-somethings. We are about to find out everyone's secrets and some of them just might be unexpected. I laughed, I cried, and I felt the tender heart of the author's hand while reading this book. It runs the full gamut of emotions. Green deals with the implications of social acceptance and behavior on a grand scale, safe sex and relationships in a time of changing attitudes, and betrayal and renewal that leads to a need for closure. This book was much more than I expected. If you enjoy this book, JEMIMA J is another great book by this author. Kelsana 7/03/02
Rating: 
Summary: I wanted to like this book.
Review: Having avoided "Jemima J." and "Mr. Maybe" for many months at the bookstore where I work, I finally picked up "Bookends". What a disappointment! So many ends and no one to tie them...So many semi-interesting characters bumping into each other. I found Green's writing style somewhat jarring. Some scenes took pages and pages, while others were jammed five on a page. The intial exposition was rather boring, and after 20 pages or so of straight description, I was thinking of giving up. I did enjoy the bookstore setting, and felt that more could have been done with that. At a certain point, with the relationship aspects, I began to think, "Get on with it, already!" Points off for boring dialogue, a child and a nanny who got on my nerves, and "fill-in-the-blank" stereotypes for characters. Points for a bit of charm, an engaging premise and the fact that I actually DID finish it so somehow I cared what happened to at least a few of these characters.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: After reading Jemima J (and loving it!) this book was such a let down. I literlly had to force myself to continue reading it. I found myself skipping pages hoping that it would get better, but I hate to say....it didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Good for a while
Review: I was intrigued by this book, and I couldn't wait to see how the friends' relationship with Portia would pan out. However, once she was re-introduced, I found the plot got weak. I found Lucy to be plain annoying, especially with her use of endearments everytime she would speak to Cath...a little bit too sweet for me! I didn't like the turn the book took toward the end; I guess I didn't want a depessing storyline. Overall though, I did enjoy the first few hundred pages.
Rating:
Summary: Bookends
Review: Not as light of a read as Jemima J. A more mature book with some dark tones. Some of the deeper parts of this book did not feel as though they belonged or were necessary.The ending was a bit of an easy out on all fronts, but still an entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: dissapointed with Green
Review: Bookends was definitely not one of Green's better books. I previously have read Jemima J and Mr. Maybe, but Bookends seemed to be too serious of nature with no exact plot. Maybe I wanted just a light-hearted book and it was the wrong time to read Green's novel, but her topic choice was boring for me. I never was truly engrossed in the novel. The book, like all of hers, was predictable but I also was not very intrigued by any of the characters. I felt some of their emotions but most of the time I never really cared what they were going to do next. I was very dissapointed with Green because I don't think it was one of her better efforts.
If you're thinking of reading one of Jane Green's novels, I would suggest Jemima J before picking up Bookends.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun and relaxing
Review: I have just finished my second Jane Green novel, Bookends. And loved every word of it.
Like the first Jane Green I read, Jemima J, this one is about the life of single Londoners, following the footprints of Bridget Jones. But still the book is worth it's own money, and is not at all predictable and boring. A gang of University friends stay together for years after they left school, though they have lost contact with one of the girls from the gang, the beautiful Portia, queen of the gang. She broke their hearts one night and after that drifted away from the close gang. Life goes on, Josh marries Lucy, Cath stays single being hurt one time to many, and the gay Si is always hunting for the perfect man of his life. The book is a wonderful, charming and witty story about friendship. How to give everything for your friends, how to stay together through thick and thin. Though the part of the book that charms be most is Bookends, the bookshop and café Cath and Lucy opens. Through this Cath meets James, but is this man the one for her? Jane Green has a charmimg way to take us through the every day life of her characters. The ending is surprisingly, and may be a little out of Greens usual style, though it makes you think about the values of your live, the values of your friendships. Britt Arnhild Lindland
Rating:
Summary: This book had so much potential ...
Review: but it never quite got there. I inhaled Jane Green's earlier works, so I had high hopes for this novel. However, halfway through 'Bookends,' I knew this wasn't going to be another 'Jemima Jones.' The book is about a group of friends -- Cath, Si, Josh, Lucy and Portia. The first three and Portia met in university, but after a night where Portia reveals the witch she can be, they graduate, separate, and move on with their lives. That's when the book loses its focus. Cath is the main character, but you never really get a chance to know her. She's wary of relationships, having been burned years before. She has a job that she says she loves, then she suddenly hates it, decides she wants to open a bookstore instead, Lucy hops on board, and three chapters later they are a roaring success. Portia enters the picture again, which is where everything is supposed to change, but you never get a chance to see the character's 'normal' lives in the first place. And Portia never stays in the picture -- she's a cameo character. But Si and Cath are convinced she's up to no good, so they invent all this drama in their lives, all of which is resolved in the last two chapters. Bookends is a cute story. You nay not love it, but you'll finish it. However, I recommend buying it in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: I want to KNOW these people!
Review: Yes, it's a piece of fluff, bordering at times on soap opera, and a little heavy handed at one point, but come ON folks ~~ this book is FUN! I haven't cared this much about characters in a long time. And Green writes well, misleading the reader while the characters are mislead themselves. Read this book!!
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