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| Certain Girls: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Jennifer Weiner
Publisher: Atria
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy Used: $5.39
You Save: $21.56 (80%)
New (54) Used (70) Collectible (1) from $5.39
Avg. Customer Rating:  160 reviews
Sales Rank: 1324
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0743294254
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780743294256
ASIN: 0743294254
Publication Date: April 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Recycled Library Edition
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| Customer Reviews:
 Stop reading when you get to page 344! May 4, 2008
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
I was very excited to read "Certain Girls," the sequel to Jennifer Weiner's bestselling novel "Good in Bed," which I liked very much. Although most of the book was a lot of fun to read, the ending left me very disappointed.
"Certain Girls" takes place more than a decade after "Good in Bed." Cannie and Peter are now married and raising Cannie's daughter, Joy, who is now 13 years old. Cannie and Joy alternate chapters as narrators, and they have the kind of relationship that's pretty typical between teenage girls and their mothers. Joy thinks that her mom is an overprotective pain in the butt, and Cannie worries constantly about her daughter, especially when she notices changes in Joy's behavior. Meanwhile, Cannie struggles with the notion that her husband wants to have another baby with the help of a surrogate, and Joy eventally breaks down and reads the popular book her mother wrote 10 years ago. "Big Girls Don't Cry" is a sensationalized version of the events that led up to Joy's birth, and after reading it, Joy is so traumatized that she begins to question every aspect of her life. Eventually Joy embarks on a quest to discover the truth about her mother and herself.
At first I wasn't sure what to make of "Certain Girls." I enjoyed the first few chapters, but everything about the novel seemed so predictable and obvious. However, Weiner is a pretty fantastic storyteller, and despite the fact that I had most of the story figured out right away, I was completely drawn in by the book's characters and the emotions that they experienced, which are all unbelievably honest and relatable. As I continued reading, I thought that "Certain Girls" may end up being Weiner's best book to date...until I got to page 344!
The last 40 pages of this book SUCK! The events that unfold are so depressing and completely unnecessary. I think Weiner was trying to recreate the exact same chain of events depicted at the end of "Good in Bed," when baby Joy arrives prematurely and Cannie is unsure if her daughter will survive. I was so disappointed with the way Weiner regurgitated all those emotions at the end of this book, which was so stupid! I'm telling you, the ending of this book is what prevented me from giving "Certain Girls" a five-star rating. To be perfectly honest, a four-star rating is probably too generous of me.
I'm sure many fans of "Good in Bed" will be eager to dive into this much-anticipated sequel, and for the most part, "Certain Girls" is a very enjoyable read. However, if you want to get the most out of this book, take my advice and stop reading after Chapter 36. Trust me!
 Weiner's Sequel Worth The Wait! April 8, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
Jennifer Weiner's much anticipated sequel to Good in Bed does not disappoint, and we Jen Weiner fans have been waiting a long time for this one! When Certain Girls finally arrived, I hoped it would be as good as the first, and it is! It's possibly even better; and Good in Bed is one of my most favorite all-time books ever!
With characters old and new, grown and mature, quirky and completely believable, you'll feel as if you want to know them in real life. You can sense the angst and turmoil of 13-year-old Joy as she tries to find her place in the family; tries to learn what it is to `become a woman' as she prepares for her bat mitzvah. I fell in love with Joy, found myself wanting to comfort her, and at the same time, shake her and say, "But your mother just loves you--that's why she's so crazy!"
Cannie has grown up and while she is an overprotective mother, she just wants to do right. Sometimes she tries too hard, but again, it's just because she's a mom and she loves her daughter so much--that's why she's so crazy!
I don't need to sell Jennifer Weiner fans on this book. They already know. There are loads of touching moments, laughable moments, and some especially unexpected shocker moments in Certain Girls. You will really have a varying mix of emotions when reading, but one thing's for certain, as it is with all of Weiner's creations ... you'll come away wishing you didn't have to close the book, wishing you could just go back for a little while and hang out with the people you just read about. They're that real. They're that good. She's THAT convincing!
 MORTIFIED HEARTBROKEN MAD!!! May 8, 2008
11 out of 15 found this review helpful
I am so disapointed in this book. I love Jen Weiner, I loved Good in Bed and was thrilled to have the story continue. And it was a good story. The plot moved Cannie 13 years from young professional to middle aged mom and really touched on some importent issues about family and love and self acceptance.THEN BLAM!! BOOM!!! Out of nowhere this book just throws a curve that is stupid and un-needed.I assume there is another book because of the vauge ending. Seriously I was so mad I cried on the bus reading it and then threw it on the ground and stomped on it much to my husbands confusion.I have a husband on his way to Iraq for the second time. I AVOID books like this like a pox. If I had known what was goingt to happen I would never have bothered.SHAME on you Jen W I do NOT heart YOU!!The only way I will ever read the next book is if this stupid plot twist was a DREAM!!!
She's back! April 11, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I love Jennifer Weiner's books, but the last two (Goodnight Nobody and The Guy Not Taken) were in my opinion big stinkers. I was looking forward to the sequel to Good in Bed as it is my most favorite book of all time. However, while I realize Cannie is older and has greater responsbility, I think she has lost some of her sassy luster I loved so much in the first book. I also really hate her daughter. I know that at 13 being seen with your mom is supposed to be super uncool but I guess I missed that phase.
To be completely honest, I have not yet finished the book, but the fact that when I have to put it down to go to work I find myself looking forward to coming home and finding out what happens is a good sign. This book appears to be the comeback from the slump she seemed to settle into after Little Earthquakes.
I recommend this book if you like Jennifer Weiner enough to plonk down the hardcover price, but don't expect follow along the same lines as Good in Bed.
terrible sequel April 29, 2008
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
"Good in Bed" is my favorite book...incredibly insightful, funny, interesting, etc. This sequel was a huge dissapointment. I expected so much more....In Good in Bed, I fell in love with Cannie's humor. In the sequel, all she is represented as is old, boring, and fat to her daughter. The book did not flow, the story was boring and predictable, and the ending made me angry. Terrible book! Weiner needs to go back to her roots and write in the wonderful way she did in Good In Bed.
Also, I must have been given a book that was printed before the final editing. There are COUNTLESS spelling and grammor errors filled throughout the book!
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