2008 ( )

I loved this, and stayed up until 2am to finish it. Weiner is commonly tagged as 'chicklit', but she writes well. In this one, there's no romance. There is love, and loss, and struggling with mortality. And she's often very, very funny. ( )

Maybe I'm not cut out for chick lit. Or Weiner was on auto-pilot. Probably a mistake to return to old characters.

I knew this was what I call an airport book, what others call a beach book (but beaches are for hard books!). That's when I read them--when I know I'll be killing time. But flipping through this I realized it wouldn't last long enough. While better written than that Hollywood Wives writer, I read it in the same way: Will Cannie and cookie-cutter perfect husband get a surrogate child? Will the bratty teenager--oh, who cares? The chapters are told in alternate voices: the mother's, then the kid's. It's not working when the reader skips a chapter or three to keep with the mother narrator. The kid isn't convincing. I don't have much sympathy for a 12-year-old that wants a $300 dress that will only be worn for a single event or for their parents that ultimately shrug and buy it.

Weiner's grammar, punctuation and writing are fine. Often they're pretty bad in chick lit books, or what I think is chick lit. I have read one of Weiner's previous books. In comparison, this one seems lazy: stereotypes in lieu of description. The return of Weiner's/Cannie's fugitive father--ouch. Cameo appearance by movie star friend who doesn't get a line or a character.

Perhaps this book wasn't chick lit because there wasn't a romance? I don't think the Samantha friend counted because she was like a male author's caricature of a 40-something single woman. This is the kind of woman more likely to hire a surrogate or visit a sperm bank.

I think, tho, if you're a well-maintained lawyer of that age, it's really not so difficult to find male compansionship. Women like that often have much younger partners. Don't men vastly outnumber women on these dating sites, just as in the heyday of newspaper personal ads? Marriage, yes, may be more difficult. I also found it dubious that a beautiful lawyer just looking for a date to a wedding to would be sticking to a Jewish singles dating site. And the bratty kid doesn't have any non-Jewish schoolmates or friends? But I digress.

So (spoiler alert!) with no warning (well, I'm not going to flip back), the adoring diet doctor husband (who doesn't have a problem with 2 quarts of ice cream in the fridge, though his wife is fat) drops dead in one of the final chapters. Readers seem upset by this but I think the reasoning is obvious: we're going to see another sequel with Cannie character as single middle-aged mother seeking love while (one hopes) her bratty kid is off at college. ( )

Fun, quick read. ( )

Jennifer Weiner's fifth novel revisits her first. Good in Bed put Weiner on the map as a "chick-lit" superstar, but her books are something more than that, which is one of the reasons I really like her. Certain Girls picks up the story of Candace "Cannie" Shapiro and her daughter Joy, whose unexpected conception and premature birth were pivotal events in Good in Bed, twelve years later...

Weiner has chosen to use dual first-person narration, with alternating chapters told by Cannie and Joy, and I think it works really well. Each of the characters has a distinctive voice, and getting both of their perspectives on significant events in the story is enlightening; I thought that letting the reader see both sides was a particularly effective way of illustrating some of Cannie and Joy's frustrations and difficulties in communicating with each other. Having been a parent of teens (and not done yet), I could relate to both Cannie's blind spots about her daughter and Joy's self-centeredness - but by the end of the book, they've both made some progress.

I enjoyed Certain Girls, and Jennifer Weiner remains on my "author's I've got to read" list. She's a sharp and observant writer who creates characters that are smart, funny, flawed and human. Some parts of the story seemed a little far-fetched to me, but Weiner makes it all work, including the emotional connection.

READ MORE: http://www.3rsblog.com/2009/07/thursd... ( )

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner is a sequel to her popular book Good in Bed. We get a return of heroine Cannie Shapiro, who is now married (to the lovely doctor from the first book), has a bestselling novel (based loosely on her own life), and a teenage daughter, Joy.

