Rating: 
Summary: Don't Let The Title Fool You...
Review: This book is an eloquent look into the life of Cannie Shapiro, a young woman whose childhood and family have left her to pick up many pieces in her young adulthood. One of the issues that arises is Cannie's obsession with being thin. This book does what Jane Green's Jemima J. -tries- to do. We see Cannie's struggles in a deeper, more meaningful way than we do Jemima's. This is what makes this book so incredible- Weiner's honest approach to writing about esteem issues and family issues and how these are intertwined. (But not in a self-helpy, whiny way!)I cried like a baby at the end of this novel, so I'm not going to give anything away. Good in Bed is much more than what the title suggests, and Weiner writes with compassion, honesty, integrity, and grit. I highly recommend this book to readers of other chick lit books who have found other characters to be less than engaging and plots less than realistic.
Rating: 
Summary: Great start, and then...
Review: I would have given this book five stars if it had ended before the baby/Maxi/celebrity nonsense. The beginning was so engaging, and the character Cannie was likeable and funny - I laughed out loud a few times. Sadly, the story speedily whizzed downhill, what with the melodramatic pregnancy storyline, and Maxi, the fairy-godmother-type celebrity who befriends Cannie. (Very barf-worthy.) I also have a bone to pick with the author's thinly veiled desciptions of some of the celebrities she comes across. The married actor/actress couple in which everybody knows the actor is really gay? Obviously a Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman reference. Adrian Stadt is Adam Sandler. And if Maxi isn't Minnie Driver, I'll eat my hat. I also couldn't help but notice the many parallels between the character Cannie and the author herself. (Not just from reading the book jacket bio, but from reading info. on her website.) Jennifer Weiner, how about a little imagination? Or is this your autobiography? I'm starting to get mean here, but I really wanted to like the rest of this book as much as I liked the beginning, and wound up being very dissapointed and frustrated about the way it turned out.
Rating: 
Summary: Could Have Been Better
Review: This book is not for anyone with self esteem issues. The main character Cannie is a co-dependent being. The author never allows the main character to find self without out a man,family member or friend. Cannie is made out to be an indiviudual that never comes to grips with who she is and never learns to stand on her own 2 feet or even love herself. There are some high points to this novel, but as a whole, I was thoroughly disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Good read but unrealistic
Review: This is a fabulous read! It's funny, has identifiable characters (especially Cannie) and is really honest about the goings on inside the minds of large women. It's more like a dream of how larger women wish their lives could be than how it actually is for us most of the time though. Sure Cannie goes through some exceptionally rough patches, but overall her life is just too good to be true. That's what's great about it though.
Rating:
Summary: Never Felt Better
Review: I must say that Jennifer Weiner has grasped what it feels like to be a confused and zaftig women in the world. I read this book quickly and easily feeling happy and sad when the main character felt the same.
This novel made me feel so much better than i ever have after a book. It inspired me to quit being obsessed with what people think and stop putting my self down just because i want to beat people to the punch.
The characters are relatable and inspired me to try and be a better person (even the bad people like Bruce). I wish that this book was around when i was younger because it proved the saying "every green cheese has its day".
I must say "read this book"! It is a wonderful novel to get lost in and find yourself in. The best book i've read this year!
Rating:
Summary: Good Start - Fell Flat Towards The Middle
Review: I agree with the other reviewers who stated that this book had an excellent beginning but that, toward the middle, fell flat on its [face] - right around the time Maxi makes an appearance. Puh-leeeze! I'm sorry, but regardless of the fact that I recognize this book for the work of fiction it is, it is completely beyond the realm of reality to even imagine that a popular starlet is going to randomly spill her guts to the first "human" reporter she meets, become her best friend, and lavish her with gifts - including a new home (incidentally, by that point, I thought Cannie had sold her screenplay and was rich in her own right - so where's the need for such charity?) Oh - and as a side note, WHY do the main characters in just about every book I've read lately have to be some type of reporter/media-ite or, at the very least, work "in publishing"???????? How "original". That being said, I really liked the premise of this story, with Bruce's articles, etc. But, no, I didn't find his prose to be particularly sensitive - especially as it's well established at the beginning of the story that Cannie was comfortable with herself throughout their relationship, so where he got this "she hid in herself" take on things is beyond me. Trust me, a woman who is hiding in herself and is ashamed of her weight does not eat french fries in public and initiate large, obvious displays of public affection. Clearly he was embarrassed to be seen with her the whole time and used his article as some sort of catharsis in order to forgive his own shallowness. As for the pregnancy twist to the story, I liked it - it was not only a creative spin on an otherwise already-told tale (B. Jones, the utterly horrible Jemima J., etc.), it was realistic and believable, although, again, the post-partum meltdown was a bit much. I found it unlikely, as well, that Bruce, who had (supposedly) loved Cannie so much, would completely ignore her letter announcing her pregnancy and that his new girlfriend would not only have no qualms about being with a guy who not only got his ex up the pole and who willingly ignored her condition, but would then proceed to physically assault said pregnant ex (and she's a KINDERGARTEN teacher?????). Huh????...
Rating:
Summary: You can't help but fall in love with this book!
Review: From the first paragraph I fell in love with the characters in "Good In Bed". Jennifer Weiner has written a superb first book!! You will want to jump through the pages and ring Bruce's neck for what he puts Cannie through. And when Cannie discovers herself and her true happiness in life, you will wish there were 400 more pages to spend with her. Excellent!! I can hardly wait for Ms. Weiners second book.
Rating:
Summary: Refeshingly Real
Review: The main character of this book Cannie is real...she is funny, and she has a number of very realistic up and downs. The narrator Paula Cale did a splendid job of bringing Cannie to life. This was one of my first audio books and I am hooked. This review is based on the CD verison of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Hurrah for a Wonderfully Refreshing Read!
Review: I read, ok, I read A LOT, and this a must read! Any time people are discussing good books, I always mention this as one of my new favs. Jennifer Weiner weaves a wonderful tale of a 20 something woman finding herself and her self esteem. Cannie, the heroine, will work her way into your heart quickly. She is *real*, quick witted and I couldn't get over how many times I was amazed thinking "wow, I've said that myself". Growing up Jewish, near Philadelphia, being a "larger woman" I really related to Cannie.
When I read Bridget Jones and rolled my eyes at her complaining at weighing 124 that day! Who weighs 124 and actually complains about it?!? Cannie is a real character, with real issues and feelings that all women can relate too. This is a great read, that you simply won't be able to put down. I love this book and have encouraged many other woman I know to read this winner too.
Rating:
Summary: funny, honest, clever, well told story to move you
Review: Sometimes you stumble on to a book that winds up moving you to no end - maybe because it resonates so deeply and perhaps because when a story is well-told, you just go for that glorious ride. This book has romance, family drama, humour, pain, wit, adventures, and characters to love and loathe. It also brings up what it is like to have weight issues in this modern world in a way that is just totally right on...so much so that it is a relief to read and terrifying all at once. But don't let that stop you from reading this - it heals, for some reason...and that is such a gift from this way cool author.
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