Certain Girls (Platinum Fiction Series)
by Jennifer Weiner (Goodreads author!)
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Read in July, 2008
Well...what's to say about this book; it's no different than any other book Jennifer Weiner has written. Fat chick whining about being fat.
The first Jennifer book I read was "In Her Shoes". I read it because I saw the movie adaption because I love the actress who plays the older sister. Being an only child I was totally enthralled by the relationship between the sisters in the book and the grandmother they didn't know. I loved watching how both sisters transformed and became diffe...more
The first Jennifer book I read was "In Her Shoes". I read it because I saw the movie adaption because I love the actress who plays the older sister. Being an only child I was totally enthralled by the relationship between the sisters in the book and the grandmother they didn't know. I loved watching how both sisters transformed and became diffe...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
mothers and daughters everywhere, anyone with a heart
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Jennifer by:
Jennifer Weinerrecommends it for: anyone who liked Good in Bed
I've heard rumors that critics didn't like this book as much, but since I'm not ranking on literary merit here but on MY said enjoyment of said book, I will say that I enjoyed this sequel to Good in Bed. It wasn't a perfectly constructed book but nor was it a glorious mess (as my sister often tags something that one enjoys while recognizing fully its many flaws).
This novel picks up about twelve years after Good in Bed ends. Canny (Candice) Shapiro is now married to the lovely Peter, her da...more
This novel picks up about twelve years after Good in Bed ends. Canny (Candice) Shapiro is now married to the lovely Peter, her da...more
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“Good in Bed” is one of my Top Ten Favorite Books of All Time. It’s funny, it’s all about various relationships and there are even lesbians in it. Over the years, I’ve wondered whatever happened to Cannie Shapiro and Joy?
Well, Cannie turned into a scaredy cat housewife/closet writer and Joy turned into a typical teenager.
“Certain Girls” takes place 13 years after the end of “Good in Bed.” Cannie is married to Dr. K and Joy is in middle school, preparing for her ba...more
Well, Cannie turned into a scaredy cat housewife/closet writer and Joy turned into a typical teenager.
“Certain Girls” takes place 13 years after the end of “Good in Bed.” Cannie is married to Dr. K and Joy is in middle school, preparing for her ba...more
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"Readers fell in love with Cannie Shapiro, the smart, sharp-tongued, bighearted heroine of Good in Bed who found her happy ending after her mother came out of the closet, her father fell out of her life, and her ex-boyfriend started chronicling their ex-sex life in the pages of a national magazine.
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 ...more
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 ...more
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Read in July, 2008
"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.
Actua...more
Actua...more
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For some reason, I wanted to read this book as soon as I could. Was it just one of those "must read everything by authors I read" compulsions? Was the need more of a "must read this before there's a new version of the book with a stupid reader's guide in the back that makes it seem like the book is much more profound than it really is"? I'm not sure. To enjoy this book, a prerequisite is definitely having read and enjoyed Good In Bed. It helps if you also still remember a lot...more
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Read in July, 2008
I really struggled on my rating for this book. I did like it, but could not decide if I would give it a 3 or 4 stars.
I have liked all of Jennifer Weiner's books, some more than other. This is the sequel to Good in Bed, which I really liked. It picks up 13 years later in the lives of Cannie and her daughter Joy. Cannie is now a loving, sometimes overly so, suburban house wife and mother. The narrator switches from Cannie to joy in alternating chapters . I did like hearing the perspective...more
I have liked all of Jennifer Weiner's books, some more than other. This is the sequel to Good in Bed, which I really liked. It picks up 13 years later in the lives of Cannie and her daughter Joy. Cannie is now a loving, sometimes overly so, suburban house wife and mother. The narrator switches from Cannie to joy in alternating chapters . I did like hearing the perspective...more
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Read in August, 2008
I have read a few Jennifer Weiner books and have really enjoyed them. When I started this one I wasn't quite sure I would relate much to the characters and story. There is a lot revolving around the daughter's bat mitzvah and the family's Jewish faith and Cannie is older, a mom, married...I just thought I wouldn't get into it. Then I realized the alternating chapters are written from the 12 yr old daughter's perspective and I actually groaned. BUT I gave it a chance and within just a few chapter...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
the gals
There is just something about Jennifer Weiner that I love. It could be that she is less than skinny, sort of Jewish, and from Philly (remind you of anyone?). Maybe I am vain, but I like books that I can relate to (at least a little bit) and that remind me of things that I know...like growing up Jewish, struggling with weight and then learning to love yourself, crazy hair, and of course all of the wonders of Philadelphia. And then of course there are things that I can't relate to in this book...l...more
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Read in April, 2008
I, of course, loved this book because I think I would love anything Jennifer Weiner writes. I am a little surprised that people disliked the book because of the overwhelmingly sad occurance at the end of the book. Did you all think Good in Bed was light hearted and breezy? Because, compared to this, I would say it was much less fantasy. The reason her books touch so many of us profoundly is because she writes about things that many of us endure, but aren't necessarily socially acceptable to ...more
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Read in June, 2008
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Read in January, 2008
I procured an advanced reader copy of this title in a couple of days, being so excited for the sequel to one of my favorite books ever. Cannie is a great heroine and I couldn't wait to revisit her 13 years after the birth of her daughter, Joy.
