Mad About the Boy: Bridget Jones Is Back!

Regular readers will remember that I love Bridget Jones. So I was thrilled to bits to hear that Helen Fielding had written a brand new Bridget Jones novel, thirteen long years after The Edge of Reason. Of course, that joy was dampened when it was revealed that Bridget was now a widow with two small children. Mark Darcy is dead? How on earth could this book be any good?!

Turns out, even dead Darcy can't prevent this novel from having genuinely laugh-out-loud moments. Bridget is just as lovable and scatter-brained as ever, but now with two young children who are along for the ride. No longer a thirtysomething singleton, she is struggling to come to terms with Mark Darcy's death and is egged on by her friends to re-enter the dating pool, a prospect that is particularly horrifying as a single mother in the throes of *gasp* middle age. However, our heroine's foray into the brave new world of Twitter leads her to a virtual and eventually in-person romance with a much younger man named Roxby. Is the toy boy a Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver? Read the book to find out.

Mad About the Boy, like every Bridget Jones novel before it, feels like a pop cultural touchstone. Fielding makes many keen observations about life in the digital age and Bridget is constantly struggling to stop checking her texts and tweets long enough to ensure she hasn't set the kids' dinner on fire. There are several references to 2012 movies, fashions, and trends, and this book could serve as a historical artifact for future generations. But there's also plenty of nostalgia, with the return of old friends and enemies, non-stop calorie-counting, drunken texting, and New Year's resolutions.

I can't pretend that Mad About the Boy is a laugh riot. It is punctuated by incredibly sad moments and Bridget is constantly on the verge of teetering into a depressive spiral because she misses Mark, thinks she's a bad mother, feels guilty about moving on, etc. But Helen Fielding is a master at interweaving heartbreak and hilarity, and Bridget Jones can't help laughing through her tears. The novel also feels very cinematic at times, with certain scenes that feel like they stepped right out of the screenplays of the previous two movies. It's quite a roller-coaster ride and though you might guess the inevitable ending, you'll absolutely love how you get there. It's a very Austenian tale, hearkening back to the series' Pride & Prejudice roots, and it will leave you with a warm, happy glow.

If you love Bridget and want to know what happens to her, read this book. If you wish Jane Austen wrote novels about dating in the 21st century, read this book. And if you love witty writing, well-developed characters, heartbreak, romance, and happiness, read this book.