Jenny Jackson's novel, SHAMPOO EFFECT is about a close group of young adults who've been friends since high school if not longer and no longer find the same things as amusing as they once did. Basically a light beach read with a setting on the idyllic, MA shore. It's easily digestible, forgettable but not much more. The central character is Caroline Nash, the daughter of a successful writer but not insightful mother, Caroline is left on her own to pursue her own literary aspirations. This brings her from a promising start to a writers' residency in a cozy cabin where she meets Val and his coven of close knit friends. Val is an environmentalist and the two hit off a lovely romance that brings Caroline into the fold where she's not exactly welcomed with open arms. In the group is the gorgeous Bailey. Val and Bailey have been together off and on since high school, "I love her but we're not together and I'm not in love with her," he assures Caroline. Except for one small detail, they recently slept together and Bailey is intending to keep the baby. Believing him, Caroline remains open minded and accepting of the situation hoping to maintain her relationship with Val without interloping in their family ties. Despite Caroline's best intentions on her part, Val breaks Caroline heart after his son is born by choosing Bailey and the baby over her. The dynamics in the group beside Val and Bailey include two other married couples with young kids, a gay couple wanting to have a child and all the shenanigans and stress that comes with couples learning to cope and communicate with each other. For some it's the fraternity like behaviors that drives one wife crazy, or the unknown dalliances and desires outside the marriage or the pressures from work and families. What works well here is Jackson's tackling of millennial's midlife crises in an intelligent and engaging manner. The novel explores the transitions from care free adults into responsible adults dealing with parenting, shifting priorities and commitments. The longterm relationships among the local clique offers a fun, social net which is enviable. Caroline was only an outsider looking in on the group but once shunted aside by Val, vengeance fuels her writer's fire and she writes an explosive tell-all about the group's private lives. SHAMPOO EFFECT is a cleansing space between more literary fiction in a fresh style that makes it an enjoyable, worthwhile change of pace.
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