Certain Girls: A Novel | Jennifer Weiner

Certain Girls: A Novel | Jennifer Weiner | Thank you for making me laugh!

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Certain Girls: A N...

	Certain Girls: A Novel Jennifer Weiner Atria, 2008 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 162 reviews view larger image
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Loved It...

This book was great. I loved that it was written in the first person with chapters alternating between the mother's perspective and the daughter's perspective. I love books written in this style, but it was particularly enjoyable with the mother/daughter dynamic. Any mother would love this book. I highly recommend it - and every other book written by the talented Ms. Weiner!

Thank you for making me laugh!

I enjoyed this book. I have read several of the criticisms from others, about how Cannie obsessed over her weight, and how she obsessed over her daughter, but as women, don't we all obsess over different things? (A wise person once told me 'As a parent we spend 50% of our time making decisions, and the other 50% of the time second guessing them') Ms. Wiener wrote a wonderful book, and Cannie has grown up. She has a different set of issues now, especially with her daughter. As for the surprise towards the end, I wasn't expecting it, but as we all know, tragedy often strikes when we least expect it. I think that Cannie handled it like a real person would have handled it. I would love to see another book with Cannie and the next chapter of her life.

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Really amazing sequel!

I really loved this book, because Good in Bed left me wanting more of a story. While Certain Girls is different... I still loved how Weiner treated the story.

Not fair to compare it to its predecessor

I think readers need to remember that this book is set many years after Good In Bed was written so, essentially, you're being introduced to a character who, while she may bear a resemblance to her younger self, is a changed person. I think that is actually one of the most fascinating things about this book, to have watched a character become engulfed so fully in their domestic role as a mother and wife, even despite the success of her career as a novelist. It is this character shift that held my interest throughout this book, an at times disappointing but also sympathetic feeling of understanding, knowing that all of us grow up and lose bits of ourselves as we take on other roles in life.

That being said, I did think the storyline didn't manage to follow any real path until the very end. This book at times almost felt like an exercise in trying to write descriptive passages with humor, one after another, and didn't quite gel together into a cohesive story. This makes the ending all the more jarring, and not necessarily in a good way. I suppose maybe that was for effect, but I didn't think it worked all that well, especially given the more genial tone of the pages that came before it.

Overall, a pretty good read but not one of Jennifer Weiner's finest efforts. However, as a revisit to an old, beloved character, it was certainly enjoyable.

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good

this book was fun to read. i have read all her novels so far, i think, sometimes it's fun to read something that isnt "heavy" (pun intended). and she finally stopped with the digs at vegetarians. this was my only "beef" with "weiner" (bad puns intended) in the past. she always had something nasty to say about vegetarians. she seems to have forgiven whichever grass-eating person hurt her feelings in the past. and her books are good - you want to keep reading them, and i love being in the middle of a book that i cant wait to pick up again. i love her horrible jokes, the tampon puns, etc.

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