Helpful Score: 10
Out of all the stories in this collection, there was only one that I didn't love, but even it was pretty good. At the back of the book, she includes a short blurb about each story which gives insight into her writing process. Ok, maybe it's "chick lit" but it's chick lit with intellect, heart, and great humor.
Helpful Score: 9
I'm not a fan of the open-ended stories and this book is full of them. There's also no clear cut ending/beginning between stories. Some of the chapters start new characters/stories and some of them continue the story. VERY confusing and IMHO not the best of Weiner's work.
Helpful Score: 6
Too weird for me. The endings left me wondering what happened, but not in a good way. I'm not a huge fan of short stories to start with, so maybe that's part of the problem for me with this book. If this were the first Jennifer Weiner book I had ever read, I don't think I would'v picked up another.
Helpful Score: 4
I really enjoy Jennifer Weiner's stories, and this collection of short essays was no different. A few of them were left very open ended, but enjoyable none the less. A good light read.
Helpful Score: 3
Typical Weiner-Good! Even with short stories, the characters are evolved and believable. She is great. Very enjoyable and quick read! great for summer poolside reading!
Helpful Score: 3
A series of short stories. First, I'll admit I would not have put this book on my wish list had I realized it was a collection rather than a novel. I found the stories bleak. The characterizations were good, the storylines good, but the resolutions vague and ivory at the end. But someone who enjoys short stories may love them. Matter of choice, I suppose.
Helpful Score: 1
This book has a series of short stories, I wasn't a fan. Just as I got into the story line, it ended. BUT the stories were good. If your looking for a quick easy read and enjoy Jennifer Weiner, then this is a good book.
Helpful Score: 1
Collection of short stories. Weiner's gift for quickly creating believable characters and her dead-on evaluations of life's everyday frustrations keep her stories shining. The title story is a standout -- if you could "edit" an old boyfriend back into your life ⦠would you?
Helpful Score: 1
I never read any of Jennifer Weiner's works before this book, but I loved The Guy Not Taken! I normally don't like "chick lit," but Weiner has such a compelling and interesting way of drawing you into the lives of her characters. She really is a talented writer. I enjoyed every minute of this collection of short stories.
Helpful Score: 1
Not as good as I thought it would be.
I usually enjoy her books.....this was a bit disappointing!
This is a book of short stories. First two stories are linked. All others are stand alone. Not a bad read but I found the stories did not end "properly" for me . . . and that is probably just my opinion since the author has a last part where she talks about each story and where they came from and indicates she likes how each ends.
Overall I liked this collection of short stories.Like most collections some appealed to me more than others. My two favorites were Swim and The Mother's Hour. Dora on the Beach had a nice unexpected twist. Tour of Duty was my least favorite the characters just didn't grab at my heart. I was a little bored with Nicki and Josie by the time Wedding Bed was wrapping up
I liked this book. All but one of the short stories I really enjoyed reading. There is a prologue in here to her novel Good In Bed that I really didn't like, but that might have been because it has been so long since I have read that book. All in all I am a big fan of short stories and this was a good collection. I wish some of them had gone on for a bit longer so that I could find out what happened next. If you are a fan of her books than you will love this collection!
Quick reads, not one of her best.
Not my favorite Jennifer Weiner book, but still very good. Definitely recommend.
A great collection of quirky stories that leave you thinking. I couldn't put it down!
Great short stories from Weiner.
great read...love weiner!!!!
Great book of stories about many different lives. I enjoyed this book.
This is a fabulous group of short stories... Lots of times I found myself wanting to hear more, learn more about the characters. I enjoyed this immensely!
This is a collection of short stories that Jennifer has written over the years - some as long ago as when she was in college and some were written or re-written just for this book. A few have been previously published, but only in magazines where Jennifer's fans were unlikely to have seen them.
There is no overriding theme in the stories, except perhaps of women (and a few men) discovering themselves and/or discovering love. Interestingly, the stories were deliberately ordered in the book by the ages of the protagonists: starting with three stories featuring the young Josie and her family, who are dealing with the sudden departure of their father - and concluding with Dora on the Beach, about a retiree living on Atlantic Beach who is "held hostage" by two teenage girls on vacation.
One of the best stories in this book is the titular "The Guy Not Taken", about a slightly unhappy married woman with a baby who gets an unexpected (and fantastical) opportunity to see what her life would have been like if she had stayed with her former boyfriend. How many of us actually get a chance to see if life is greener on the other side of the fence? (As an aside, this story has been optioned to be a movie.)
Overall, the quality of the stories in the collection is high. The reader gets a sense of the character of the people in the stories, which is unusual and frequently difficult for an author to accomplish in the limited pages of a short story. I guess that speaks highly of Weiner's characterization ability. Of course, if you are a big Weiner fan and are used to the fully developed plots and characterizations of her novels, you might be slightly disappointed. As for me, I found almost all of these stories to be delightlful "slices of life".
There is no overriding theme in the stories, except perhaps of women (and a few men) discovering themselves and/or discovering love. Interestingly, the stories were deliberately ordered in the book by the ages of the protagonists: starting with three stories featuring the young Josie and her family, who are dealing with the sudden departure of their father - and concluding with Dora on the Beach, about a retiree living on Atlantic Beach who is "held hostage" by two teenage girls on vacation.
One of the best stories in this book is the titular "The Guy Not Taken", about a slightly unhappy married woman with a baby who gets an unexpected (and fantastical) opportunity to see what her life would have been like if she had stayed with her former boyfriend. How many of us actually get a chance to see if life is greener on the other side of the fence? (As an aside, this story has been optioned to be a movie.)
Overall, the quality of the stories in the collection is high. The reader gets a sense of the character of the people in the stories, which is unusual and frequently difficult for an author to accomplish in the limited pages of a short story. I guess that speaks highly of Weiner's characterization ability. Of course, if you are a big Weiner fan and are used to the fully developed plots and characterizations of her novels, you might be slightly disappointed. As for me, I found almost all of these stories to be delightlful "slices of life".
vapid, sexist, predictable.
This was a bit of a let down after reading the other booy by this author. I was not expecting a collection of stories about different people that don't appear to have anything in common.
An enjoyable series of short stories. If you liked Weiner's other works you will enjoy these.
