0
    • Close Modal
    0 0
    Download high-resolution image

    The Shampoo Effect

    A Novel

    Author Jenny Jackson
    Hardcover
    $30.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Pamela Dorman Books
    6"W x 9"H | 19 oz | 12 per carton
    On sale Jun 30, 2026 | 352 Pages | 9798217059959
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    See Additional Formats
    “Funny, drama-fueled, and full of Jackson's breezy wit. . . Brilliant.” —Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters

    An ambitious young woman insinuates herself into a tight-knit social set, shaking up friendships and marriages in a small seaside town. A frothy novel of love, money, sex, and friendship, from the New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street (“Laugh-out-loud-good.” —Harper’s Bazaar)

    When Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, Massachusetts, she falls head-over-heels for Van Whittaker, a fleece-wearing, litter-collecting, kayak enthusiast with long, floppy hair and the personality of a Border collie. Born and raised in this picturesque coastal village, Van runs with the same crowd he did as a kid: His ex-girlfriend, Bailey, a beautiful girl who attracts men like moths to a flame; Augusta, old money, horsey, and snobbish; and Fran, surrounded by brothers and sons, too fed up with boys to ever consider marrying one.

    Together, the group runs wild through the marshes, beaches, and bars of Greenhead, drinking on houseboats, spending long afternoons sunbathing with their children, and playing games the way they always have. But when Bailey discovers that she is pregnant with Van’s baby, the delicate balance of the group’s friendship is thrown off. Soon Caroline is cast out of the circle and what she does next—in a potent mix of fury and heartbreak—exposes long-held secrets and works the entire town of Greenhead into a lather. Dazzlingly funny, sexy, and as juicy as it is astute, The Shampoo Effect is a story of late-night parties, early mornings with small children, the dawn of midlife, and a group of old friends finally growing up despite all their best efforts to the contrary.
    Advance praise for The Shampoo Effect:

    “An absolute DELIGHT. This book has everything I love in a beach read: a coastal setting, multiple points of view, compelling storylines, and a delicious specificity to the writing that makes every single sentence feel fresh and alive. Jenny Jackson’s The Shampoo Effect is a must, must, must for your summer reading list.”
    —Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Swan Song

    “I binged The Shampoo Effect and am now bereft. Jenny Jackson has written a book that's so breezily readable and laugh-out-loud funny while excavating the deepest truths about motherhood, family, and forgiveness. What an unforgettable cast of characters. What an accomplishment.”
    —Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Wreck

    “I devoured The Shampoo Effect. Jackson has a rare knack for capturing the intensity of old friendships and the way love, jealousy, money, and history combust until everyone is behaving (deliciously) badly. It's funny, drama-fueled, and full of Jackson's breezy wit, but what stayed with me most was how honestly and insightfully it captures the grit beneath the gloss of these characters. A brilliant story of marriage, motherhood, and the difficult work of breaking old patterns to become someone new.”
    —Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters

    “The Shampoo Effect is a delicious, unputdownable portrait of a group of friends navigating love, marriage, and young parenthood. Jackson's characters are fully drawn, complex and flawed, each traveling a true arc of growth, arriving in the final pages at a deeper understanding of the ties that bind them to one another. I loved it.”
    —Belle Burden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Strangers

    “Funny, sharp, and charming.”
    —Rebecca Serle, New York Times bestselling author of One Italian Summer

    “A smart, sly gloss on Updike’s tales of marital unrest. So funny, so compelling, this novel hit home with me in its examination of the ways secrets can erode families and friendships.”
    —Joanna Rakoff, international bestselling author of My Salinger Year

    “Unexpected pregnancies, marital revelations, sibling rivalries, emotional (and actual) infidelities. . .and all of it presented by Jenny Jackson with a combination of great humor and profound wistfulness. I loved this novel. You will, too.”
    —Chris Bohjalian, New York Times bestselling author of The Jackal's Mistress

    “Jackson has a knack for local color and well-rounded character work. . . [The Shampoo Effect] has plenty of heart.”
    —Publishers Weekly

    “Jackson rotates the point of view around the set of friends, deftly depicting the practices and pressures of modern parents . . . This easy read combines a literary rom-com with an acute portrait of midlife among millennials.”
    —Kirkus
    © Torrey Liddell
    Jenny Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street. A graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing Course, Jenny is vice president and editorial director of fiction at Alfred A. Knopf. Raised in Ipswich, Massachusetts, she lives in Brooklyn Heights with her family. View titles by Jenny Jackson

