Hi, I'm Lovella Mole and welcome to my second book review.
Okay, I know that I have reviewed another Jennifer Weiner book last week. But I wanted to check this out so that I could compare it to Best Friends Forever, the previous book I reviewed. It is another chick-lit story, but there are some major differences. If you had forgotten about the criteria of the book review, here it is again:
50 % - Story Itself
30 % - Characters
20 % - Writing Technique
I have a lot of things to say about this book, so I'll begin now so that I would finish quickly haha. I have other things to do (like watching some of my favorite TV shows). Oh, and I guess I should always mention this: SPOILER ALERT.
IN HER SHOES BY: JENNIFER WEINER
STORY
The story is all about two girls - sisters - named Rose and Maggie Feller. Even though they're sisters, they are completely different from each other. Rose is a serious lawyer while Maggie is a serious party-goer. Maggie is trouble, but Rose let her stay with her in apartment for the time being. I could see that they are close even just in the beginning, but Rose didn't like Maggie that much. She is very irresponsible and she's immature. But along the way, Maggie would slowly change into a person Rose would respect, but not after they had this major fight.
Their mother, Caroline, died when they were still children, and their father, Michael, wasn't that much a father to them. He remarried Sydelle, their stepmother (they also like to call her stepmonster), who wasn't really nice to them. They have a grandmother, Ella Hirsch, who sends them letter all the time after Caroline's death, but Michael hid those letters so that they wouldn't know anything about their grandmother. He didn't want them to be connected with her because he was angry with his mother-in-law, and blamed her for Caroline's death, even though it wasn't entirely her fault.
Overall, I quite like the story. It made me want to have a sister. I don't have any sisters, just three brothers. When I was younger, I remember wishing for a sister, but I didn't have any. It would be cool to have a person who you could look up to and just talk about things you can't mention to your friends and to your mother. There are things reserved for your sister, and it's sad that I wouldn't get to experience that. Anyway, back to the story. I liked Rose and Maggie's hate/love relationship. Sometimes Rose would tolerate Maggie and they would have a good time. Then Maggie would do something stupid and Rose would suddenly hate her.
I also like Ella's story. It was nice that she tried to get in touch with her grandchildren after a very long period of time. I guess she knew in her heart that Michael was hiding her letters for her granddaughters, which is the reason why they weren't responding to her. I also like her love story with Lewis, because it's kind of cute. No one's too old for a little romance. And when Maggie moved in her with her, she tried all her best for her granddaughter to love her.
I like Rose and Simon's relationship, even though it was rushed. In the beginning, I thought Simon was kind of annoying, and I think Rose did too. But then I realized that he really loves Rose for real. I even doubted their relationship, and thought that Rose would cancel the wedding or something. So I was surprised to see that they did end up together. Still, they were cute and I like how Simon accepts Rose for who she is.
I like the symbolism of shoes in the book. I like that Rose, Maggie and Ella have the same size of feet and could share something. When Ella gave Rose her pair of shoes on her wedding day, it was touching and sweet. It was as if they had a connection just because of those shoes.
And even though it was quite unlikely, I liked Sydelle, Rose and Maggie's stepmother. She's very misunderstood. I hated her in the start (I mean, who wouldn't?) but it was true that she was just jealous and bitter because her husband and stepdaughters couldn't let go of Caroline. And even though she knows about that, she didn't give up with the Feller family. But, still, she's a bitch sometimes.
I like the symbolism of shoes in the book. I like that Rose, Maggie and Ella have the same size of feet and could share something. When Ella gave Rose her pair of shoes on her wedding day, it was touching and sweet. It was as if they had a connection just because of those shoes.
And even though it was quite unlikely, I liked Sydelle, Rose and Maggie's stepmother. She's very misunderstood. I hated her in the start (I mean, who wouldn't?) but it was true that she was just jealous and bitter because her husband and stepdaughters couldn't let go of Caroline. And even though she knows about that, she didn't give up with the Feller family. But, still, she's a bitch sometimes.
So, let's move on to the part that I do not like. There is only one, though. I hated that Maggie used Jim to get back to Rose. I mean, Rose let Maggie stay with her in the apartment. For free, I might add. She kept taking Rose's clothes, going off without her permission wearing her shoes, stealing money... and Rose endured this. And then Maggie slept with Jim. I really hated her for doing that. And I also hated the fact that Maggie didn't even try to apologize to Rose the moment they saw each other for a very long time. I mean, yeah, she was sorry for what she did, but I can't remember her saying those exact words: "I'm sorry."
Overall, the story was great. I enjoyed it and it wasn't boring. It was really fun and so much better than Best Friends Forever. The ending was great, and even though it was a slightly bit rushed, it was fine. I love it.
Overall Score - 46%
CHARACTERS
It says in the cover, "A major film starring Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette." I didn't know who Toni Collette is, but I know Cameron Diaz. Without looking it up in the Internet, I know for sure that Cameron Diaz played the role of Maggie. She's very typecast, and Cameron Diaz likes to play those wild-girl roles. I'm going to watch the trailer after this blog.
