Certain Girls

By: Jennifer Weiner

Narrated by: Michele Pawk, Zoe Kazan

Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

"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 13 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.

©2008 Jennifer Weiner, Inc. (P)2008 Simon and Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Heartfelt and funny...a touching examination of both the comic and tragic moments that mark the mother-daughter relationship." ( Kirkus)
"Hilarious....Weiner offers her signature snappy observations and spot-on insights into human nature, with a few twists thrown in for good measure." ( Publishers Weekly)

Liked not loved this book.

I love Jennifer Weiner and anxiously awaited this work. I liked the book, but did not fall in love the same way I did with Good In Bed. Jen is still one of my favorite authors and this book is NOT a miss. It's not a dead on hit either. I laughed. I cried. I was thrilled to find out what happened to everyone. It's just that this book had a certain almost melancholy tone that didn't really sit well with me.

I'll keep reading JW and i'm glad that I read this book.

A Must of Mothers of Teenage Daughters

Reading "Good in Bed" is a must to understand the character relationships, "Certain Girls" picks up at a wonder time in the characters lives. The book is for women and daughters who live life to the fullest and believe life goes on no matter what happens. It reminds us to look at life from different angles and that growing up is not easy at any age whether you are the parent or the child life is not easy on either side. The readers voices really work with the flow of the book making it easy to listen to as you drive or work around the house. In my opinion it is a book I will listen to often.

I Liked it

Not great, but not bad...Overall, I liked it.

Good in bed.

Certain girls was worth listening to. I didnt realize it til half way through that this book picks up 13 yrs later from Good in bed, my fav by JW. I recommend you listen tothis, but listen to Good in bed first.

Great mom/daughter story

At first I wasn't sure how much Iwould really enjoy this story but it was a beautiful story.

Great Sequel!

I loved the book! Jennifer Weiner has such a good sense of humor and the book definitely conveyed that. The change in narrators was wonderful and assisted the story more than someone doing voices. It was not predictable which was great.

Something a little different

Quick and not what I expected, actually a little better than I expected. I listen to a lot of mysteries and I wanted something a little different for inbetween on a long drive.

Good, not great

I adore Weiner's style. This was a good story line. Just not as powerful as her first book.

Another good one

I've never been disappointed with Jennifer's writings and this one didn't let me down either.

Enjoyable enough

Lighthearted with consistent writing, giving readers a continuation of the story of characters from Good In Bed, but most of the character development was from the viewpoint of the 13 year old daughter instead of the older Canny. Nonetheless it held my interest while I drove on the highway, even if it was an average read.