The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson is being heralded everywhere as the perfect beach read. I’d push back on that a little. There are a few scenes set on a beach and it’s compulsively readable, yes. But it’s a little more substantial than your average beach read.
Caroline Lash, daughter of a famous writer and aspiring writer herself, moves to a small seaside town in Massachusetts to buckle down and write her novel. There she falls for townie Van and into his tight-knit, borderline incestuous circle of childhood friends. Things are going well until it turns out Van got an on-again-off-again fling in the friend group pregnant right before he and Caroline got together.
The story is told from rotating perspectives: Caroline and Van’s three female friends, Fran, Augusta, and Bailey (also the baby mama), and I liked all four of them equally. Genuinely likable and relatable characters are a rarity, and Jenny Jackson nails it here.
This is a fun, light read without ever feeling silly. Perfect for readers who love stories about complicated friendships and friend groups the way others love stories about complicated families.
