A Touch of Jen

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By the time things take a turn, it starts to feel like just about anything could happen. At one point we go from very mild escalations to very extreme ones. I loved it. It is so all over the place, so ridiculous and yet so sharp in its observations. There are all kinds of little reveals, especially in the second half of the book, where we realize that while there is third person narration, it's been so close to Remy and Alicia's points of view that there are many things we didn't see because they didn't see. It becomes really delightfully batshit. Imagine their confused excitement when they run into Jen, in the flesh, and she invites them on a surfing trip to the Hamptons with her wealthy boyfriend and their group. Once there, Remy and Alicia try (a little too hard) to fit into Jen's exalted social circle, but violent desire and class resentment bubble beneath the surface of this beachside paradise, threatening to erupt. As small disturbances escalate into outright horror, we find ourselves tumbling with Remy and Alicia into an uncanny alternate reality, one shaped by their most unspeakable, deviant, and intoxicating fantasies. Is this what "self-actualization" looks like?

Sounds like me. If it's longer than one and a half minutes, I can't watch. What the hell is it with some people, taking a full two point five minutes to instruct me on how to build a pyramid? It can't be that difficult. This novel captures so much of our internet thoughts in a readable and electric frazzle... Like Buñuel, Beth Morgan recognizes that erotic desire is funny in the way it degrades subject and object...A satire on the terrible neo-liberal morass we co-occupy, unable to touch intimacy. The laughs come fast, and the message is low-key freaky and haunting. This one is for the kids."-- ENTROPY MAGAZINE Part millennial social comedy, part psychedelic horror and all wildly entertaining, A TOUCH OF JEN is a sly, unflinching examination of the hidden drives that lurk just outside the frame of our carefully curated selves. For the most part, I don’t know what to think of this book. I actually don’t know if I can still think at all (see stage 5). For the most part, this book is like reading an indie movie. Like, I imagine reading a novelization of “The Lobster” would feel similar. Nobody talks like real people. Nobody acts like real people. It’s like every character is a funhouse mirror reflection of a human…but you want to punch every single one of those reflections in the face. Most of the time I felt like this book takes itself way too seriously and that drives me nuts. But…there’s more to it than that.Morgan drops plenty of zany twists into readers' laps, and the latter part of the novel takes on a speculative dimension"-- NEW YORK TIMES (Books to Look Out For in July)

Speechify AI Avatars & Video Create polished videos without any actors or equipment. Turn any text into high-quality videos with AI avatars and voiceovers – in minutes. I also loved how real this all felt. I’m a practicing witch, and there were moments in this book that felt very real to how I practice. A Touch of Jen was well written. I read every word up to 50% of the book. I just couldn’t push further. I loved the cover and the idea of following someone on social media and imitating them but Alicia’s imitation was short to just Jen’s mean personality towards Remy. I will donate this book to the Little Free Library next month and hopefully someone will love reading it. Remy and Alicia, a couple in their early thirties, are mutually fascinated by a woman called Jen, a former coworker of Remy’s. (It’s not really clear why, and that’s kind of the point; the obsession itself is more important than its subject.) Most of their conversations are about her, they spend huge amounts of time dissecting everything she posts online, and their sex life involves a lot of Jen-related roleplay. Remy and Alicia are mostly unlikeable yet somehow, against the odds, charming – you wouldn’t want to know them, but reading about them is pretty fun. Morgan writes their obsession with Jen perfectly: I really did believe that the idea of Remy hooking up with Jen was as exciting (possibly even more exciting) for Alicia as for Remy. Inspired by David Copperfield, Kingsolver crafts a 21st-century coming-of-age story set in America’s hard-pressed rural South.Shondaland caught up with Morgan to discuss the inspirations for her new novel, loneliness in romantic relationships, and the idea of disparate personal journeys. Um, holy shit...This novel will be the most fun you'll have this summer." -Emily Temple, Literary Hub The universe is a beautifully arranged place in which even details that seem ordinary are the key to a larger design.” - A Touch of Jen. I figured out the premise of the story fairly early on. I honestly don’t think I’m spoiling anything by telling you that this is a classic tale of human sacrifice to an Elder God for financial abundance to bless a whole town. The same sort of story we saw in Fear Street.