Rating: 
Summary: When the shoe is on the other foot, Weiner is at her best!
Review: In the mid-'80s my sister enlisted in the military. After boot camp, we saw her on infrequent leaves, occasionally on holidays, but we stayed in touch mostly via letters and phone calls. Following one of her brief visits home, I noticed a few items of clothing were missing but thought nothing of it. Accompanying her next letter was a picture of her standing at attention in front of an army locker. Peeking out from the small but neatly stacked pile of clothing on the top shelf was the unmistakable pattern of my blue and white floral miniskirt, one of the missing items from my wardrobe. Now one might think that this finding would have outraged me, but it didn't. On the contrary, this discovery was par for the course. Anyone who has ever had a sister can relate to the above scenario and will therefore definitely understand the relationship that Jennifer Weiner has created in IN HER SHOES with her sister act, Rose and Maggie Feller.Rose is a successful Princeton graduate, an up-and-coming lawyer with a closet full of the very best and most expensive designer shoes on the market. A tad on the heavy side, Rose lacks only two things: a fulfilling love life and a healthy self-esteem. Maggie is Rose's carefree, careless and younger size two sister, whose dyslexia has kept her back on the career front. She has held a bevy of positions, from salesperson in a Banana Republic to dog groomer at the local pet shop. In the love arena, she has had more than her share of one-night stands and affairs, but she too lacks a fulfilling love life and a healthy self-esteem. The sisters lost their mother when they were very young and were brought up by their father, who was aimless without his true love, and a stereotypical evil stepmother. In one respect, IN HER SHOES is about the lasting effect that loss has on the two sisters and the life choices they make. But the story is also a journey of survival and self-discovery for Rose and Maggie --- a journey that takes them to Florida, where they rediscover a long-forgotten grandmother brimming with familial wisdom and direction. In her sophomore effort, like other great storytellers, Weiner writes what she knows --- she revisits the Princeton campus featured in her first book, focuses on the weight problem of one of her main characters and provides a dysfunctional family. However, Weiner proved that she excels at fleshing out characters and sharing with the reader their motivations and development in her debut novel GOOD IN BED; IN HER SHOES is no different. Weiner offers strong and likable characters that expand with their growing worlds. As the old adage alludes to, one never knows what someone else's life is truly like until you've walked in their shoes for a day. Maggie and Rose have walked clearly diverse paths in life but they share shoes --- figuratively and literally --- and, in each other's shoes, their notions of what makes the other one tick are challenged daily and they even find themselves self-evaluating in new ways. Weiner laces the stories with her trademark wit, sarcasm and real world insight. When the shoe is on the other foot, Weiner is at her best. --- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
Rating: 
Summary: Laughed Out Loud
Review: After thoroughly enjoying Good in Bed, I was eagerly awaiting Jennifer Weiner's second novel. In Her Shoes did not dissapoint. At several moments while reading, I had to stop and put it down to let my husband in on why I was laughing hysterically. For those who have read it already "the Canal House restaurant" was the best! The thing with Weiner's books are that they are on the surface just entertaining, funny stories. They exist on another level however, one which examines our familial relationships, our self esteem, our culture etc. This girl did her studing at Princeton! I would highly recommend both books!
Rating:
Summary: this writer does it again!
Review: Well worth your time to read. This story is about a family with it's many quirky characters. The main characters are 2 sisters who are as different as night and day. One sister is a successful attorney, and the other is (simply put) a screw up. They end up learning about themselves and each other and reaching their full potential. This is definitely a fun read that is irresistable.
Rating:
Summary: Better Then I Expected
Review: Before buying this book a few days ago I had read many reviews by people who believed this book to be enjoyable but nowhere near as well written as "Good in Bed". I completely disagree. After I read "Good in Bed" I loved it and recommended it to all of my friends. I was eager to read "In Her Shoes" just because I was waiting for Cannie to be mentioned. I didn't even think I was going to enjoy it because of the whole three person perspective. Having just finished this book a few hours ago I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed this book MORE then "Good in Bed". It's hard to describe why but it had so much more of a meaning to it, for me at least. I also have to mention how much I loved the poetry which was throughout the book. Especially the last poem by E.E. Cummings.
Rating:
Summary: Just as engaging as Good in Bed...
Review: ...Jennifer's second book was as engrossing as her first. Having loved Good in Bed, I was not getting my hopes up, and was very pleasantly surprised! Her story was realistic, her characters lovable, and her humor as evident in this story of two sisters, unlike in many ways, coming to terms with their adulthood and how to find happiness. I would recommend this story and Good in Bed to anyone who wants a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good In Bed : Part 1 1/2 ?
