Praise for The Shampoo Effect:
“A frothy, exuberant book.”
—People
“The platonic ideal of a beach read: fun and fast-paced, with a cover that screams, “Can I borrow your sunscreen?” It also features one of my favorite setups (dating back to “Up Island,” by Anne Rivers Siddons), in which an outsider arrives in a clubby enclave and makes waves. Here it’s Caroline Lash, who lands in Greenhead, Mass., and falls for an outdoorsy local who’s almost too good to be true. The problem is, his on-again-off-again girlfriend is pregnant and still very much in the picture. In her debut novel, Pineapple Street, Jackson brought us into the storied world of Brooklyn Heights; here, she delivers us to the land of clam rolls with the same anthropological eye.”
—The New York Times
“Delightfully satisfying.”
—NPR
“The Shampoo Effect is Jenny Jackson’s sophomore follow-up to her bestselling debut, Pineapple Street, and in her new novel she leaves the streets of wealthy Brooklyn for a seaside town in Massachusetts. Caroline is a classic fish out of water—a New Yorker thrust into a tight knit small-town friend group—and left to navigate years of history and entanglements while attempting to write a novel. Heavily influenced by John Updike’s then-scandalous 1968 novel Couples, I predict Jackson’s latest will be the book gracing every book girlie’s beach bag this summer.”
—Sarah Gelman, Amazon Editor (Editors’ Picks)
“An absolute DELIGHT. This book has everything I love in a beach read: a coastal setting, multiple points of view, compelling storylines, and a delicious specificity to the writing that makes every single sentence feel fresh and alive. Jenny Jackson’s The Shampoo Effect is a must, must, must for your summer reading list.”
—Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Swan Song
“I binged The Shampoo Effect and am now bereft. Jenny Jackson has written a book that’s so breezily readable and laugh-out-loud funny while excavating the deepest truths about motherhood, family, and forgiveness. What an unforgettable cast of characters. What an accomplishment.”
—Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Wreck
“There’s no more quintessential beach read than a buzzy novel set in a coastal town. Consider Greenhead, Massachusetts, where Caroline, a twenty-eight-year-old writer, settles into a residency and a relationship with sexy environmentalist Van, “a real person instead of some impossible man-child.” Except this real person has a kid on the way: his former girlfriend is pregnant. Against her better judgment Caroline falls in with Van and his high school crew. Doubts linger in Jenny Jackson’s rocky romance–will love triumph? As she texts a friend: No Hallmark movie has the Good Guy knock up his ex-girlfriend from high school.”
—Time
“I devoured The Shampoo Effect. Jackson has a rare knack for capturing the intensity of old friendships and the way love, jealousy, money, and history combust until everyone is behaving (deliciously) badly. It’s funny, drama-fueled, and full of Jackson’s breezy wit, but what stayed with me most was how honestly and insightfully it captures the grit beneath the gloss of these characters. A brilliant story of marriage, motherhood, and the difficult work of breaking old patterns to become someone new.”
—Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters
“The Shampoo Effect is a delicious, unputdownable portrait of a group of friends navigating love, marriage, and young parenthood. Jackson’s characters are fully drawn, complex and flawed, each traveling a true arc of growth, arriving in the final pages at a deeper understanding of the ties that bind them to one another. I loved it.”
—Belle Burden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Strangers
“A fun and poignant story as frothy as the suds its name evokes.”
—Elle
“Do you want a bit of a romance with a thrilling aspect to it? You need to start with The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson. It starts with a relationship that is supposed to be a bit of fun, but it turns into a disaster. Van Whittaker has the personality of a Border collie, and that leads to problems when his ex-girlfriend finds out she’s pregnant. Of course, Van wants to do the right thing by the baby. Caroline also wants to stick around with this man she has fallen head over heels for. However, things take a turn when Caroline is cast out of the friendship group and long-held secrets are revealed. Can this group of friends finally grow up?”
—Parade
“Funny, sharp, and charming.”
