Writing a book with a cast of unlikable characters can be tricky to pull off, but Jenny Jackson did it! These characters are messy, dramatic and shockingly human. I loved the New England setting and found myself unable to put this one down. If you are a fan of realistic fiction and characters you love to hate, this one is for you!

Jenny Jackson is my new favorite author. She tells simple stories with a lot emotion, a big cast of characters, and a lot of honesty. I loved this book about how it took a complete stranger to get a group of friends to look at their lives and make some tough admissions. I can’t wait for her next book.

The Shampoo Effect had me totally hooked! It’s gossipy, funny, and messy. Jenny Jackson captures that coastal New England vibe perfectly where everyone knows everyone, and secrets travel fast. You know drama’s coming, and you can’t look away! I loved the way the author wrote all those long and sun soaked afternoons that seem perfect until the tension starts to bubble underneath. The writing has a breezy and witty tone that’s addictive and perfect for anyone who loves stories about beautiful people behaving badly!

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and I completely enjoyed it. Caroline Lash is the daughter of a world famous author (think Danielle Steele) who leaves her career as an editor when she gets a yearlong fellowship in the small Massachuesetts seaside town of Greenfield. She wants to be a writer, and this is a chance to spend a year writing a book. She even gets a cute seaside cottage to live in. Soon she meets Van, and they quickly become a couple. Caroline becomes part of Van's childhood circle of town friends, although she is always something of an outsider. Things are going so well until Bailey, Van's on and off girlfriend, becomes pregnant and Van is the father. We see Van, Caroline, and Bailey, as well as two other couples, all with young children and in their early forties and late thirties, struggle to meet the usual challenges of life and basically figure out how to grow up. The characters are so relatable, the setting is beautiful, and the story is told in a way that makes you look forward to getting back to reading it. Definitely recommend!

I devoured this one! So much to love about it. The story is told from multiple points of view, but centers around Caroline, an aspiring writer who ends up in a quaint Massachusetts beach town on a writers residency, where she meets and falls for local guy Van. Van has a group of friends with whom he's been very close since their childhood days, and when Caroline begins to interact with the friend group, drama unfolds. As secrets come to light, relationships are tested, and the characters evolve as they are forced to confront some hard truths. Very engaging, and a very fast-paced read, with a great ending.

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson was such a fun, sharp, and surprisingly heartfelt read. It’s one of those books that manages to be both entertaining and insightful, blending humor, relationship drama, and thoughtful commentary in a way that kept me completely hooked.

Jackson has a wonderful way of writing characters who feel real and complicated. Everyone in this story has their own motivations, flaws, and emotional baggage, which makes the dynamics between them incredibly engaging to watch unfold. The relationships—both romantic and platonic—are messy in the most realistic way, and that authenticity really pulled me into the story.

The writing style is witty and observant, with moments that genuinely made me laugh alongside others that carried a lot of emotional weight. Jackson balances those tones really well, so the story never feels too heavy or too light—it hits that perfect middle ground.

I also loved the themes woven throughout the book, particularly the exploration of identity, ambition, and how people navigate relationships while trying to figure out who they are and what they want. It adds a layer of depth that makes the story feel meaningful beyond just the plot itself.

Overall, The Shampoo Effect is a clever, engaging, and emotionally satisfying novel that I flew through. Jenny Jackson’s writing is both entertaining and thoughtful, and I’ll definitely be looking forward to whatever she writes next.

The Shampoo Effect perfectly captures what it’s like to live as an adult in the small town you grew up in. It mixes nostalgia with grown-up problems and friendships that have spanned decades, with a vibrant setting and characters. As the bookshop that is located in Ipswich, the town that Greenhead is based on, it was utterly delightful to see all of our local businesses and landmarks mentioned. This is a realistic and true to life portrayal of modern friendship in a small town, and I devoured it!

Jenny Jackson’s new novel, THE SHAMPOO EFFECT, is a masterfully written, wondrously witty delight. Do not make the mistake I did by judging the book by its cover, because once I cracked the spine, it was as if I had wondered into Wonka’s candy factory and offered a taste of something truly divine -- sugary and salty, sweet and sour all at the same time.

