I know I've already declared my love for Jen Lancaster so it should come as no surprise that I rushed out to buy it Tuesday morning. I couldn't put the book down. Covering her life from childhood to right before her boom in dot coms (covered in Bitter is the New Black), this book had me giggling from the start. It opens with a letter from 7 year old Jen writing to Mattel to inform them that Ballerina Barbie just fell apart in the bathtub and that they should send her another immediately, and all will be forgiven. They should also throw in a new Dawn for good measure.
The book opens with an imperious Jeni informing the waitress that a menu is unnecessary, and she will be having the lobster. As her parents try to dissuade this, Jeni haughtily informs them that she was promised lobster for her eighth birthday, and lobster she will have. She gets her way and is faced with a lobster in lobster form. Pulling it apart she finds the egg sac, and green goo and is unhappy with her choice. She mentions this would have been avoided had her parents let her taste the lobster last year at their party. Following that is the tale of her moving on from boring Brownies to the fabulously uniformed Girl Scouts. Her tales of badge collection are quite funny.
Every chapter is titled, and the subtitle is the outfit (or part of outfit) she was wearing in the occurrence. Her footnotes are still included, and still cause me to laugh a little more loudly than is polite in public. Her engaging, quick wit is evident throughout and makes for not a single dull moment in the book. Don't miss it!