Certain Girls: A Novel
by Jennifer Weiner
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Book Reviews of Certain Girls: A Novel
Book Review: Did we really need that twist?
Summary: 4 Stars
I was so happy to find that there was a sequel to "Good in Bed" that I snatched this up and started right away. It's a very quick book; in fact, I managed to make it through the whole thing in about a day, but it is difficult to read (at the same time, difficult to put down).
The first issue is the flip-flopping narratives: one chapter is Cannie, over a decade older and struggling with the idea of having a child via surrogacy AND a teenage daughter who feels as though she's slipping away; the next chapter is Joy, now a teenager and full of hate, anger, and attitude, looking for her own version of the truth in Cannie's 10-year-old bestselling novel. Cannie appears to be very out-of-touch with much of what her daughter is going through, which is kind of a hard sell after reading her pain and drama in "Good in Bed". I'll give her credit, she appears to be the kindhearted mother that we all hear about: the one that rarely badmouths absent-dad; is always ready with kisses, cookies, and love; and yet tries to hide the fact that she is a woman beyond simply "mom". Joy has grown into a spiteful girl who doesn't want to ask her mother any questions and instead chooses to believe the (albeit very thinly-disguised memoir) book her mother wrote when she was a baby; she also embarks on a journey of her own, believing that her "um...Bruce" isn't as horrible as we know him to be from the first novel, and attempting to reconcile in her mind that her mother MUST be lying about everything. And yet, even with all of that, I still couldn't put the book down. It was painful, embarrassing, and still a great read...until the end.
There are clichè parts, as well: the runaway trip to LA, the "popular" girl that everyone appears to want to be, the less-than-famously-popular friends left by the wayside for much of the book, the mother-daughter power/love struggle, and then the HORRIBLE ending. Yes, I cried. It was awful (mainly because Peter's attitude and kindheartedness remind me of my own husband) and absolutely 180 degrees away from what I was expecting. If the author was expecting to rekindle the passion she had from her readers during Joy's premature birth and Cannie's heartache, good luck. Instead, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth and an unfulfilled promise of a good, truly happy ending for well-written characters.
I would still recommend this book, but be prepared...the ending sucks.
Book Review: Give this one a miss unless you like feeing broken hearted
Summary: 1 Stars
Don't read this if you want no spoilers. The plot has already been given away in later reviews but I'll try to be careful. This book infuriated and irritated me for several reasons.
First, the multiple point of view did not work in this book. She should have had a chapter heading with Candace or Joy at top because I had trouble every time POV switched figuring out who was talking. I would have to reread the beginning of the chapter several times and this was annoying.
Second, the hideous thing Weiner did on page 344 was mean, manipulative, and not at all necessary. Yes, she certainly jerked some tears out of me but they felt like they were forced at gunpoint because the event she used to produce them didn't fit with the book at all. It was just purely manipulative and wrong. A cheap shot and a cheap trick rolled into one. Peter is beloved and did not deserve what Weiner did to him. To deprive him of experiencing the fruit of their efforts was just mean. It ruined the end. Just ruined it. I couldn't be happy about Charlie in any way.
And don't get me started on Joy. OK, I'll start anyway. What a brat. Spoiled, rotten brat. It made me sick how Candace sucked up to her and accepted any amount of bad behavior from her. It was obvious that she had been a good mother and her snotty little daughter was using her feelings to crucify her at will. She should have had a knot jerked in her tail long before the little stunt she pulled with the white credit card. No telling how much her little California tantrum cost and then Cannie takes her shopping for the dress she wanted? But says she is not rewarding bad behavior. How does she figure that? Especially when Candace was right: spaghetti straps, bangles and beads is way too old for a thirteen year old. Talk about mixed messages. Candace says she doesn't want Joy to have a big expensive party that obscures the meaning of the event then buys her a designer dress that she will wear once. I just shook my head so many times at what this kid got by with.
Joy somewhat redeems herself by the end but by that time the book has so gone off the rails you don't really care. The book has slapped you in the face one time too many.
Not well done Weiner, not at all. I wish I had never read this one.
