I recommend this book to anyone who needs a mood lift. Great fun! ( )

Jonathan is finished college. Time for his New York adventure. In advertising. He gets a job at the same firm where his best friend works. He gets an apartment in lower Manhattan that is just a bit too good to be true. And at some point his beautiful and thoroughly business-like girlfriend, Julie, will move to New York as well and everything will be perfect. Or it would be if Jonathan didn’t also have responsibility for two dogs, Dante and Sissy, which his brother left in his care when he went off to work in Dubai. Actually, the dogs are no problem. Jonathan loves the dogs and they seem to like him. It’s just that they don’t seem to like Julie. Oh, and he hates his job. And he’s afraid that underworld figures will arrive on his doorstep and insist that he give up his apartment on extremely short notice. And now Julie’s decided that they should take advantage of an opportunity from her employer, the magazine Bridal-360, to stage a live-streamed wedding; they should just go ahead and get married. But who would he invite to his funeral? Wait, did he say, “funeral?” Obviously he meant, “wedding.” Well, you can fill in the rest.

This is a delightfully light and frothy Chucklit novel. The wonder is that Meg Rosoff has penned it. Why? Is she simply so blessed with talent that she can toss off a quintessential Chucklit novel with her morning’s second coffee? Actually, yes, I think that’s probably the explanation.

Go ahead, enjoy it with a coffee and a croissant. ( )

This is an adorable story about a young man, Johnathan Trefoil, who is alienated from his job and his girlfriend, and projects his feelings onto the two dogs he is taking care of for his brother. Claiming they must be suffering from some sort of weltschmerz, he and the dogs become "regulars" at a nearby veterinarian's office.

When Jonathan first got his job working as a junior copywriter in an advertising firm, he had looked forward to the work, not counting on the trivial and demeaning things “you were expected to do in exchange for money.” And no one likes his girlfriend, not even him, but he agrees to marry her because that seems like what one should do as part of being a “grown-up.” But he becomes increasingly anxious, and often hilariously so, as the date for the wedding approaches.

Eventually, Jonathan decides to follow his heart in all aspects of his life, no matter that some of his choices are quite unexpected, even to Jonathan.

Evaluation: Jonathan is an endearing character, the dogs even more so, and the dialogue is very clever and witty. Both Jim and I read this, and often laughed out loud. Film rights have been optioned, which is delightful news. ( )

Jonathan Unleashed by Meg Rosoff follows Jonathan Trefoil's stumbles through early adulthood. Set in Manhattan, Jonathan has a girlfriend he doesn't know what to make of, two dogs that his brother has left with him, and an unfulfilling job that pays the rent but doesn't enrich Jonathan's soul.
When I started Jonathan Unleashed, I thought it was a little meandering and unfocused but I soon took it as a metaphor for how Jonathan lives his life. Jonathan's free-spirited, free-thinking lifestyle doesn't always work well with others or with a New York City way of life, but makes him likable nonetheless. The plot at times is predictable and a couple of the characters are obvious and unoriginal, but Rosoff crafts some hilarious scenes and uses language and communications in uniquely comedic ways and I laughed out loud while reading several times. I also really enjoyed the dogs that Jonathan takes care of in the book. Rosoff really brings them to life and gives them character in a way rarely done in a book. Jonathan Unleashed is a light, fun read with a pleasing ending that left me smiling.
I guess I would consider Jonathan Unleashed as a good summer book, since it's easy to pickup and put down without getting lost and it has very happy themes and resolutions. But I think it does a better job than most summer reads and Meg Rosoff is a talented writer and I look forward to her next book.
***I received this book as part of a Goodreads Giveaway!*** ( )

Here we have a simple, fun read. Jonathan hates his job, might love his girlfriend, and is asked to dogsit his brother's two dogs for 6 months. There are comedic moments, touching moments in his NYC lifestyle. It's not a book on brain surgery, but a quick, amusing read. My thanks to Penguin's First to Read program for a complimentary copy. ( )