Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

A few months ago, I reviewed an audio book called Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. (You can read that review HERE.) It was an extremely enjoyable book and made my six hour drive to Missouri less painful.

So, this past weekend, while driving home from Joplin, Tony and I started listening to Certain Girls which is the continuation of Good in Bed, only it is 13 years later and Cannie's daughter Joy is in pre-teen drama. The relationship between mother and daughter in this story is a story that most of can relate to. Even if you didn't "hate" your mom (which I did not), there were most definitely times that you (and I) couldn't stand her. And that is exactly where we are with Cannie and Joy's relationship. It actually made me cringe a bit...thinking of this being Ashton and I in a year or so. I know she won't like me during parts of her teenage life, but goodness, I am not ready for it.

If you haven't read (or listened to) Good in Bed...DO IT! And then follow it up with the sequel, Certain Girls. You will not be disappointed.

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 card) 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.