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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
I like Jennifer Weiner...she's pretty funny. My favorite book of her was "Good in Bed" which I read years ago. "Certain Girls" is the follow up release and it's good. Some of the plots are a little cushioned (for lack of a better word). If I were the protagonist in the story (the mom) I would not have let my daughter out of her room!
It's a good read. Just not always that believable.
It's a good read. Just not always that believable.
This wasn't as good as Good In Bed, even though that wasn't stellar reading material either. I completely hated the end of this story, not only because it was extremely sad, but because it really did not have to end that way. How much pain does this character, Cannie, have to endure? It felt like a rushed & unnecessary ending.
I will say the character of Joy made me second guess ever wanting daughters, though. She was so spoiled and whiney. Ughh. I'm sure part of it was "acting like a teenager" but it seemed exaggerated.
I did still kind of like the novel, however the above may seem to the contrary. Even though I didn't like the end, I definitely didn't see it coming, and unpredictability is always something I can appreciate. Cannie was still funny, and hearing from her daughters perspective, although sometimes incredibly annoying, was refreshing.
I'm glad I read this, because I really enjoyed Good In Bed the first time I read it a few years ago, but I don't forsee ever reading it again.
I will say the character of Joy made me second guess ever wanting daughters, though. She was so spoiled and whiney. Ughh. I'm sure part of it was "acting like a teenager" but it seemed exaggerated.
I did still kind of like the novel, however the above may seem to the contrary. Even though I didn't like the end, I definitely didn't see it coming, and unpredictability is always something I can appreciate. Cannie was still funny, and hearing from her daughters perspective, although sometimes incredibly annoying, was refreshing.
I'm glad I read this, because I really enjoyed Good In Bed the first time I read it a few years ago, but I don't forsee ever reading it again.
I like her books a lot, even though I hate the covers. Even though I felt a little manipulated towards the end,I really enjoy her writing. The daughter's character was great.
I'm sure I'm cursing myself by saying this, but as a woman with a 10 year old daughter, I truly hope I don't deal with 95% of this. :-/
I missed Cannie's humor in this book and I found Joy to be incredibly annoying.
I missed Cannie's humor in this book and I found Joy to be incredibly annoying.
I loathed "Good in Bed" and Cannie the first time around. Why would I submit myself to a second round of torture you may ask? Well, I had "Certain Girls" in my possession and its rare that I get to read something light and easy, so I delved in, expecting it to be a 'hate-read.' And it was.
The only thing that could have made the character, Cannie, more annoying is to make her into a helicopter parent, so of course, that's what Wiener does and pairs her with an annoying daughter, the character of whom is slightly more tolerable because she's a teenager, and teenagers are often terrible and confused. Cannie is an awful, selfish person. She is not charming. She is not 'real.' She is not witty. And if Wiener fashioned Cannie of of herself, then I daresay I would not expect to think much of Wiener either. Homophobia runs rampant again throughout this second book, one of the most abominable scenes being when Cannie tells Joy that she had the right to hate her mother longer because she was a lesbian. Because your mother surviving an abusive relationship and finally finding herself and happiness at 56 is really drag because you know...she's a LESBIAN!!! Poor poor Cannie. Nor is Cannie thankful for the success her book brought her, she just uses it as an excuse to sulk and be boring. Bleh. Poor poor Cannie and her upper-middle class existence. Aw.
If I read one more sentence about "normal" families and the yearning for one... The entire book takes a vanilla existence and tries to make it scandalous. This book was written in the 2000s, not the 1930s. Having a child out of wedlock and then getting married to a successful doctor is not scandalous.
There were also sloppy details that didn't match with the first book, which I found super lazy and annoying, more so probably because I was so annoyed by the book's very existence. For instance, at the end of "Good in Bed," Peter is 37, fast forward 13 years and he's 54? Um... Or Cannie has a flashback to when Joy was a newborn and she describes walking up to her third floor apartment, which doesn't add up, since at the end of the first book Maxi so conveniently uses her vast movie star wealth to renovate a first-floor apartment for her.
The weight thing too. Its not done is tasteful manner, its awful. Cannie is 5'10'', size 16, with a 36 G cup. The descriptions of her do not match up to those dimensions, sorry. Every time her weight is mentioned I cringed.
I could go on because every page made me angry in some way, but I'll stop here.
The only thing that could have made the character, Cannie, more annoying is to make her into a helicopter parent, so of course, that's what Wiener does and pairs her with an annoying daughter, the character of whom is slightly more tolerable because she's a teenager, and teenagers are often terrible and confused. Cannie is an awful, selfish person. She is not charming. She is not 'real.' She is not witty. And if Wiener fashioned Cannie of of herself, then I daresay I would not expect to think much of Wiener either. Homophobia runs rampant again throughout this second book, one of the most abominable scenes being when Cannie tells Joy that she had the right to hate her mother longer because she was a lesbian. Because your mother surviving an abusive relationship and finally finding herself and happiness at 56 is really drag because you know...she's a LESBIAN!!! Poor poor Cannie. Nor is Cannie thankful for the success her book brought her, she just uses it as an excuse to sulk and be boring. Bleh. Poor poor Cannie and her upper-middle class existence. Aw.
If I read one more sentence about "normal" families and the yearning for one... The entire book takes a vanilla existence and tries to make it scandalous. This book was written in the 2000s, not the 1930s. Having a child out of wedlock and then getting married to a successful doctor is not scandalous.
There were also sloppy details that didn't match with the first book, which I found super lazy and annoying, more so probably because I was so annoyed by the book's very existence. For instance, at the end of "Good in Bed," Peter is 37, fast forward 13 years and he's 54? Um... Or Cannie has a flashback to when Joy was a newborn and she describes walking up to her third floor apartment, which doesn't add up, since at the end of the first book Maxi so conveniently uses her vast movie star wealth to renovate a first-floor apartment for her.
The weight thing too. Its not done is tasteful manner, its awful. Cannie is 5'10'', size 16, with a 36 G cup. The descriptions of her do not match up to those dimensions, sorry. Every time her weight is mentioned I cringed.
I could go on because every page made me angry in some way, but I'll stop here.
Great book if you're looking for some lighter reading. Good story about the special relationship between a mother and daughter under some unique circumstances.
the first half was dull and predictable, but it picked up a bit in the second. nothing too exciting.
Didn't disappoint: fun read, breezy but not vapid.
The twist at the end ruined it entirely for me. This wasn't what I signed up for, and now I am just deeply sad.
3.5, felt the same about Good in Bed. It’s fine! We love Cannie, Peter!, Joy and her little bat mitzvah woes.