Certain Girls

January 28, 2008
Following the story collection The Guy Not Taken
, Weiner turns in a hilarious sequel to her 2001 bestselling first novel, Good in Bed
, revisiting the memorable and feisty Candace “Cannie†Shapiro. Flashing forward 13 years, the novel follows Cannie as she navigates the adolescent rebellion of her about-to-be bat mitzvahed daughter, Joy, and juggles her writing career; her relationship with her physician husband, Peter Krushelevansky; her ongoing weight struggles; and the occasional impasse with Joy's biological father, Bruce Guberman. Joy, whose premature birth resulted in her wearing hearing aids, has her own amusing take on her mother's overinvolvement in her life as the novel, with some contrivance, alternates perspectives. As her bat mitzvah approaches, Joy tries to make contact with her long absent maternal grandfather and seeks more time with Bruce. In addition, unbeknownst to Joy, Peter has expressed a desire to have a baby with Cannie, which means looking for a surrogate mother. Throughout, Weiner offers her signature snappy observations: (“good looks function as a get-out-of-everything-free cardâ€) and spot-on insights into human nature, with a few twists thrown in for good measure. She expends some energy getting readers up to speed on Good
, but readers already involved with Cannie will enjoy this, despite Joy's equally strong voice.

The sequel to GOOD IN BED occurs 13 years after that vengefully funny story of a fat girl who puts her boyfriend in his place after he publishes an article about their sex life. In this work Cannie, now a wife and mother, prepares for her daughter Joy's bat mitzvah. Julie Dretzin's portrayal of Cannie is appropriately anxious. Much of her humor is subdued by her worries over her mothering and her husband's request for a second child. Rachel Botchan narrates alternate chapters, using a young voice to depict Joy and coloring her reading with the teenager's anger over family secrets and determination to uncover her mother's past. Though more serious than Weiner's first book, this sequel has emotion and wit, as well as an enjoyable plot twist near the end. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

August 15, 2008
Weiner's sequel to her New York Times best-selling Good in Bed takes place 13 years later and is told from the perspectives of the first book's protagonist, Cannie Shapiro, and Joy, her teenage daughter. Rachel Botchan and Julie Dretzin competently and professionally narrate these mother-daughter roles in alternating chapters, a format that can be confusing at times. As the book and author are both popular with public library patrons, the audio version, too, should be purchased to meet demand. [Also recorded by S. & S. Audio. abridged. ISBN LJ 3/1/08.Ed.]Mary Knapp, Madison P.L., WI

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