Book Review: Certain Girls
Summary: 4 Stars
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner is the sequel to Good in Bed. In this book, we meet up with Canny Shapiro when her daughter, Joy, is getting ready for her bat mitzvah. Joy is growing up and is arguing with her mother while also trying to find her place in the world. Joy reads her mother's book and begins to question everything that she held true from her childhood. Does her mom even want her? Was her grandfather such a bad man? Did Bruce care about her, or was she totally unwanted by both parents? As Joy struggles with her identity, Canny and Peter have tough decisions to make as well. Canny's publisher wants her to do another book as herself. The public wants to have another Candace Shapiro best seller. Peter also wants to have a baby. Should the two of them go through the process of getting a surrogate mother because Canny can not have any more children?
I really enjoy Jennifer Weiner. I started out reading her books with a bit of hesitation, but each story seems to catch my interest and her characters are always endearing. Joy reminds me of my students. She is questioning everything that adults tell her and finding her own way. She goes through some extremes, but she is constantly learning and reevaluating life. Her character is written beautifully. Weiner has captured the adolescent spirit perfectly. Canny is as sharp-witted as she is in the first novel, but she does not shine as brightly in this novel. She seems to be more subdued as a mother. The only part that I did not like is the ending. As things were starting to get better in the novel and I was preparing myself for a happy ending, Weiner through in a twist that shattered my heart. It was an extremely shocking ending and I can't really say that I liked it. That could just be because I like happy endings, but it through a wrench in what I expected. I'm not used to being surprised in books. I am sure that a lot of people enjoy this type of thing, it just didn't work for me.
4/5 stars
Book Review: Skip it...
Summary: 2 Stars
First off, let me start off by saying I'm a big Jennifer Weiner fan. Her books are the perfect in-between books. You know, those books that are light and fluffy reads and that are perfect to read in-between serious books? That's what describes Jennifer Weiner's books.
Now, "Certain Girls" is a sequel to Weiner's hit novel "Good in Bed". In my opinion, there are three types of sequels. The first type are those certain sequels that are great. They are even better than the original novel and it tends to make them look better. The second type are those that don't really make much of a difference to the original novel. These are loose sequels. They have some of the original novel's backstory, but not so much where it's absolutely necessary to read the first novel. They can be read as stand-alone novels. Lastly, there are those sequels that are better in theory. The ones that make the original novel worse. "Certain Girls", unfortunately, falls under the third category.
I loved "Good In Bed". I thought it was a gem. "Certain Girls"...not so much. First off, Cannie Shapiro (the heroine of the first novel) did a complete 180. It seemed like she went from three steps forward (in the first novel) and two steps back (in the second). She became this smothering, obsessive, character. What happened to the witty, sharp-tounged heroine from the first novel? And Joy, her daughter, was obnoxious and bratty. I know she's only twelve, but she was overly bratty. It went to the point where I wanted to skip the chapters she narrated (I didn't, but boy, did I ever want to!). And don't even get me started on the ending. I'm not going to say it, so that I don't spoil the book. But the ending was majorly depressing and completely unnecessary.
So, if you loved "Good In Bed", do not read "Certain Girls". It will change you perceptions of the first novel and not in a good way. "Good In Bed" should not have been messed with in this way. Which is why I rate this two stars.
Book Review: Fun read, but I hated the ending
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm not a person who demands a happy ending: I loved the conclusion to "Gone with the Wind," and sequels be damned. But Weiner stretches a bit too far in bringing "Certain Girls" to a close.
The book is an enjoyable follow-up to "Good in Bed," which I also read and liked. Cannie Shapiro, happily married to her dreamy diet doctor, is now the mother of pre-teen Joy. The book alternates between the voices of Cannie and Joy - and while they're sometimes hard to distinguish, the pattern works fairly well. The normal chaos of teenage-daughter-and-overprotective-mother relationship ensues. It could have come to a very natural ending without the (SPOILER ALERT) sudden and completely disorienting death of Peter.
From then on, it's a different book. Frankly, the death of a spouse is so life-altering that it's hard to believe Weiner felt it could be dealt with in the last quarter of an otherwise light chick-lit novel. Though Joy and Cannie are brought together because of their loss, it feels like a very false and cheap way to achieve reconciliation between mother and daughter: as if the author couldn't figure out a more natural and real-life way to bring the relationship to a different place. If Weiner wanted to take on the death of Cannie's husband, she ought to have started a third book and given that topic a real go, instead of cramming it into the ending of this one. I agree with another reviewer who noted that it seemed as if she was trying to re-create the urgent ending of "Good in Bed," where Joy's premature and difficult birth changes the tone of the story. That ending worked; this one doesn't.
The first three-quarters of the book make it a worthwhile read. But, note to Weiner: next time, don't throw so much drama into the ending. Not necessary.