Jenny Q, Stitched Up!

Jenny Q #1

by Pauline McLynn

Friendship, embarrassing moments, some singing and getting hooked on knitting in this hilarious first book for teens from Pauline McLynn.

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

Pauline McLynn (born 11 July 1962) is an Irish actress, comedienne and author, best known for playing Mrs Doyle on the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. McLynn was born in Sligo but grew up in Galway. She studied History of Art and Modern English at Trinity College, Dublin. She was heavily involved in Trinity's Dublin University Players (college drama society). She is married to the producer and agent Richard Cook. She supports both Aston Villa and Bohemian F.C.

Reviews

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenny Q, Stitched Up! Is a fantastically funny new book, the main character is a 13 year old girl, so there are lots of laughs (and cringe-worthy moments) along the way! :)

I really enjoyed it. It was a refreshing change to see and read a book that was clean, sparkly and funny, unlike the other dark juvenile/YA fiction you usually see on the shelves!

The cover is gorgeous, when I received Jenny Q, Stitched Up! for review I was immediately interested. The premise was good and the cover was stunning :) I love how the cover looks like the front of a knitted jersey, and how the symbols (under garments, musical notes, dogs) all apply to the book. Its a cute, original idea.

I loved Jenny, she was spunky, funny, smart and brave. She really changed throughout the book and I liked that. In the beginning she was less mature but she grew throughout the book which was great to see.

She was quite hilarious at times and I would my find myself laughing out loud. The scraps she can get into are priceless!

The supporting characters were interesting, I would have liked it however if the author had added a little bit more information on them. Like, how they looked, some interesting facts on them their hobbies etc.

The plot kept me gripped and turning the pages, I finished it in a day. There were lots of different things happening at once, which sometimes I found a bit distracting, such as her appearance on TV, her mom's pregnancy, her crushes, physical differences. But in the end it all tied up well together to create a highly entertaining novel. :)

Jenny Q, Stitched Up was a unique, funny novel. The plot kept me interested and laughing along the way. I think some of the characters were under developed but it wasn't a major issue. A great book to read if you enjoy contemporary reads, that will have you laughing, smiling and blushing in sympathy for Jenny a long the way.

[Sarah M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gwan Mrs. Doyle.

[Dearbhla Ní · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book because of the knitting things in it

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not really sure how I feel about this book. It took me absolutely ages to read it even though it is a short book. I enjoyed it well enough when I was reading it, but I really had to talk myself into picking it up every time I did read it. I don’t feel like there was really that much of a story?! It was just the day to day life of a 13 year old, and it didn’t feel like anything was really resolved at the end. There were storylines, like with the crush, and the bully and the singing that just went no-where. I wanted to know more, to see what happened next. Perhaps if this is going to be a series of books it will work well but to me, just as it is now, it does feel a little bit bland!

Having said all that though it must be pointed out that this IS a book for teenagers … something I have not been for quite some time, and I suspect the 13 year old me may have enjoyed more than the heading towards 30 me. And even now I DID enjoy it. It is funny and touching and felt very realistic. Pauline has managed to write teenage girls fantastically – SO many authors turn them into a stereotypical nasty, mobile phone addicted, slang speaking creature but the girls in this book feel real. They could easily have been friends of mine way back in the olden days when I too was 13.

I really enjoyed the crafty element of the book – but this threw up a problem for me. Every time they started talking about crafts and knitting, it put me in the notion to do the same so I often abandoned the book to go and do so. Ha ha!

I do hope Pauline will follow up with more from this character. I really think there are plots which she has opened up that need to be followed up on and I would like to read more. I have a real soft spot for Uggs and I wanna see him happy! :)

[Vi Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a 3.5 star read, this Young Adult book is about 13 year old Jenny Quinn who does not have anyone dying in her life nor any trauma much beyond her mother being pregnant at 43 and proving to the world at large that she is still shagging! In short, it's a story about a very ordinary school girl who's got her first crush, her first period and zits. It's very amusing and if it has a "message" for teenage girls it is that it's OK to be ordinary and a bit self obsessed and, although it's over 50 years since I was 13, I remember all her angst very well!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my review for this awesome book on my blog!
http://adventuresofateenagebookworm.b...

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for teenagers. I felt there is alot more mileage in Jenny Q and would love to see more of these books!

[Talia · Rating 1 out of 5]

The First Book I Have Documented But Didn't like

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend it :(

[Gráinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really funny, maybe aimed at lightly younger readers than me, but still well written and an enjoyable read.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Class book I loved it

[Emma]

i thought that the book was really good. i thought that all of the detail and story line were very good as well. i would recomend this boom to anyone that likes drama and a little bit of comedy