Certain Girls: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner
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Book Reviews of Certain Girls: A Novel
Book Review: Certain Girls
Summary: 5 Stars
This was just as good as the orginal up to the end, good ending I suppose it had to happen but sad very sad... I loved the story!!Book Review: Did we really need that twist?
Summary: 4 Stars
I was so happy to find that there was a sequel to "Good in Bed" that I snatched this up and started right away. It's a very quick book; in fact, I managed to make it through the whole thing in about a day, but it is difficult to read (at the same time, difficult to put down).
The first issue is the flip-flopping narratives: one chapter is Cannie, over a decade older and struggling with the idea of having a child via surrogacy AND a teenage daughter who feels as though she's slipping away; the next chapter is Joy, now a teenager and full of hate, anger, and attitude, looking for her own version of the truth in Cannie's 10-year-old bestselling novel. Cannie appears to be very out-of-touch with much of what her daughter is going through, which is kind of a hard sell after reading her pain and drama in "Good in Bed". I'll give her credit, she appears to be the kindhearted mother that we all hear about: the one that rarely badmouths absent-dad; is always ready with kisses, cookies, and love; and yet tries to hide the fact that she is a woman beyond simply "mom". Joy has grown into a spiteful girl who doesn't want to ask her mother any questions and instead chooses to believe the (albeit very thinly-disguised memoir) book her mother wrote when she was a baby; she also embarks on a journey of her own, believing that her "um...Bruce" isn't as horrible as we know him to be from the first novel, and attempting to reconcile in her mind that her mother MUST be lying about everything. And yet, even with all of that, I still couldn't put the book down. It was painful, embarrassing, and still a great read...until the end.
There are clichè parts, as well: the runaway trip to LA, the "popular" girl that everyone appears to want to be, the less-than-famously-popular friends left by the wayside for much of the book, the mother-daughter power/love struggle, and then the HORRIBLE ending. Yes, I cried. It was awful (mainly because Peter's attitude and kindheartedness remind me of my own husband) and absolutely 180 degrees away from what I was expecting. If the author was expecting to rekindle the passion she had from her readers during Joy's premature birth and Cannie's heartache, good luck. Instead, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth and an unfulfilled promise of a good, truly happy ending for well-written characters.
I would still recommend this book, but be prepared...the ending sucks.
Book Review: Certain Girls
Summary: 4 Stars
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner is the sequel to Good in Bed. In this book, we meet up with Canny Shapiro when her daughter, Joy, is getting ready for her bat mitzvah. Joy is growing up and is arguing with her mother while also trying to find her place in the world. Joy reads her mother's book and begins to question everything that she held true from her childhood. Does her mom even want her? Was her grandfather such a bad man? Did Bruce care about her, or was she totally unwanted by both parents? As Joy struggles with her identity, Canny and Peter have tough decisions to make as well. Canny's publisher wants her to do another book as herself. The public wants to have another Candace Shapiro best seller. Peter also wants to have a baby. Should the two of them go through the process of getting a surrogate mother because Canny can not have any more children?
I really enjoy Jennifer Weiner. I started out reading her books with a bit of hesitation, but each story seems to catch my interest and her characters are always endearing. Joy reminds me of my students. She is questioning everything that adults tell her and finding her own way. She goes through some extremes, but she is constantly learning and reevaluating life. Her character is written beautifully. Weiner has captured the adolescent spirit perfectly. Canny is as sharp-witted as she is in the first novel, but she does not shine as brightly in this novel. She seems to be more subdued as a mother. The only part that I did not like is the ending. As things were starting to get better in the novel and I was preparing myself for a happy ending, Weiner through in a twist that shattered my heart. It was an extremely shocking ending and I can't really say that I liked it. That could just be because I like happy endings, but it through a wrench in what I expected. I'm not used to being surprised in books. I am sure that a lot of people enjoy this type of thing, it just didn't work for me.
4/5 stars
Book Review: Good summer read
Summary: 4 Stars
When I picked up this book, I didn't realize it was a sequel to Good in Bed. In fact, it has been so long since I read the first one that I didn't remember much about it. Yet as I got into the novel, the article by the ex, Bruce, rang a bell with me. As did the estranged father. I think I need to go back and reread the original novel to be able to say whether it's an adequate follow up.
That said, I did enjoy the novel. As a writer, I especially enjoyed the pieces of the novel that dealt with Candace's writing career. Yet the scenes with Joy were good, too.
At first, the switching voices each chapter was confusing. It took me a paragraph or two into the 2nd chapter to realize it was a different narrator. In fact, it made me stop and go back to figure out what was going on. Maybe I missed a clue to it. I am so used to books that give more markers telling me there's going to be a voice change. So much so that it actually messed me up more than once. Each time, it jerked me out of the novel for a moment while I tried to remember who was speaking. No, it doesn't take you long to figure that out, but it's long enough to pull me away from immersion in the story.
I still enjoyed it thoroughly, even if the ending was a bit surprising and painful. I would recommend it to any friends that enjoy Weiner or this genre. In fact, I'm starting on another Weiner novel now.
Book Review: Great book, just watch out for the ending...
Summary: 4 Stars
Jennifer Weiner's book 'Good in Bed' was a great read; so I decided to give Certain Girls a shot. This novel did not disappoint. Weiner writes the book from two perspectives- One is from a mother, Cannie's, vantage point and the other is from her soon-to-be teenage daughter, Joy's, point of view. I loved how well the author tapped into the pre-teen angst with Joy. It took me back to what it's like to be that age and go through the awkwardness and anger of being a young girl and how that makes relating to your parents (ESPECIALLY your mother) so hard. This book covers so many aspects of the mother-daughter relationship and how it grows and changes over time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Cannie, Joy, their family and the progression of their lives as Joy grows up and eventually becomes a woman the day of her bat mitzvah. I highly recommend this book; just be sure to have some kleenex nearby because there is a sad, unexpected twist at the end of the book.