Certain Girls, Jennifer Weiner
Certain Girls, Jennifer Weiner
38 Rating(s)
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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Certain Girls

Author: Jennifer Weiner

Narrator: Michele Pawk, Zoe Kazan

Abridged: 6 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/08/2008


Synopsis

"My mother," Joy Shapiro Krushelevansky writes in her diary late one night, "is the most embarrassing person to have ever been born." It's been almost thirteen years since we've last seen Cannie Shapiro, the heroine of Good in Bed, whose journey toward happily-ever-after, and peace with her fractured family and plus-size body, made millions of women the world over laugh, cry, and see themselves on the page.

The last decade of Cannie's life has brought some surprises. Her life story, in fictional form, became an unexpected best-seller, and Cannie has since choosen to retreat from fame's fallout, writing science fiction under a pen name. Her daughter, Joy, has descended into the throes of moody adolescence, just in time for her bat mitzvah. Her best friend, Samantha, is looking for love in all the wrong places (specifically, an online dating site called AJew4U.com). Her husband, Peter, has decided that he'd like to have a baby, and the family's first choice for a surrogate is none other than Cannie's flamboyant kid sister. Just when things can't get any worse -- or weirder -- Cannie's long-lost (and largely unlamented) father shows up at her doorstep, and Joy swipes her mother's credit card and heads West in pursuit of the grandfather she's only seen once.

Funny and tender, with memorable characters and Weiner's trademark whip-smart dialogue and sharp observations about modern life, Certain Girls is a story about family (biological and chosen), love, loss, and the enduring bonds between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives.

About Jennifer Weiner

American author, Jennifer Weiner, was born in 1970 into a Jewish family in DeRidder, Louisiana. Her father was an army physician stationed there. In 1971, her family moved to Simsbury, Connecticut where Jennifer grew up, but at the age of 16, Jennifer's father abandoned his family. The divorce was very traumatic to Jennifer and her siblings. Her father died of a crack cocaine overdose in 2008. Then, her mother came out as a lesbian when she was 55 years of age.

After graduating high school, where Jennifer was one of only nine Jewish students in a class of 400, she attended Princeton University at the young age of 17. She graduated summa cum laude with an A.B. in English. She had written her thesis entitled, "Never Far From Mother- On the Uses of Essentialism in Novels and Films". Her thesis served her well in setting up her credentials for her current career. She studied under several notable, successful authors and playwrights. Her first published story appeared in Seventeen magazine, entitled, "Tour of Duty".

Jennifer Weiner's books have been on the NYT best sellers list for five years. She has sold 11 million copies in 36 countries. She has written op-eds for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Times. Jennifer had two very popular op-eds for the Sunday Review.......Mean Girls in the Retirement Home and Another Thing to Hate About Ourselves. They have been reprinted in newspapers across the world. So used her platform to encourage women to improve their self-esteem and body images.

Jennifer's first novel, Good in Bed, was published in 2001, followed by, In Her Shoes, in 2002. The latter was made into a movie starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Alisha Marie on October 07, 2008

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......more

Goodreads review by Howard on September 25, 2021

3.25 Stars for Certain Girls (audiobook) by Jennifer Weiner read by Julie Dretzin and Rachel Botchan. I liked the first book better. The story was good but just not what I was looking for now.......more

Goodreads review by Naomi on January 31, 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"......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca on May 05, 2008

There are certain characters you never forget about... For me some of those are Holden Caufield, Bridget Jones and Cannie Shapiro. I read Good in Bed in college when it first came out (along with my Good in Bed t-shirt that eventually got so faded it looked like it said "ood in Be" but I digress). I......more

Goodreads review by Eva on August 02, 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......more


Quotes

"Hilarious. Weiner offer her signature snappy observations and spot-on insights into human nature." -- Publishers Weekly

"Heartfelt and funny...A touching examination of both the comic and tragic moments that mark the mother-daughter relationship." -- Kirkus Reviews