The Something Girl (Frogmorton Farm #2)

Jodi has done it again. This is the sequel to The Nothing Girl – and while some sequels disappoint, this one most definitely does not. I genuinely couldn’t put it down – the story was imaginative, fun, hilarious, and suspenseful at all the right times. And who would have thought the addition of (Patagonian Attack) chickens to the farm could provide so much entertainment? The Checklands certainly did not; but, just like every day at Frogmorton, nothing goes as planned.

I laughed, I cried, I laughed until I cried – I cannot recommend this book enough (although, if you haven’t read the first, I would suggest doing so. It helps the story and is just as great). This story (like all of Jodi Taylor’s stories) is one-of-a-kind and you shouldn’t hesitate to press that “buy now” button. If you like humor, mystery, delipidated old farms, screaming chickens, terrified ex-racehorses, hungry and loud donkeys, deranged family members, mysterious insurance agents, golden horses, rescue animals, and/or boisterous, yet kind, struggling artists – you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better book on the market.

Thank you, Jodi, for another fantastic book. I’m off to read it again.

This author has never written a book that I can pass by. The Something girl can certainly stand alone, as the author provides enough background of the story, so you don’t feel lost. But the first book, The Nothing Girl, is so wonderful, you should just read it for your own pleasure. Now that Jenny has a real life of her own, with her sweet but somewhat zany husband Russell and his wonderful family, she has really come into her own. I love reading how they go crashing through their days, with all sorts of hilarious and sometimes not so hilarious, things happening. Somehow, just like in life, things sort themselves out in the end, and you end up loving the characters more than ever. Perfect escape reads for those who like to have ” a bit of a think” now and then. I suspect that many of you will find yourself wishing yourself a part of their story, as I do.

Sadly, it seems that this book will conclude the Frogmorton Farm series. The series began with The Nothing Girl, continued with a short story, The Little Donkey, and now the Something Girl. The Something Girl combines fantasy (an invisible talking horse), sentiment, witty dialogue, genuine sentiment, danger, tension, and madcap comedy. It may be genre defying, but Jodi Taylor is so talented that she can make it work. Since most of the characters are continuing, you should read the series in order. I had been saving (really hoarding this book) because I had loved the Nothing Girl. Since it had been several months, I went back and reread the Nothing Girl before I began this book. That was a good idea and a bad idea. It was good because there were some important plot details that I had forgotten. It was bad, just because it made the recap at the beginning of the Something Girl a bit dry. Nevertheless, once fully launched, the book sails along. Jenny was a victim of prolonged emotional abuse by her aunt and uncle. She has moved on and would be the first person to say that she has a wonderful life, but the reality of abuse is that the scars are not buried too deeply. Did I mention that this is a book that will make you laugh aloud? It is also a book that will make you think and cry. It is sentimental without being sappy. The main plot is tightly written to maintain suspense and to come to a well-written resolution. There will be no plot summary here, because that would ruin the story. I am so grateful that Jodi Taylor is a prolific author because I love her books. She has written time travel adventures in her The Chronicles of Saint Marys, the Frogmorton Farm series described above, and a period piece, A Bachelor Establishment written under her Isabella Barclay pseudonym. I love them all.

I read everything by Jodi Taylor. I love everything by Jodi Taylor. Except this one. Russell is as funny as ever, silly, occasionally (and importantly) insightful, and an overall great character. Andrew and Tanya play small roles but Taylor has a way of sketching 3 dimensional characters in paragraphs when other authors need pages or even chapters. [Note: some pretty mild spoilers follow (which I feel necessary to include so I can explain how I feel).] Jenny has really grown and although there’s some back sliding she comes out of it (which I hope isn’t actually a spoiler to people or this would be a seriously dark book …). My problem is that I don’t like recycled villains. Yes, the reason for the evil actions made sense to explain the plot, but Jodi Taylor has such a great imagination that I don’t know why she couldn’t have some up with something new. I was left thinking “Really? This again?” And then there’s the return of Thomas. Yes, Thomas is a great character and it was nice to hear from him again, and I see why she included him, but there was some real closure with him in the last book and I was left with the feeling that this was a retread from that book. Yes, a retread from a completely marvelous book, but a retread nonetheless. So, overall, do I recommend it? Yes. Do you need to have read The Nothing Girl to enjoy it? No. (But if you haven’t your life is a little incomplete.) But as I explained I feel like it was lacking a little.

By the way, I both read and listened to the audiobooks for both The Nothing and The Something Girl and Lucy Price-Lewis is a terrific narrator.

Please give me one more story about Jenny, Russell, their children and animals before Thomas comes to finally take her with him permanently.
I am so hooked on your books; your writing, your love for your characters, their quirkiness, their specialness, their love for one another.
I’d like Russell to tell Jenny how much he loves her with words; know that he shows it all the time. Could it be just a novella, please, please, please!
How about more than one? Just so we can check in every now and again to feel good about them and with them again!

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