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heidilreads's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this book looking for a standard book from the author... This is her memoir full of tales from her life... It still fulfilled my need of a light, happy book, but did some depth.
aejohnson85's review against another edition
2.0
I feel bad giving this only 2 stars as I thought it was very well written. For me, it was a bit too long and some of the essays didn't hold my attention, though I do have respect for how honest about her life she was.
sek73's review against another edition
4.0
I just finished this book and found myself happy to have read it because I'm a huge fan of the author's books....although I don't think I can ever forgive her for the ending of "Certain Girls". I enjoyed reading about Weiner's family when it was funny. When it was sad, it was so sad. One thing I found interesting and what resulted in 4 out of 5 stars was that she named her classmates and pointed out who else was fat, who had the big nose, who was the catty one, who was the slur. Bullying in horrible when it happens to you and it doesn't make it better when you turn around and do it back. I say this as an always fat girl/woman who suffered but wouldn't turn suffering back on another for payback. At least I'd hope not.
kirstenrose22's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a big fan of Weiner, so I've been looking forward to this. Like all essay collections, it is occasionally uneven, but when she hits the mark, she really hits it. I enjoyed the stuff about her life, and then really loved the stuff on motherhood, on genre literature, and on body image. Those bits really resonated and spoke to me.
acesarrows's review against another edition
5.0
Caveat: I’ve never read a Jennifer Weiner novel, but I have read some of her non-fiction, and I like the various articles that I’ve read. However, when I saw this memoir, I just knew I wanted to read more about her. And it did not disappoint!
These essays run the gamut from laugh out loud funny (Men and Dogs: A Love Story), to heartbreaking (Miss, One Good Thing), to entertaining us with stories of her childhood, and dealing with her self-esteem and body image (Road Trip, Fat Jennifer in the Promised Land). In these essays we learn a bit about Weiner’s parents, her life growing up, high school, university, navigating the world as a “chick-lit” author and a feminist, dealing with sexism, trying to make a living as a journalist, her trials and tribulations of love and motherhood, and just generally navigating life.
I loved all of these essays - at times giggling, at times shedding a few tears. Weiner writes with humour, grace, candour, and intimacy. I would not hesitate to recommend this to other lovers of the memoir genre, and can not say enough about how much I loved this entertaining, funny, truthful, and honest book.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.
These essays run the gamut from laugh out loud funny (Men and Dogs: A Love Story), to heartbreaking (Miss, One Good Thing), to entertaining us with stories of her childhood, and dealing with her self-esteem and body image (Road Trip, Fat Jennifer in the Promised Land). In these essays we learn a bit about Weiner’s parents, her life growing up, high school, university, navigating the world as a “chick-lit” author and a feminist, dealing with sexism, trying to make a living as a journalist, her trials and tribulations of love and motherhood, and just generally navigating life.
I loved all of these essays - at times giggling, at times shedding a few tears. Weiner writes with humour, grace, candour, and intimacy. I would not hesitate to recommend this to other lovers of the memoir genre, and can not say enough about how much I loved this entertaining, funny, truthful, and honest book.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.
keen23's review against another edition
4.0
Once I started reading this, it was hard to put it down.
off2explore's review against another edition
5.0
As a fan of Jennifer Weiner's books, I really appreciated the funny and insightful essays about her personal life and writing process. I am not sure whether there would be enough of interest for someone who had never read her other work, but that reader is surely not the intended audience. I was particularly touched by the miscarriage essay, as well as the discussions of body image and struggling to find a place in the world.