    About

    “Funny, drama-fueled, and full of Jackson's breezy wit. . . Brilliant.” —Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters

    An ambitious young woman insinuates herself into a tight-knit social set, shaking up friendships and marriages in a small seaside town. A frothy novel of love, money, sex, and friendship, from the New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street (“Laugh-out-loud-good.” —Harper’s Bazaar)

    When Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, Massachusetts, she falls head-over-heels for Van Whittaker, a fleece-wearing, litter-collecting, kayak enthusiast with long, floppy hair and the personality of a Border collie. Born and raised in this picturesque coastal village, Van runs with the same crowd he did as a kid: His ex-girlfriend, Bailey, a beautiful girl who attracts men like moths to a flame; Augusta, old money, horsey, and snobbish; and Fran, surrounded by brothers and sons, too fed up with boys to ever consider marrying one.

    Together, the group runs wild through the marshes, beaches, and bars of Greenhead, drinking on houseboats, spending long afternoons sunbathing with their children, and playing games the way they always have. But when Bailey discovers that she is pregnant with Van’s baby, the delicate balance of the group’s friendship is thrown off. Soon Caroline is cast out of the circle and what she does next—in a potent mix of fury and heartbreak—exposes long-held secrets and works the entire town of Greenhead into a lather. Dazzlingly funny, sexy, and as juicy as it is astute, The Shampoo Effect is a story of late-night parties, early mornings with small children, the dawn of midlife, and a group of old friends finally growing up despite all their best efforts to the contrary.

    Praise

    Advance praise for The Shampoo Effect:

    “An absolute DELIGHT. This book has everything I love in a beach read: a coastal setting, multiple points of view, compelling storylines, and a delicious specificity to the writing that makes every single sentence feel fresh and alive. Jenny Jackson’s The Shampoo Effect is a must, must, must for your summer reading list.”
    —Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Swan Song

    “I binged The Shampoo Effect and am now bereft. Jenny Jackson has written a book that's so breezily readable and laugh-out-loud funny while excavating the deepest truths about motherhood, family, and forgiveness. What an unforgettable cast of characters. What an accomplishment.”
    —Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Wreck

    “I devoured The Shampoo Effect. Jackson has a rare knack for capturing the intensity of old friendships and the way love, jealousy, money, and history combust until everyone is behaving (deliciously) badly. It's funny, drama-fueled, and full of Jackson's breezy wit, but what stayed with me most was how honestly and insightfully it captures the grit beneath the gloss of these characters. A brilliant story of marriage, motherhood, and the difficult work of breaking old patterns to become someone new.”
    —Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters

    “The Shampoo Effect is a delicious, unputdownable portrait of a group of friends navigating love, marriage, and young parenthood. Jackson's characters are fully drawn, complex and flawed, each traveling a true arc of growth, arriving in the final pages at a deeper understanding of the ties that bind them to one another. I loved it.”
    —Belle Burden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Strangers

    “Funny, sharp, and charming.”
    —Rebecca Serle, New York Times bestselling author of One Italian Summer

    “A smart, sly gloss on Updike’s tales of marital unrest. So funny, so compelling, this novel hit home with me in its examination of the ways secrets can erode families and friendships.”
    —Joanna Rakoff, international bestselling author of My Salinger Year

    “Unexpected pregnancies, marital revelations, sibling rivalries, emotional (and actual) infidelities. . .and all of it presented by Jenny Jackson with a combination of great humor and profound wistfulness. I loved this novel. You will, too.”
    —Chris Bohjalian, New York Times bestselling author of The Jackal's Mistress

    “Jackson has a knack for local color and well-rounded character work. . . [The Shampoo Effect] has plenty of heart.”
    —Publishers Weekly

    “Jackson rotates the point of view around the set of friends, deftly depicting the practices and pressures of modern parents . . . This easy read combines a literary rom-com with an acute portrait of midlife among millennials.”
    —Kirkus

    Author

    © Torrey Liddell
    Jenny Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street. A graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing Course, Jenny is vice president and editorial director of fiction at Alfred A. Knopf. Raised in Ipswich, Massachusetts, she lives in Brooklyn Heights with her family. View titles by Jenny Jackson

    Additional formats

    Other Books by this Author

    Penguin Random House Retail

    © 2026 Penguin Random House

    Back to Top
    0
    Wish List (0)