Home :: Books :: Women's Fiction  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction

In Her Shoes : A Novel

In Her Shoes : A Novel

List Price: $25.00
Your Price: $15.75
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 .. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great follow up book
Review: This was a very enjoyable, fast read (took me 2 days) 2nd book by Jennifer Weiner. The plot has certainly been told by other reviewers so I won't go into it.

What I liked about the book was the "realness" of the characters - and the one that was the truest to me was the stepmonster, Sydelle. I know so many women like Sydelle - who would rather be dead than overweight - who try to so delicately hint to you - oh - "we're having chocolate pudding for dessert but I know ___ doesn't want any - we girls are always watching!" Kind of makes you gag doesn't it? She is the type of older, bag of bones woman of a certain age who just refused to accept that she's not 25 and cute anymore. I loved how Maggie and Rose referred to Sydelle's daughter as "MyMarcia" because Sydelle always said Marcia's name like that - parts of this book are just laugh out loud funny. SPOILER -- Even though she only makes a marginal appearance, Marcia turning into a "Jews for Jesus" convert who still breastfeeds her 4-year old twins is a howl!

I thought the book was too short - I would have liked to learn what happens to Ella and Lewis and to Maggie. You know that Rose will turn out just fine - she is the most normal of all of the characters in the book. Maggie gets her act together but you know she'll slip back into her old behavior at some point and it would be nice to visit these characters in a few years to see how they've turned out.

Can't wait for the author's 3rd book - though now that she's pregnant in real life - it may be a longer wait than usual.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fun read
Review: This book, while not as good as "Good In Bed," Jennifer Weiner's first novel, is a fun read. I admit, I was a little disappointed by this book in comparison to "Good In Bed" but maybe that's just because I loved "Good In Bed" so much that I had unrealistic expectations for this one.
"In Her Shoes" follows two sisters - Rose and Maggie Feller. Rose and Maggie are as different as two people can be (Rose is overweight and brainy while Maggie is thin and dyslexic,) and the only thing that the two have in common are their shoe sizes. Maggie does something atrocious, and so Rose gets mad at her and refuses to speak to her. We follow Maggie to Princeton, where she takes classes without the administration's knowledge. While Maggie is at Princeton, Rose is going through a hard time in her life, and Cannie, the lead character from "Good In Bed," even makes a cameo appearance. (Yay!) The two sisters eventually find their long lost grandmother Ella, who helps to reconcile them.
Overall, this book seems a bit slow at times, but is an entertaining read.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Sweet
Review: I thought this was a fun, sweet book. Not having read Good in Bed, I have nothing to compare it too, but this book was interesting enough to get me to want to read other books by Ms. Weiner. Sure her characters were a little stereotypical, but that makes it much easier to find something in each one to identify with. Even after all Maggie does to alienate her sister, I still found myself wanting her to succeed and better her life. And as I was able to highly identify with the stuffy, uptight naive-about-men Rose, I kept wanting to shake her and make her wake up! When she finally did, I was happy to see her do well. Overall, an easy read that doesn't ask too much of you as a reader.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than Good in Bed
Review: I loved Jennifer Weiner's first book, "Good in Bed" and highly anticipated her 2nd. I disagree with most of the other reviewers here that this second effort was disappointing - in fact I think it was better than the first. I loved the way the characters of the two sisters changed over the course of this novel to embrace more of what they originally disliked about each other. The love story is sweet; the conclusion of the book is one of most satisfying I have read. I was truly disappointed when this book ended. I read 3 books a week and this was the best I've read this year - I really loved it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not as good as her debut, but still an enjoyable read
Review: Jennifer Weiner's strength is in her characterizations. She makes you want to get to know the people she describes, particularly the heroines of her novels. Her heroines are not perfect, physically, or emotionally, and so many of us can relate.

This time around, the heroines are Rose and Maggie Feller, two sisters who could not be more different. Rose is a lawyer, a size 14 with a neglible love life. Maggie is dyslexic and gorgeous, but lost in the world. The "shoes" in the title are both literal and figureative. The girls can wear the same size shoes, and Rose can afford the latest styles, which Maggie borrows, without asking. Maggie does many questionable things, and it is clear that Rose is the favored heroine for most of the book.

However, in this book, Weiner has chosen to bring in a cast of characters who simply crowd the novel. There is not enough room to go deeply into the estranged grandmother, the bi-polar mother who died at 29, the milquetoast father and the "step-monster" he married out of loneliness, not love, and a desire to have a caretaker for his young, motherless girls. There is simply too much going on. And, it seems that, once Weiner realizes this, she speeds up the events to reach a conclusion that is not completely satisfying. A lot of things go unexplained, and some changes are too easy, and hard to believe.

I still think Jennifer Weiner is a very good writer, and I was engrossed in this story, up until the last quarter of the book, when I felt she had kind of lost me. I read it in three days, so she definitely had me in her grasp. I hope that, with her next novel, she sticks to one or two main characters, and tries to minimize the outer characters. Also, in a bit of literary license, we "bump into" the heroine of 'Good in Bed' and find out what became of her. It is still a rare writer who can keep you enthralled, and make you feel that her fictional characters are people you may know in real life.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Follow-Up
Review: I read Good In Bed and was instantly hooked. When I got my hands on this, I admit I was expecting the same kind of basic rhythm. It is different, but still great. The relationship between the sisters is detailed greatly and needed to help explain where they are in their lives. You find yourself pulled into their lives and rooting for one and despising the other. While it is not as funny as Good In Bed, it shows that Jennifer Weiner can move into other areas of fiction. I do admit that the moment where Rose meets Cannie seemed a little forced, but it was nice to see her attempt to cross-reference the characters. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loved her first book. It is not the same, but still quite good. I realize some people were disappointed by this follow-up, but anytime the author gets you pulled into a book, the have earned their paycheck and this book does just that.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Fun Read....
Review: In Her Shoes is a great follow up to Good in Bed. I think that some of the negative reviews have come from those readers who don't like that it doesn't follow the chick lit formula (Gal's hunt for Boy), but this is one of the book's strengths. The other great strength is the author's fantastic sense of humor and her gift for translating her wry take on the world with a good natured turn of phrase. Written with the intelligence of "literature" but with a flair for comedy that the more snobbish lit types can't handle at all. BUY THIS BOOK!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Worst!
Review: I SO looked forward to the release of this book, but good for me for waiting to get it at the library. I would have kicked myself had I shelled out [$$$] for this [book]. As other reviewers noted Weiner seems to have pumped this one out merely to meet the publishers dealine and ride of the laurels of Good in Bed. She failed miserably and even though I adored Good in Bed I will not read any further books from her. I have no respect for her as a writer after this mess.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: In Her Shoes
Review: Not much to say about this book....It was good, at times It was bad, blah, blah, blah.

I much rather read GOOD IN BED again then this book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fast Fun Read
Review: I couldn't put this book down and read it in two days! I'm a middle sister with one older and one younger and can relate to everything in this book. If you don't have a sister it may be hard to understand why Rose (the older responsible one) keeps putting up with Maggie (the younger irresponsible one). It's a story about how family relationships mold you and your soul. in response to the other harsh reviews about the "unbelievable" characters- I think Weiner exaggerated their personalities to emphasis her point- that sister's are the same but different at the same time. This isn't a romance novel- it's a novel about coming of age and finding yourself. I haven't read Good in Bed so can't compare there- but I can say I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as Jemima J by Jane Green or Welcome to the World Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg. In Her Shoes is a great beach book but I think stuff literary types would hate it.


<< 1 .. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates