This collection of short stories is not Jennifer Weiner at her best. Many of these stories have appeared in various magazines and columns dating back to 1992 and it shows. The writing here is very uneven, and you can see her growth as a writer, but it is obvious that these stories clearly needed “cleaning and polishing”.

What is clear from this collection is the repetitive theme of abandonment and focus on women with weight issues or some form of disfigurement. It would be nice for Weiner to try writing a book with a different theme.

There is very little continuity between the short stories, ranging from a father’s leaving his family to a young woman who wakes up one morning to find herself in another life. As often happens with short stories just as you are into the characters and want to know more the story ends. You can see some of her earlier development of characters that appear in her later books. It is clear that the sister Nicki in the first story is the prototype for Maggie of In Her Shoes. And it was nice to see Cannie of Good in Bed making a small appearance in the story told through her boyfriend’s point of view. I did enjoy the Notes on the Stories section at the end, that gives you Jennifer’s perspective on the story and what she was thinking when writing them, but these notes were too brief.

All in all a disappointment. It appears to have been a way to market the Weiner name and make some money off of her loyal fans, like me, who are bound to be disappointed in this book.


Mailed to Fairfield CT, to a PBS member