Just like my previous review, I would only discuss about the main characters. This book has a lot of characters, but I would only mention Rose, Maggie and Ella.
Rose Feller. She's a serious lawyer, who lives on her own and doesn't like clothes that much. I could imagine her being the type of person who wears those black and grey business clothes. She has a passion for shoes, though, and it's the only thing Maggie likes about her. She was somewhat a nerd back in high school, and that's the only thing I could relate to her. I liked how she changed herself when she kicked Maggie out of her apartment. I liked how she started her pet service, which is so cute. Or maybe it's just because I love dogs and all kinds of animals. She's also very responsible and independent. Some people may relate to her character, but not to me. She's just sometimes too serious and I don't like that.
Maggie Feller. Surprisingly, she's my favorite character. If you know me in person, then you would know that I hate girls like Maggie. I didn't like girls who think they're so much better than people. I didn't like wild and annoying girls. She could also be labelled as a "slut." because she kept on sleeping with guys. She slept with Jim, which was so low of her. BUT, and that's a very big but, she changed and that's what matters. When her sister kicked her out, she changed into a whole new person. She is also dyslexic, which means she has a hard time reading and keeping up with most people. This was why she was held back in high school. Because of this, too, people looked down on her, even though she used to be part of the A-list girls in her school. Maybe this was why I like her character. She's imperfect, but she won't let anyone bring her down, and I got to relate to that.
Ella Hirsch. She's Rose and Maggie's grandmother. It's hard having a bipolar daughter, and it's also hard not to be with your granddaughters. But Ella went through with this because she's strong. Some people won't agree with me on this, but she is. She may be too conservative, but she is very caring and very loving. When Maggie called her up since she needed a place to stay, she didn't think twice. Anyone would be lucky to have Ella as their grandmother.
Overall Score - 23%
WRITING TECHNIQUE
This was so much better than Best Friends Forever. It was more mature and funnier. I had more fun reading this because of the writing of Jennifer Weiner. I like her quirky writing style. I like chick-lit novels, and I'm pretty sure that this would appeal more to readers who also like chick-lit novels. Needless to say, I'm giving this a perfect score.
Overall Score - 20%
SUMMARY / RECOMMENDATIONS
I knew from the very first chapter when I read this book that my overall score is going to be bigger, compared to the other one. And I was right, since I'm rating this book 89%. It has a good story with great writing technique. I did not like some of the characters, but that's okay. I recommend this book to sisters of all ages. When everyone will shun you and ignore you, your sister is always going to be with you. Your sister will be your best friend, and the best part is, she's already your family. I also recommend this to grandmothers and granddaughters. I hadn't got the chance to be close with my own grandmother, but if your grandma is still here, then please, please, don't let this moment to pass. Love your grandparents when they're still here.
Maggie Feller. Surprisingly, she's my favorite character. If you know me in person, then you would know that I hate girls like Maggie. I didn't like girls who think they're so much better than people. I didn't like wild and annoying girls. She could also be labelled as a "slut." because she kept on sleeping with guys. She slept with Jim, which was so low of her. BUT, and that's a very big but, she changed and that's what matters. When her sister kicked her out, she changed into a whole new person. She is also dyslexic, which means she has a hard time reading and keeping up with most people. This was why she was held back in high school. Because of this, too, people looked down on her, even though she used to be part of the A-list girls in her school. Maybe this was why I like her character. She's imperfect, but she won't let anyone bring her down, and I got to relate to that.
Ella Hirsch. She's Rose and Maggie's grandmother. It's hard having a bipolar daughter, and it's also hard not to be with your granddaughters. But Ella went through with this because she's strong. Some people won't agree with me on this, but she is. She may be too conservative, but she is very caring and very loving. When Maggie called her up since she needed a place to stay, she didn't think twice. Anyone would be lucky to have Ella as their grandmother.
Overall Score - 23%
WRITING TECHNIQUE
This was so much better than Best Friends Forever. It was more mature and funnier. I had more fun reading this because of the writing of Jennifer Weiner. I like her quirky writing style. I like chick-lit novels, and I'm pretty sure that this would appeal more to readers who also like chick-lit novels. Needless to say, I'm giving this a perfect score.
Overall Score - 20%
SUMMARY / RECOMMENDATIONS
I knew from the very first chapter when I read this book that my overall score is going to be bigger, compared to the other one. And I was right, since I'm rating this book 89%. It has a good story with great writing technique. I did not like some of the characters, but that's okay. I recommend this book to sisters of all ages. When everyone will shun you and ignore you, your sister is always going to be with you. Your sister will be your best friend, and the best part is, she's already your family. I also recommend this to grandmothers and granddaughters. I hadn't got the chance to be close with my own grandmother, but if your grandma is still here, then please, please, don't let this moment to pass. Love your grandparents when they're still here.
No comments:
Post a Comment