Rating: 
Summary: Bitterly Dissappointing
Review: This could quite possibly be the worst book I have ever read from cover to cover. Perhaps I fell prey to all of the hype and my expectations were too high. The characters were flat, emotionless, and I never cared at all what was going to happen next. Personally, I am sorry that trees had to die in order for this drivel to be printed.
Rating: 
Summary: I love her
Review: A wickedly funny, fabulously entertaining read. Characters are deep, witty and the dialouge is ripping. A must for women of all ages.
Rating: 
Summary: It was nearly good
Review: I loved, really loved the first chapter. It was funny, clever,insightful, true. It made me rush through the rest of the book,hoping to go enjoy the narrator's company as she experienced all the rush and disapointments of love. The smart-[alec] I fell in love with in the first chapter was never found again. She disappeared. If that's supposed to illustrate the disapointments of adulthood, well done.. but we were left with a pale, mausade main character.I'm not sure whether the relationship with the older man wasn't fleshed out because the author had no idea what that would really be like, or because it would be distateful to actually give us the details we craved. The book kept skimming along with some meaningful commentary, but altogether an uninteresting incohesive plot--ultimately, the relationships just weren't fleshed out enough... Not with her brother, not with her father, not with her lovers, not with her life... One way to evaluate a book is to see if you dread finishing it, because you'll have to say goodbye... I was left with so many questions at the end--I didn't really know this character. These gaps didn't feel like the holes we all have in the fabrics of our lives, but the holes left by a negligent author who hadn't thought of all the angles...
Rating: 
Summary: A delightful surprise
Review: Melissa Bank writes a wise and humorous book about what we all experience...insecurities. The narrator, Jane Rosenal, travels through each chapter of this book, trying to find success at love and work by changing and adapting herself, so that the man in her life, or the editor at her job, will find her desirable, smart or attractive. In the end, she realizes that what made others interested in the first place, was her, Jane, just being herself and the changes she made, made her less attractive, not more. Each chapter is a short story that blended together make a book. The last chapter is absolutely the best and everyone will see a bit of themselves in it. A very nice, thoughtful book, well written and easy to read.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for all women and girls!
Review: I really loved this book. I realized that I was this girl. The main character is very real and helps you realize that you aren't the only person with these problems. I especially like the portion told from a teens point of view, being one my self. It deals with similar situations that are very real and matter. This book is a great one for a girl or woman or any age because it's so realatable!
Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed this
Review: After reading some of the other reviews, I've come to the conclusion that Ms. Bank's book is either a love it or hate it kind of deal. I loved it. I listened to it on audio tape and was completely touched with how raw and real the book was. The beginning dragged a bit for me, but I found myself laughing out loud at some parts as I drove along, and then reduced to tears in a section about cancer later on. The bottom line is this book is real. Very real. Almost poetic. This book is about human frailties and how we all screw up our lives one way or another. If you don't have the stomach for "life" stories, then don't buy this book. But if you want to read (or in my case listen) to a refreshingly new, unique way of looking at life, the clever sculpting of words, then buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: So, So
Review: I haven't touched a book in month before I found this one, or better yet it found me. I didn't know anything about it and just started to read. I love the way Melissa Banks writes. Short and sweet. It is very easy to read and I had a hard time putting it down. I enjoyed how she jumped from one timeframe to another and it was very easy to follow. The only thing that totally through me off was the story about the neighbors. What was the point of that? After that it went downhill. I kept waiting for those caracters to appear again and until I read some of the other reviews I was certain that the woman with the breastcancer was also Jane. If thats the case, GREAT WRITING, if not, take away another star. I disliked the last chapter the most. Robert was just a little to perfect, such men don't exist.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed it
Review: Some of the reviews I read here remind me of a line from Oliver Stone's movie, The Doors -- "You people have to have your art spoon fed to you". The style was innovative, but easy to follow, and I never felt distracted by it. As for Jane, the story's protagonist, I laughed with her, cried with her, cheered for her and was, at times, disappointed in her. Which made her real. As opposed to the flawless heroine that some of the readers seemed to be looking for. Is this Pulitzer Prize winning literature? No. Is it a good read? Very much so.
Rating:
Summary: great fun, but a little disjointed
Review: The character, Jane, was very likable and clever and especially so in the first chapter while she is a teenager. Such a great start. Then some strange things began. A whole chapter was given to characters who had only been remotely referred to earlier and they were never brought up again. WHY? Then another chapter was written in second person in a very detached way. Was that our main character? It didn't sound like her. In spite of the lack of unity, the book was an easy and rather enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Good, easy read
Review: I read this book in one sitting - couple of hours. It is not a monumental, literary achievement, but it gets to the point without smothering the story in the flowery prose and cheap "filler" text that is so common these days. It is nice to be able to read a book as succinct and direct as 'Girls' Guide'. Ms. Bank conveys a story that would take most authors 200 more pages. I agree with most other reviewers about the one chapter that came out of left field - what was that about? It was good, but should be given its own book..... 'Girls' Guide' made me laugh out loud several times (especially the last chapter). It was touching and witty. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, quick read on a rainy afternoon. I look forward to more from Ms. Bank.
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