In Her Shoes

Rating:
Summary: vox populi, vox feet
Review: I have no problem with mainstream entertainment, but sometimes it's just too obvious why popularity has a bad rap. This book is a blatant attempt to appeal to as broad an audience as possible and affected me no more than a random scan of television channels. My biggest problem is with the characters: the brainless bimbo Maggie, the plain-jane bookworm Rose (who, in a never-to-be-expected twist, is so much nicer than her perfect-10 sister), the worldly-wise, tough-cookie grandma who resolves all their problems. Can we have a little more substance, please? And what exactly is the author's problem with sexy-but-dumb Maggie? The way she's portrayed is more hateful and spiteful than anything I remember reading from any male writer...and I've read Norman Mailer! I know this book is all hyped up and that the author's previous book, Good in Bed, is a big success, and I don't expect a book to be "difficult" to be serious...but I don't like to be spoon-fed movie-of-the-week stereotypes either. I recommend Antonya Nelson for real female characters.

Rating:
Summary: Left me disappointed...
Review: After reading "Good In Bed," I could NOT wait to get my hands on another book by Jennifer Weiner. Although I feel this novel was incomparable to her first (Good In Bed). At many points the book left me uninterested and the story plot itself becaming dragging. I stopped reading the book after I only had 112 pages left. I was extremely disappointed. Maybe if I read this book first and then Good In Bed, I may have had different views because I would not have had anything to compare it to. All in all I felt this book did not live up to my high expectations that I had for it.

Rating:
Summary: Good read for Weiner fans
Review: This is a fast breezy read and fans of Good in Bed will enjoy this novel as well. The author's knack for observational humor stays intact. Strengths of the book include sense of place - Philadelphia is an overlooked gem of a city and though the characters rarely stray from the french bistro loop, anyone who has lived or visited will appreciate this sketch of the city. I also appreciated the author's interest in depicting the lives of people of a certain age. Rose, the brainy brawny attorney and her sister Maggie, a dysfunctional size 0 showbiz wannabe are reunited with their long-lost grandmother, Ella. Ella's life at a retirement community is ably rendered. Weaknesses of the book include plot and character development - Maggie's flight to Princeton, Rose's decision to become a dog walker/bike messenger, and Ella's decision to refrain from phoning or visiting her granddaughters are never convincingly explained. Most of the novel is written as dialogue (which rings true), but when the author becomes descriptive - she occasionally missteps: "[Ella] knew the truth-the pictures were pretty, but the reality of Caroline's life was something else. It was jagged rocks hiding beneath the pretty curls of the waves, it was black ice on the pavement." A good editor should have stricken the entire second sentence.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as "Good in Bed", but worth the read.
Review: This was a good book, really. I guess after Good In bed, I expected it to be earthshattering, I did give it 4 stars, and they were worth it. The story was good. It was a good read.

Rating:
Summary: awesome
Review: Jennifer Weiner's books get you hooked from the first page becasue of her unique style of writing. I enjoyed reading both, Good in Bed and In her Shoes, books but comparing them I liked Good in Bed. I felt like In Her Shoes was a very predictable book about two sisters who don't get along but at the end they realize they are more alike then different. In Her Shoes didn't pull as much attention to me then her other book. Reading these two books have encouraged me to read her third book. I am really anxious to know how Little Earthquakes ends.

Rating:
Summary: Immensely readable; terrific characters
Review: Jennifer Weiner is one of my favorites. Her books are an easy, likeable read, yet she gets in serious subjects, not just predictable romantic fluff. Well-rounded, realistic characters are her strong point. She carried off multiple POV expertly. I especially enjoyed hearing Ella's story.

Rating:
Summary: Just Another Opinion
Review: First off, I'm not the reader type, so when the chance comes around that I actually enjoy a book, it has to be good. Although, my sister and I are not as close in age as Rose and Maggie were, I still found relation in the clothes sharing aspect. I thought the book taught morals which gave the book a good personality. I really enjoyed reading this book and found myself fighting to put it down. I thougth the introduction to the book was the best, because it got me hooked from the first page. I don't think that the story line or plot was drawn out which kep tmy interest alive. I'm very excited to start a new book on Jennifer Weiner beause her writing style is very unique. I would defintely recommend this book to any one. I would suggest it to be a chick book. I enjoyed the happy ending in comparison to the rough beginning.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I read Jennifer Weiner's second book In Her Shoes before I read her first book Good In Bed. As soon as I read In Her Shoes, I was hooked. I found the dynamics of this sister relationship intriguing. I continued to find myself reading "just one page more" because I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book and I'm looking forward to the moving coming out.

Rating:
Summary: On the Beach
Review: I read this book on my vacation to Jamaica. It was the perfect book to lay on the beach and read. It took me a few chapters to get into the book, but then I was home free. Loved it!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: It is a fun novel ~~ one based on two sisters and their long-lost grandma with a family secret that only Grandma has the answers to. The two sisters, Maggie and Rose, raised by a grieving father and a distant step-mother, grew up different as sisters can be. Rose is the older sister, successful and one with the brains. Maggie is the scatterbrained younger sister with the looks to envy for. This novel is their stories ~~ fun, sometimes complicated and entertaining.

This is a perfect summer read ~~ it's an entertaining tale about two sisters who never thought they'd be friends since they are so different. But deep down inside, they began to realize that they may be a like after all.

So if you're looking for a fun book to read on the beach or on some dreary winter night ~~ this book is the perfect escape! It's enjoyable and funny in some parts! And sometimes, it will make you long for a sister as fun as Maggie and as responsible as Rose.

1-10-05