Book Nerds Across America: Good in Bed

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

Listeners fell in love with Cannie Shapiro, the smart, sharp-tongued, bighearted heroine of Good in Bed. Now Cannie's back. After her debut novel -- a fictionalized (and highly sexualized) version of her life -- became an overnight bestseller, she dropped out of the public eye and turned to writing science fiction under a pseudonym. She's happily married and has settled into a life that's wonderfully predictable. As preparations for her daughter Joy's bat mitzvah begin, everything seems right in Cannie's world. Then Joy discovers the novel Cannie wrote years before and suddenly finds herself faced with what she thinks is the truth about her own conception -- the story her mother hid from her all her life. When Cannie's husband surprises her by saying he wants to have a baby, the family is forced to reconsider their history, their future, and what it means to be truly happy. Radiantly funny and tender, with Weiner's whip-smart dialogue and sharp observations of modern life, Certain Girls is an unforgettable story about love, loss, and the enduring bonds of family. (from Goodreads)

Flo's Review

I really enjoyed this book! Of course, I shouldn't be surprised -- I pretty much really enjoy anything Jennifer Weiner writes. But, this is a "Part 2, Several Years Later" type book and those can sometimes not live up to the first one.

This did. I really enjoyed Cannie's voice -- laughing with her wit, sympathizing with her doubts. We got to see the journey that she took from the end of Good In Bed, and it was great to really explore the, "This is happily ever after...now what?"

Joy was great as well. She is wise and loving and your typical preteen girl. I could not even imagine having to learn all the things Joy learns about her family when I was her age! She reacts like any preteen girl might, but ends up coming out of everything with such a grace about her. Cannie and Joy really are a great pair.

Random note: I really need to stop listening to audiobooks that make me cry! It's kinda hard to drive when I'm an emotional wreck. LOL.

Short and sweet: If you loved Good in Bed, you'll love Certain Girls!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Good In Bed by Jennifer Weiner

For twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie Shapiro. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her friends, her rat terrier, Nifkin, and her job as pop culture reporter for The Philadelphia Examiner. She's even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body.

But the day she opens up a national women's magazine and sees the words "Loving a Larger Woman" above her ex-boyfriend's byline, Cannie is plunged into misery...and the most amazing year of her life. From Philadelphia to Hollywood and back home again, she charts a new course for herself: mourning her losses, facing her past, and figuring out who she is and who she can become. (from Goodreads).

Ever since I read Little Earthquakes, I have been a fan of Jennifer Weiner. I love the way she writes you into feeling the depth of the emotions that her characters are feeling. If they are blissful, I am smiling for them. When things go right, I cheer. When they are conflicted, I myself feel torn. Good in Bed was no different. Weiner did such a good job expressing her Cannie's emotional conflicts that there were points in the book where I wanted to stop listening (I was listening to the audiobook on a road trip), thinking, "I can't....I can't listen to this pain..." But, like Cannie, I hung on. Like Cannie, it was because of the wonderful surprises and great friends and family (well some of the family) in her life. I cried for a good 30 minutes straight toward the end of the book. But by the end, my heart was swelling with loving life and contentment for how Cannie pulled through.

~Flo~