In Her Shoes

In Her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner, defines Chick Lit, which is code for books featuring "smart, funny, struggling relatable female protagonists." (Weiner) In Her Shoes features two sisters Maggie (28), a free spirited size zero with a habit of being evicted from her apartment or being followed by enchanted men, and Rose (30), a Princeton graduate with a law degree and an a closet full of plus sized business clothes. The two sisters only have one thing in common: shoe size. Maggie and Rose are forced to live together and, inevitably, discover how different the two sisters are. At the heat of Maggie and Rose's conflict, their long lost grandmother, Ella, comes into the picture. Despite the girls's mother having died when they were very young, some nasty fights involving Rose's love interest and a pair of very stylish boots lead to the whole family coming to realize they can't live without one another.

Chick Lit has a bad reputation for being frivolous, substancelss, and published for women too ignorant to pick up something as intellectual as The Da Vinci Code (sarcasm). I don't care what type of books you're into, In Her Shoes is fantastic. I coudn't put it down; I finished in only two days. In Her Shoes is 100% character driven, which were incredably developed. I felt like any minor character was just as well thought out as our protagonists. Because the heart of the book is in the character's emotions and interactions, it's a very funny read thanks to such vibrant personalities created by Weiner. I found myself giggling from page one to the end. Despite Chick Lit's bad connotation, In Her Shoes was full of excellent comentary on relationships between sisters, stepmothers and stepdaughters, coworkers, senior citizens in new relationships, and even people and their dogs. It's packed with emotion; I cried twice (no surprises there). I don't really have anything bad to say about In Her Shoes. It's everything I expected it to be, only better.

By the way, I'm not the only one who loves this book. A friend and I went to the drive through at Shakie's and I had the book on my lap and the guy taking our order noticed it and we had a lovely conversation about the amazingness of In Her Shoes. My friend and I ordered two small ice creams, but I'm pretty sure he gave us mediums or larges. Isn't that nice? I'll make sure to bring the book again next time we venture to Shakie's just in case our little friend is working again.

So, apparently In Her Shoes was made into a movie. I've heard it wasn't that good, but I'm going to rent it anyway. You'll probably see a post on it at some point. I need to watch it while the book is still fresh in my mind. (I usually forget books pretty quickly after I've finished them).

I did some research on the Jennifer Weiner and I discovered she's been a devoted blogger since January 2002. Impressive. She's a user of the handy dandy Blogger too. Here's the link to SnarkSpot, Jennifer Weiner's blog.

See more reviews or buy In Her Shoes at Amazon.com.

I've misplaced my Interview with a Vampire book. I'm hoping this is a temporary state, but I'm not counting on it. Maybe it'll turn up. I was really enjoying it and wasn't even half way throught yet. =(