In Her Shoes

I picked up In Her Shoes because I was having a hard time, and I thought a book whose story was familiar would be easier to read. The book is better than the movie.

I love books that are about non-romantic intimate relationships and, as you know, this book is really about Rose and Maggie. I felt the book was really much more nuanced. Not only were there more characters and the characters - even side characters - had more depth (I missed the pool crowd when re-watching the movie on TV). I read one review that claimed "Oh, it was just the typical trope of the smart girl and the pretty girl" but I couldn't disagree more: the book shows that they've actually been pushed into these roles because they do not show the typical features of the show more other role (Rose isn't a thin classic beauty and Maggie isn't traditionally smart) and being cast as such as had consequences for their lives, but they actually are both beautiful and smart in their own way and get to shine when accepted as such.

I hate when people summarize a book; I have the blurb, both on the book and on GoodReads (you aren't doing a better job than the professional) and they often reveal details that spoil the book. So let me just say there's entire plotlines cut out of the adaptation - which is normal, because there's only so much time in a movie. However, the time that Maggie spent at Princeton really showed her having more depth; as well, she has much more agency in the book. Ella has a life beyond just trying to help Maggie (though she does put a lot of effort into creating a relationship), and doesn't have to bribe Maggie. Simon and Rose have issues but they do not break up in the book, and she doesn't have to be coerced. There's actually build through the entire novel. As well, some of the changes in the movie really made them more flat.

I think one of the biggest complements I can give the book is that poetry is a central feature and the book inspired me to try reading poetry again (except for song lyrics, I have not read poetry since I was forced in high school). Weiner really made poetry seem accessible, even for a dyslexic like me. I bought my first poetry books (I tried two) and have started even writing silly little things when it hits me - a few little lines in my planner/BuJo while commuting on the bus, or another few lines waiting for a meeting to start. Now, since everybody actually thinks I am not a Maggie but a Rose (due to similarity in our appearance), I just need my own Simon!

Originally, I rated the book as 4 stars. I really don't give 5 stars often because something has to be magical or life-changing to get that last star. I didn't realize it immediately, but considering I started reading poetry concurrently and writing again, it really did have some magic for me.

If you like the movie and/or like non-romantic relationships, read the book. show less

I picked up In Her Shoes because I was having a hard time, and I thought a book whose story was familiar would be easier to read. The book is better than the movie.

I love books that are about non-romantic intimate relationships and, as you know, this book is really about Rose and Maggie. I felt the book was really much more nuanced. Not only were there more characters and the characters - even side characters - had more depth (I missed the pool crowd when re-watching the movie on TV). I read one review that claimed "Oh, it was just the typical trope of the smart girl and the pretty girl" but I couldn't disagree more: the book shows that they've actually been pushed into these roles because they do not show the typical features of the show more other role (Rose isn't a thin classic beauty and Maggie isn't traditionally smart) and being cast as such as had consequences for their lives, but they actually are both beautiful and smart in their own way and get to shine when accepted as such.

I hate when people summarize a book; I have the blurb, both on the book and on GoodReads (you aren't doing a better job than the professional) and they often reveal details that spoil the book. So let me just say there's entire plotlines cut out of the adaptation - which is normal, because there's only so much time in a movie. However, the time that Maggie spent at Princeton really showed her having more depth; as well, she has much more agency in the book. Ella has a life beyond just trying to help Maggie (though she does put a lot of effort into creating a relationship), and doesn't have to bribe Maggie. Simon and Rose have issues but they do not break up in the book, and she doesn't have to be coerced. There's actually build through the entire novel. As well, some of the changes in the movie really made them more flat.

I think one of the biggest complements I can give the book is that poetry is a central feature and the book inspired me to try reading poetry again (except for song lyrics, I have not read poetry since I was forced in high school). Weiner really made poetry seem accessible, even for a dyslexic like me. I bought my first poetry books (I tried two) and have started even writing silly little things when it hits me - a few little lines in my planner/BuJo while commuting on the bus, or another few lines waiting for a meeting to start. Now, since everybody actually thinks I am not a Maggie but a Rose (due to similarity in our appearance), I just need my own Simon!

Originally, I rated the book as 4 stars. I really don't give 5 stars often because something has to be magical or life-changing to get that last star. I didn't realize it immediately, but considering I started reading poetry concurrently and writing again, it really did have some magic for me.

If you like the movie and/or like non-romantic relationships, read the book. show less

I won't lie, I wasn't expecting much out of this book. In fact, I didn't even want to read it, if it wasn't for my book club I never would have picked it up. I'm not big into chick-lit and the whole premise of this book sounded uninteresting. I'm glad to report that I was very wrong!