I was pumped up to read this sequel ever since I read Good in Bed and was able to find it at my public library after trying a few times. I was sucked right back in to the story, which was easy because I had just read the first of the series not too long ago. The book has a lot of flashbacks to describe things that had happened in Good in Bed, and also developed Cannie's character. At first I was disappointed that the gap between the books was so large (more than ten years), but it ended up filling in enough information that I was satisfied in the end. For having such high expectations about a book, I wasn't let down, and feel closer about the series. (I still wouldn't mind reading another book about Joy or Cannie if one happens to be written, though.) There was one event in the book that I could have done without, but I won't mention it here in case you are planning on reading it - it is possible you will feel the same after you finish. ( )

A lot of people told me they didn't like this book compared to "Good In Bed" because it was a more serious tone. I think that helped me go into it with the knowledge of what to expect. Yes it was more of a serious book than a "chic lit" book but I think it was a very very good story.

The story was easy to read, even though it did change back and forth from Joy and Cannie. The ending was bittersweet, definitely didnt see that coming. But I loved this book and I definitely think anyone who read "Good In Bed" should read it to find out what happens but just go into it knowing that its a serious read so you're not disappointed with the style. ( )

From the outset, I was put outside of my comfort zone by the style in this book. Each chapter changes perspective, from mother to daughter and back again. While it became clear very early on in each chapter whose perspective I was reading. That was one of my main complaints about the story, however: it was easy to forget that the perspective was going to change, and I spent the first few sentences of most of the chapters slightly puzzled until I remembered the style.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed the story. It flowed well, and I liked the amount of description throughout. The characters were interesting, and I really got a sense that Cannie had moved on from the part of her life that Good in Bed had described.

My only other complaint about the story was that Joy's inner monologue was incredibly well-spoken, and that it was so similar in style to her mother's. Obviously, since both characters were written by the same person, this is something to expect, but I felt that some of Joy's vocabulary was perhaps beyond her years, particularly for someone who is said to be much better at math than at English. This minor complaint aside, I found the book touching and emotional, and it has definitely earned a permanent spot on my shelf. ( )

I was excited to pick this book up because I had quite liked the majority of Weiner's other books, and especially because I was eager to read more about Cannie Shapiro as the first novel she appeared in, Good in Bed, was fantastic.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. This book was split into two voices, Cannie's and her daughter's, Joy. Cannie's story told of her struggle with having another baby, her relationship with her husband, and her angst over and love for her daughter. Joy's story was filled with typical teenage anxiety - boys, popularity, old and new friends, and hating her mother. Mixed throughout all this is the issue of Joy's bat mitzvah - how to organize, how much money to spend, how to make it meaningful rather than a spectacle, and who to invite - and a lot of issues about dysfunctional families.

I preferred Cannie's story to her daughter's, but only by a little. I just wasn't very interested in this version of Cannie's life. I loved Good in Bed and am a little sad that I found this one so disappointing. ( )

Thankfully, Weiner wrote a good story again! (I did not much like her collection of short stories much. I was a tad disappointed by Goodnight Nobody, too.)
I like it that she wrote a sequel to Good in Bed, because I actually did wonder what would happen next.
I finished the book in the train, a crowded one at that, but that didn't keep me from crying a lot. I loved this book. It was warm, funny, realistic and frustrating - in a good way.
Again, I wonder, what will happen next? ( )

The more I read "Certain Girls", the more annoyed I became. Why are Weiner's books all the same? She has the ability to write brain candy books--I read this one in about a day and a half when I had major stress at work and needed something fluffy to read at home. But her characters and plot lines always seem the same.

This book takes place about 12-14 years after "Good in Bed." And in it, the author writes a thinly-veiled fictional account about her life, and then suffers the aftermath. Her daughter is becoming a teenager. There's mother-daughter strife throughout, and the kid does some pretty stupid stuff. Of course, in the end, the kid learns to grow-up not through discipline, but because life goes on.

It's barely entertaining, and the funny, biting voice of Cannie seems like it's muffled. More "grown up." More motherly. She worries about her daughter. She frets. The daughter becomes friends with the most popular girl in school, ignores her nerdy friend, later discovers she doesn't really like the popular girl, and that's that. No denouement. Just a fading away.

I know I'm being too hard on the book. It's a bubble gum book. However, Weiner asked for it when she began to mix religion with bubble gum. A lot of the book is about the daughter's bat mitzveh, about the Torah and the meaning of certain passages from it. When you mix serious with silly, you get a muddy outcome. ( )

I agree with a previous review, I'd read nearly anything Jennifer Weiner wrote. This novel's ending came out of nowhere and I also cried and felt genuine feelings of sadness for Cannie and Joy. It is amazing sometimes how much a character can impact you and I feel this way about all of Weiner's characters.