While initially I was a bit disappointed, "Certain Girls" is a fast read, and anyone looking for a continuing story of Cannie, Joy, Peter and the rest won't be sorry. While I don't want to give up any spoilers, I sobbed like crazy through my...more
While initially I was a bit disappointed, "Certain Girls" is a fast read, and anyone looking for a continuing story of Cannie, Joy, Peter and the rest won't be sorry. While I don't want to give up any spoilers, I sobbed like crazy through my...more
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I was excited about this book since it was a return to Cannie Shapiro's world. We met Cannie in <u> Good In Bed </>, where Cannie (like author Weiner) lives in Philadelphia. This book picked up twelve years after where GiB left off.
Joy is preparing for her bat mitzvah, and Cannie is figuring out how to navigate being a wife, a mother of an adolescent, and a good Jewish mother all at once. The last she needs is for Joy to read the semi-autobiographical book Cannie wrote right aft...more
Joy is preparing for her bat mitzvah, and Cannie is figuring out how to navigate being a wife, a mother of an adolescent, and a good Jewish mother all at once. The last she needs is for Joy to read the semi-autobiographical book Cannie wrote right aft...more
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Read in June, 2008
Certain Girls, the sequel to Good in Bed, takes place about twelve years later. Joy is a teenager and Cannie is an overprotective mother who writes sci-fi books in her spare time. The book is about mothers and daughters, and as any book about that topic, this one is full of misunderstandings and frustrations. Peter wants them to have another baby; while Cannie's life is taken up with obsessing about Joy. Joy desperately wants to escape her mother's constant hovering and is trying to make her way...more
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Read in September, 2008
This wasn't my favorite of Jennifer Weiner's books. I was irritated by Cannie (main character)'s hand-wringing throughout the book, and it was jarring to jump from chapter to chapter with the POV shifting from Cannie to her 13-year old daughter with no warning. I'd read the first two paragraphs of a chapter forgetting which character was in charge. The 13 year old daughter was irritating too, going through her own identity crisis and trying out all kinds of bad behavior.
I'm not Jewish, ...more
I'm not Jewish, ...more
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I really enjoyed Weiner's first book about these characters, "Good In Bed." I thought that the sequel was well written, but it seemed that a little more time could have been put into the thought behind how all the characters tie in together. The book begins thirteen years after Joy's birth, and at first it is confusing where and with who the characters have been the entire time. I enjoyed the dynamic between the daughter and the mother, however ** and I will not give anything away*** I...more
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Read in April, 2008
Jennifer Weiner's skills as an author get better with each book. This book is a fantastic read and amazingly well written.
I do think that Weiner decided to become a 'serious writer' because the lightness and jovial feel that is so much a part of Weiner's work in her past books is absent. And well, I blame Curtis Sittenfield (the anti-fun anti-light anti-feminine I want to be a man writer)and her and Weiner's on again off again feud about the term Chick Lit. A feud they seem to have resolv...more
I do think that Weiner decided to become a 'serious writer' because the lightness and jovial feel that is so much a part of Weiner's work in her past books is absent. And well, I blame Curtis Sittenfield (the anti-fun anti-light anti-feminine I want to be a man writer)and her and Weiner's on again off again feud about the term Chick Lit. A feud they seem to have resolv...more
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Read in July, 2008
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Read in June, 2008
OK - if you like overweight women who are constantly putting themselves down - then this is the book for you. If you like whiny 13 year old girls, then this is the book for you. If you like misunderstandings, lies & secrets, then this is the book for you. Oh, and if you don't mind foul language and fairly descriptive sex acts, then you'll love this book.
I don't like any of these things. So, why did I read it, you may ask? I had nothing else to read and I hate to not finish a book. ...more
I don't like any of these things. So, why did I read it, you may ask? I had nothing else to read and I hate to not finish a book. ...more
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