Review: Weiner's sophomore effort should not disappoint believers of her debut novel, GOOD IN BED. She plays it safe - very safe - by even as going as far as bringing in the Cannie Shapiro character from her first novel, to let readers know she (Weiner) hasn't strayed from her formula. And that disappoints readers like myself, who enjoyed Weiner as a writer (America's Maive Binchey ?), but didn't love the plot. As with her debut novel, IN HER SHOES once again comes across as a good idea for a network sitcom - saccharine sweet, lighthearted, inoffensive, uneventful, and rather brain numbing.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging and entertaining
Review: Weiner's distinctive voice shines through in this second novel. She does a fabulous job creating interesting, believable characters. Rose, Maggie, and Grandma Ella are genuine, likeable, and often heartbreakingly vulnerable. As with Cannie in Good in Bed, one wants them all to achieve their dreams, overcome their frailties, and find happiness. This book was not as laugh-out-loud funny as Good in Bed and the younger sister Maggie adds a darker note to this novel. At its heart, this is a story about family and the ties that bind family together even through distance, emotional abandonment, and betrayal. If you loved Good in Bed, give In Her Shoes a try.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, touching story
Review: I loved Jennifer Weiner's debut novel, GOOD IN BED . . . so
naturally I was pleased that her follow-up, IN HER SHOES, proved
that she's no fluke . . . this one is a funny, touching story about two sisters with nothing in common but a childhood tragedy. When reading it, I found myself laughing in spots and crying
at others . . . it was one of those rare books that I couldn't
wait to finish, but when I did, I was sorry that I no longer could look forward to reading it. If you read this novel, and I sincerely hope that you do, you'll find yourself rooting for both sisters . . . you'll also find yourself thinking that the ending of the story is just about perfect. There were many memorable passages; among them:
Jim rolled over again, pushing Rose to the absolute edge of the
mattress. She stared unhappily at her living room, which might
as well have borne a sign: Single Girl, Lone, Late 90s. A trail of his-and-hers clothing lay on the floor beside five-pound bright yellow dumbbells propped up next to a Tae Bo tape that was still in its original shrink-wrap. The treadmill she'd bought to fulfill a get-in-shape New Year's Resolution three New Years ago was draped with her dry cleaning. There was a half-empty Passionberry Punch wine cooler on the coffee table, four shoe boxes from Saks piled by the closet, and a half-dozen romance novels beside her bed. Disaster, Rose thought, wondering what she could do before dawn to give her apartment the appearance of being inhibited by someone with an interesting life. Was there an all-night emporium that sold throw pillows and bookcases? And was it too late to do something about her legs? There were bottles of painkillers, boxes of antacids, a jumbo-sized box of Pepto-Bismol, a family-sized box of Band-Aid bandages, and a Red Cross-approved first-aid kit. There was Midol and Advil and Nuprin, NyQuil and DayQuil, cough syrup and cold tablets and tampons. Here was a girl who made good use of the coupons at CVS, Maggie thought, as she sorted through Ace bandages and multivitamins, calcium tablets and dental floss, rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide, prescription-strength benzoyl peroxide and four unopened toothbrushes. Where was the
eyeliner? Where were the blush and the concealer that her
sister so desperately needed? Maggie hadn't found anything
cosmetic except for a single half-used lipstick. There was
makeup remover--a tub of Pond's cold cream--but no makeup.
What did Rose think? That somebody was going to sneak
into her apartment in the dead of night, tie her up, put
makeup on her face, and then leave? Rose smiled a tiny smile. Amy had honed her philosophy of
failed relationships, and how to behave in their wake, over years of bad boyfriends. Step one: Mourn for a month (two weeks if the relationship hadn't involved sex). Step two: If you'd been dumped or cheated on, permit yourself one scandalous act of revenge (her last boyfriend, a hard-core vegan, had doubtlessly been shocked and horrified to find himself enrolled in the Organ Meat of the Month Club). Step three: Get over it. No regrets, no moping, no late-night drive-bys or dialing while drunk. Just on to the next adventure.
Rating:
Summary: In Her Shoes Doesn't Disappoint~
Review: As a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner's first book, Good in Bed, I was delighted to find that her follow up novel, In Her Shoes, was just as good as her first. Taking a theme that has been explored before, the smart sister vs. the pretty sister, Weiner has taken a fresh approach and woven together an interesting and entertaining story about the dynamics of two sisters, Rose & Maggie. Rose the smart sister is a successful lawyer, who has her own great apartment & the best shoe collection around, while Maggie, who is beautiful, can't seem to get her life together. Constantly taking advantage of Rose, In Her Shoes explores the dynamics of the two sister's relationships and how they find a way to make peace with one another. Weiner also covers the importance of family in our lives. As she did in her first novel, Weiner provides a lot of substance as well as an entertaining read~
Rating:
Summary: A winner from Weiner
Review: After reading Good In Bed I was anticipating reading another book by Weiner. What I didn't anticipate was liking it better than Good In Bed. "In Her Shoes" is just one fantastic read. Centering on the lives of Rose and Maggie Feller, two sisters who are complete oppisites of one another save the fact they they both have great taste in shoes and that they wear the same size. Uptight, dowdy, bookish Rose is the reliable, responsible one who has always cared for and looked out for her wild, lazy and irresponcible sister Maggie since their mother's death when they were children. As they fight with each other, they are also both fighting inner battles - Rose with her weight, Maggie with her learning disabilities. After a particularly distructive action on Maggie's part she is banished from her sister's apartment where she has been sponging for a few weeks with no where to go. What follow are months of separation that help change Maggie into a more responsible and compassionate person and transforms Rose into a much more laid back person. When the two do reunite at the home of their long lost grandmother they dance around each other for a while, but soon the sisterly bond is back in place where it should be. This was one of those rare books that I raced through the first three quarters because I wanted to know what happened then slowed to a snail's pace for the last quarter because I didn't want it to end. I cried as I closed the book when I finished it and can't wait to see what Ms. Weiner writes of next.
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