Great story! ( )

Nice books

et me start this review out with a warning--I read Certain Girls immediately after finishing Good in Bed, and I guess I was expecting more of the witty, strong Cannie that had filled Weiner's first novel. That is not what I got.

Certain Girls picks up 12 years after Good in Bed ends--and I have to mention that this timing doesn't work since Good in Bed was supposed to end in 2000 and this book is obviously set in 2007/2008 (WAY too many pop culture references for it be set in the future). Cannie and Joy are still in Philadelphia, and she's still with Dr. K (who is still perfect). Cannie made it big with her book "Big Girls Don't Cry" and has spent the past 12 years raising her daughter.

And that's where the book started to unravel for me. Cannie is WAY mellowed out, almost to a point where its unbelievable that she is the same character we knew in Good in Bed. After I wrapped my brain around the fact that this character that I had loved so much had changed so much, and I read the book not so much as a sequel, but as a stand alone, I started to enjoy it more. The mother-daughter interaction between Cannie and Joy is good and Joy's adventures nicely mirror those of her mother. And the story moves and keeps you engaged. But it just wasn't the story I was hoping for, with the characters I had loved intact.

Like I said at the beginning, I loved Good in Bed, and I still think it's Weiner's best work. Certain Girls is good on its own, but if you are hoping for a book to recapture the spunk of Weiner's first book, this is not it. ( )

Jennifer Weiner's first novel, Good In Bed, and this latest one, Certain Girls, are written from the voice of Philadelphia Jewish girl, writer, mother, and wife Cannie Shapiro. I fell in love with Good in Bed and couldn't put it down. I ended up rereading it so that I could remember everything about Cannie.

Since we left her, Cannie has published a best-selling fictionalized sexually-charged version of her life (which she tries to hide, and continues to write books using a different name and writing science fiction novels at a steady salary). She marries a diet doctor Peter Krushelevansky, and settles down to raise her daughter Joy. As Joy nears her bat mitzvah she discovers her mother's novel, cannot separate fact from fiction, and goes on her personal mission to discover her identity while at the same time Peter decides he wants to have another baby with the uterus-free Cannie.

Throw in Joy's insane but brilliant Aunt Elle, her lesbian grandmother, estranged grandfather, her father Bruce and his new wife and family, and all of the angst of being 13 and you get the picture.

Jennifer writes this novel from two perspectives in two unique voices, Cannie and Joy. As the stories unfold we experience the drama from both the perspective of mother and daughter, and this adds extra layers of depth to the story line.

This is a book about life and living. Parts are laugh out loud hysterically funny and parts will just make you cry. And the end is a shocker; I did not see it coming and neither will you. But again, that's life, isn't it? ( )

Writers are often told to write about what they know, but what happens when a novel hits too close to home? Jennifer Weiner attempts to answer this very question in "Certain Girls," the sequel to "Good in Bed." More than 10 years have passed since the first book ended, and now Cannie Shapiro is happily married and planning the bar mitzvah of her daughter, Joy. Weiner takes a look at the intricacies of the mother-daughter dynamic, alternating chapters between Cannie's and Joy's perspectives. Joy has discovered her mother's book and is trying to reconcile the fictional story of her birth with life as she knows it. This sends her off on several quests to discover more about her family, none of which give her exactly what she is looking for. Cannie, at the same time, must try to figure out what is going on with her little girl.

As always, Weiner's witty prose makes the characters instantly likable and easy to relate to, which is why the tragic turn of the novel is so affecting. ( )

"Good in Bed" was such a toothsome piece of chick lit that I was very much looking forward to reading more about Cannie. However, Certain Girls is quite pallid by comparison. Much of the earthy energy of the first book is missing, and instead this is an almost mediocre mom-and-teenage-daughter story. I say "almost" because Weiner is an entertaining writer who often throws a surprising insight or a fabulous one-liner into the mix just as things are getting tiresome.Actually, the fabulous one-liners themselves got a little tiresome after a while. Folks were spouting them who had no right - yes, we know this is one of Cannie's charms, but most folks aren't so clever with a bon mot, and so this novel often had a movie feel to it. You know, the kind in which 13-year-old musical-loving boys make quips about fashion accessories (yes, that happens, and it just feels so false).Despite the fact that Joy, Cannie's almost 13-year-old daughter, is a fairly interesting character (she tells her own story in alternating chapters with Cannie's), the elements of this novel (the looming bat mitzvah, the troubles with fathers, infertility and surrogate pregnancy, mother/daughter estrangement) feel tired. Fans of Good in Bed should read this, but they should set their expectations at a modest level. ( )