The story follows two sisters who can't be more dissimilar. Rose is the responsible older sister who went to college, landed a great job at a law firm, she has the brains. Maggie on the other hand is irresponsible, can't ever hold down a job, and has a learning disability. She may not have the brains but she has the amazing body that her frumpy sister always dreamed about. Maggie loses her job, gets evicted, and has to say with Rose until she can turn her show more luck around. Rose is at her wits end and finally snaps when she catches her freeloading sister having sex with her boyfriend. Rose unceremoniously kicks them both to the curb and tries to come to term with what happened. Maggie on the other hand has no place to go and sleeps from place to place until she ends up finding her long lost grandmother in Florida.

This story is about a sisters love and how much it can handle before it breaks. But does it ever truly go away? Is sister's bond for life?

Really not bad for chick lit. I look forward to watching the movie! show less

I guess I'm in the minority because I loved this movie, and that's really the only reason I decided to read the book. I usually stay as far away from chick lit as possible because I don't like this genre at all. I can never get through a book from it without experiencing some of the most intense feelings of irritation and anger that I've ever experienced while reading. This one was no exception.

Maggie Feller was annoying as hell. I really, really disliked her and whenever that's the case with a main character, it makes it very hard for me to finish a book. Any time one of her chapters came around, I literally cringed. This girl had no redeeming qualities whatsoever and seemed to think that her behavior was justified because of her show more learning disability and the loss of her mother at a young age. I kept getting the impression that the author wanted me to feel bad for her because of the hardships she had faced throughout her life but I'm not her sister Rose and I wasn't buyin' it. Maggie was not a nice person, cared about nobody but herself, and never seemed sorry for any of the things she did (aside from the incident with her sister, and even her regret over that was questionable in my mind).

I didn't believe her abrupt transformation towards the end for one second mostly because of her refusal to admit that SHE was the source of her problems. Near the end of the book when she's in the car driving home with her grandmother, she runs off a list of all of the things and people throughout the course of her life that had supposedly prevented her from succeeding and playing nice all that time but nowhere on that list was her name.

There's more, like the numerous spelling and grammar mistakes (did anyone bother to edit this book?), the holes in the plot and unexplained situations, issues, and character traits. I do enjoy light reads from time to time but I don't enjoy lazy writing and I didn't enjoy this book. It's my own fault though. *haha* show less

In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner is chick lit that transcends its genre. Older sister Rose has always been the smart and responsible one, but her social life is lackluster, her clothes are dull and she'll never be able to fit into her beautiful sister Maggie's size 2 leather pants. Maggie is Rose's polar opposite -- gorgeous, confident witty, with lots of boyfriends and admirers but no job to speak of. In some ways, their story unfolds predictably -- we can guess that it will end happily, with each sister understanding the other better and perhaps taking some of each other's characteristics. What surprised me was the depth of characterization. Rose is so responsible because of a well-written childhood tragedy; Maggie's disorganized life show more is partly the product of a learning disability she never conquered. Each girl undergoes a separate metamorphosis fueled by events that are both resonant and plausible. Ordinarily, it bothers me when a writer spells out everything a character is thinking, but Weiner's writing style is so deliciously precise that this time I didn't really mind. The book does end just a touch too happily and yes, I could pick out exactly who'd become each sister's love interest later on but on the whole this is an entertaining book with emotional resonance. I'd recommend it for better-than-average poolside reading. show less

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved that the characters were more fleshed out than they were in the movie. Ella, the grandmother, was wonderful. I was disappointed that her character kind of peters out towards the end. She was really overshadowed by Maggie in the last part of the book. I thought it was a bit much that Simon turned out to be "related" to Petunia the Pug, but overall this was a good read. And I was very happy to find some decent chick-lit. I hope this means my streak of disappointing reads is over.

This is my second Weiner book (the first being the popular Good In Bed), and I must say her writing is some of the most indulgent I've ever come across. The author insertion is so obvious - all the characters are Weiner (or her opposite, or a person she wishes she knew) in a different costume. The thing that separates her books from your average teen-penned romance is that her themes are so universal that author insertion becomes reader insertion. You see her characters and think, "That's me. That's my life." Therein lies her appeal.

As with most chick lit, the plot was fluff and totally predictable from the start, but that did not make it any less enjoyable. Rose is the older, successful, overweight sister. Maggie is the younger, show more trouble-making, gorgeous sister. Throw in an intersecting story about an elderly woman named Ella who lives in Florida with her entertaining neighbors at the Golden Acres senior citizen community and you have a fun little romp of a story.

My only real complaint about this book was the all too convenient flashbacks. Too often someone would make some comment which would be followed by an explanation of some childhood event or something they "always" did, which for whatever reason had never been mentioned before. One glaring example of this was Sydelle's strict adherence to the Jewish faith, which was never brought up until it became an issue. Such "oh by the way" moments made it feel like the character development was done on the fly.

All the same, this was a fun, quick read. Weiner's always good for one-liners and amusing exchanges, and a happy ending is guaranteed. I don't imagine most men would enjoy this book (though I think it could teach them a lot about the female psyche), but I would definitely recommend it to any woman looking for little bit of literary candy. show less