—Rebecca Serle, New York Times bestselling author of One Italian Summer
“A smart, sly gloss on Updike’s tales of marital unrest. So funny, so compelling, this novel hit home with me in its examination of the ways secrets can erode families and friendships.”
—Joanna Rakoff, international bestselling author of My Salinger Year
“Unexpected pregnancies, marital revelations, sibling rivalries, emotional (and actual) infidelities. . . and all of it presented by Jenny Jackson with a combination of great humor and profound wistfulness. I loved this novel. You will, too.”
—Chris Bohjalian, New York Times bestselling author of The Jackal’s Mistress
“Nothing says “beach read” quite like a novel jam-packed with drama about dysfunctional rich people. When Caroline arrives in a small seaside town in Massachusetts, she gets absorbed into her boyfriend’s close-knit childhood-friend group, which just so happens to include his beautiful ex-girlfriend, Bailey. Caroline joins the group as they run amok through New England’s bars and beaches, but when Bailey reveals that she is pregnant with her ex’s baby, all hell breaks loose. Caroline is dumped from their circle, a move that leads her to make a decision that will disrupt the status quo of all their lives.”
—Harper’s Bazaar
“The author of the bestselling Pineapple Street is back with a literary rom-com that tells the story of an ambitious young woman who insinuates herself into the tight-knit social set in a New England seaside town. It’s scenic and atmospheric, but it also has those elements that I think we all love in summer drama: You’ve got secrets, you’ve got messy lives, mixed in with your late night parties by the seaside.”
—KMUW
“This witty novel highlights how old friendships shape us and, sometimes, force us to grow up.”
—Real Simple
“[The Shampoo Effect] a zippy page-turner in all the best ways, and the different points of view from Jackson’s cast of characters adds to the drama.”
—Town & Country
“Sweet, thoughtful and full of seaside charm, The Shampoo Effect is the kind of novel that pairs perfectly with a beach towel and a sunny afternoon, offering readers both a satisfying romance and a nuanced look at the messy realities of adult relationships.”
—BookTrib
“While [Jackson’s] first book was set within a wealthy section of Brooklyn Heights, The Shampoo Effect brings readers to the WASP-y coastal world of Greenhead, Mass. Longtime relationships are tested after a newcomer weaves her way into a tight-knit group of childhood friends, as Jackson explores themes of motherhood, marriage and friendship on the page.”
—Women’s Wear Daily
“A fantastic character-driven read.”
—Shelf Awareness
“Meant to be read on a sweltering July day, with sand between your toes. Like Jackson’s popular debut, Pineapple Street, this is one of those rare books that feel both breezy and meaty, sharp but empathetic.”
—Toronto Star
“The Shampoo Effect is a stylish, sharply observed novel about image, reinvention, and the chaos simmering beneath polished lives. It’s perfect for readers who love emotionally messy characters with great taste…”
—The Sunday Series
“Jackson paints a nuanced, empathetic, distinct picture . . . exploring different views on marriage, parenthood, career aspirations, and adulthood. The titular “shampoo effect” refers to how a second application of shampoo always produces more lather than the first and similarly, all of the interactions among these friends are built on years of shared history, misunderstandings, and love. Hand this to readers who love Emma Straub, Amy Poeppel, and Katherine Heiny.”
—Booklist, starred review
“Jackson has a knack for local color and well-rounded character work. . . [The Shampoo Effect] has plenty of heart.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Jackson rotates the point of view around the set of friends, deftly depicting the practices and pressures of modern parents . . . This easy read combines a literary rom-com with an acute portrait of midlife among millennials.”
—Kirkus
“Giving off vibes of Thirtysomething and The Big Chill, Jackson’s follow up to the best-selling Pineapple Street is a frothy, funny ode to old friends and new challenges. Set in coastal Greenhead, Massachusetts, summer’s in full swing when 30-ish Caroline Lash falls for hometown beach boy Van Whittaker. When his ex discovers she’s pregnant with Van’s baby, it upsets the balance of his longtime friend group and these high-schoolers-at-heart have to navigate the realities of finally growing up.”
—Canadian Living