Certain Girls is the sequel to Jennifer Weiner's hit debut novel, Good In Bed. Now, I loved Good In Bed so I had pretty high hopes for Certain Girls that it didn't quite live up to.
The book fast forwarded us a few years from the end of GIB; Cannie's daughter is now 12 years old and quite the snot, I have to say. More than half of the book I was screaming in my head, "Discipline her, already!"
Getting past the pre-teen angst was a bit hard to do since the premise of the book was built upon that. But there were redeeming qualities.
Weiner's writing still had me in stitches, although not as frequently as GIB. Cannie was just as sincere and witty as I hoped she would be. There were surprises and heart-warming moments. There was heartbreak...so so sad, I must add, though I wont ruin the surprise to tell you what was so sad.
All in all, I would say stick with Good In Bed and you'll be happier than if you tried to read both as a pair. ( )

I have to admit that I would read Jennifer Weiner's grocery lists I'm pretty sure -- so if you have enjoyed her other books, I believe you won't be disappointed with Certain Girls. I enjoyed how the story was told from different perspectives, and the overall pace of the story was great. I enjoyed the character development of Cannie's daughter - but I was sad to see how Cannie became middle aged (as many of us do...myself included) and I did ponder that a bit -- a good book gives you a chance to reflect without being too sad about it all. ...less ( )

In contrast to the rave reviews for this book I found it to be trite, predictable, choppy and stupid, with the occasional great line thrown in. Publisher’s Weekly calls it hilarious, while I would say it’s strained, and LJ refers to Weiner as ”a talented writer who consistently delivers the goods.” I have to ask, What goods, and are they worth delivering? The story picks up on the character of Candace Shapiro from Weiner’s debut novel, “Good In Bed,” thirteen years later, now married to a successful diet doctor (Bariatric Physician, if you please), and with a daughter, Joy, who’s about to embark on preparations for her bat mitzvah. The story wanders all over the place, from Joy abandoning her friends and moving to the popular table, stealing credit cards and running away (several times), to Cannie’s abusive father, her ditzy sister, unnecessary appearances by her gold-digging best friend, and even flashes of the character from the sci-fi novels Cannie cranks out. Characters are introduced and pretty much dropped, many of the characters sound like whiners and the death at the end feels contrived. I’ll stick with the movie versions of Weiner’s books. ( )

I loved Good in Bed, and I love this book even more. I re-read GIB before reading Certain Girls to get back into Cannie's life and mind. This book is wonderful. Funny, witty, happy, sad, irreverent. I loved the POV of Cannie and Joy for each chapter and how the same things are seen so differently at different times and ages. The ending is poignant and moving. There are certain passages in that book that not only speak to me, but have happened to me. Loved it. ( )

Loved this book! Chapters alternate POV from mom, Cannie to her daughter, Joy. There is an unexpected ending and I cried like a baby! ( )

I'm a die hard Cannie fan. It was hard for me to have a follow up for Cannie, though. For some reason, this book fell short for me. I still love JW will still rush out to read all her books the first day they hit the shelves, this just wasn't a personal favorite. ( )

so i really, really, really loved the first book Good in Bed. Now, that is not to say i didn't like this one. But....i didn't like it as much. It was a good read. Told from the mouths of mother and daughter it was interesting to hear both sides of the story. now i am not married and i don't have kids. so part of that i just didn't care about. i am also not jewish so although i do understand that there is an importance about certain ceremonies in many religions there was a lot of emphasis around a bat mitzvah that has very little meaning to me. all that aside....the book was good. towards the end when there is a sudden death in the family i cried (as it was unexpected and the one thing the author is good at is showing that emotion) if you like Jennifer Weiner read the book. i am not sure i would randomly pick it up for fun. ( )

http://girlsjustreading.blogspot.com/... ( )