Pay close attention to the opening epigraph from John Updike’s 1968 classic novel COUPLES: “Virtue was no longer sought in temple or market place but in the home – one’s own home, and then the homes of one’s friends.” Why? Because Updike and his novel are a major influence over Ms. Jackson’s novel. Both the author and that celebrated work also play an important role influencing the events that take place.

THE SHAMPOO EFFECT follows a group of friends – one married couple, one couple in a committed relationship, and two people who have the occasional fling – who live in Greenhead, Massachusetts (a perfect simulacrum of Updike’s Tarbox, Massachusetts). Van Whittaker is a decent guy, though a bit pedantic, and an ardent environmentalist. He has introduced an outsider to the group, Caroline Lash, a young twenty-something writer, who won the prestigious Palmer Preston (the fictional facsimile of Updike) foundation fellowship, and is living in the author’s home, working on her own novel. Once Caroline is introduced to the group, we meet Bailey, Van’s ex, who does not know what she wants, but she knows what she does not want. Also, Bailey is pregnant with Van’s child, which puts a bit of damper on Van’s and Caroline’s blossoming relationship. Then there is Augusta, who is happy with her picture-perfect life, despite the fact that she is not happy about her fractured relationship with her brother. Also, she is convinced her husband is keeping secrets from her. Finally, there is Fran, who is in a committed relationship with a grown man-child, with whom she has several children. She too wants to be happy, but she’s tired of always being taken advantage of.

Halfway through chapter one, I fell in love with the author’s humor and perspective of the 21st century. This novel is both an homage and a satire of Updike’s COUPLES; she has updated that antiquated tale and composed a stylish, humorous book about millennial middle-class married life in Massachusetts. And that life is replete with drinking, drugs, and many, many secrets.

While critics will want to compare Ms. Jackson’s latest work to Updike, I think the more appropriate comparison would be to Taffy Brodesser-Akner, a writer and journalist whose work I have admired for years. Ms. Jackson and Ms. Brodesser-Akner are in a league where they are competing against authors named Franzen, Chabon, and Safran Foer. I have news for those three men – they have not met their equals in Brodesser-Akner and Jackson; they have just met their betters.

This is the first book I have read by Jenny Jackson. It will not be the last.

THE SHAMPOO EFFECT is destined: to be a celebrity book club selection, to be listed among the year’s best books, to be adapted into a daring, provocative, and original miniseries, and to be on the shortlist of one or two literary awards.

A marvelously entertaining novel. I love Jenny Jackson’s effortless writing style and astutely observed characters. The description of small town friends whose close-knit circle is threatened by an outsider felt very real to me.

As a Massachusetts girl who once lived on the north shore, I found this book to be a delight. I wasn't surprised to read in the notes at the end that Jackson grew up in Ipswich, as the local details struck me as really spot on. I loved the friendship group and the time they all spend together doing local things. There was good drama with the new girlfriend trying to join their scene, and I also enjoyed the central love story. Jackson's writing goes down smooth, even as she switches into backstory or changes POVs. A super fun read for the summer!

The Shampoo Effect is a perfect vacation read - put it in your beach bag this summer! I really enjoyed Jenny Jackson's debut "Pineapple Street" and devoured "The Shampoo Effect" in a similar fashion. Aspiring writer Caroline Lash has won a prestigious fellowship in a beach town on the North Shore of Massachusetts, and finds herself falling in love with an environmentally conscious man, Van, who has deep roots and a loyal friend crew in the local community. When Caroline and Van begin dating, she realizes she is on the outside looking in, and when Van's ex-girlfriend announces a pregnancy, with Van, her world implodes. I loved the snarky humor, the shout outs to numerous spots on the North Shore, especially a very funny event at the iconic Clam Box in Ipswich. Despite the frothy, gossipy banter, there are some emotional moments as well. Characters are well developed, themes of parenthood, family secrets, affairs, and wealth abound. I could barely put the book down. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.