Juicy: Confessions of a Former Baseball Wife (Hardcover)

~ Jessica Canseco (Author) "At the age of nineteen, when I still knew very little about life and even less about myself, I fell hopelessly in love with the..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jose Canseco, New York, Lars Ulrich (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Juicy is . . . in its guilty-pleasure way, almost irresistible. Its author is downright endearing." (- Book Standard )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (September 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060889454
• ISBN-13: 978-0060889456
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #539,142 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Batting about .250, October 8, 2005

By	Kimberly Weiss "kaweiss" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I agree with both sets of reviewers. The book was both terrible and hard to put down at the same time.

Jessica comes off as sympathetic to a degree in the first half of the book. No, she's not the deepest well in the yard, but she seems refreshingly candid and naive. Jose treated her badly, but given her dysfunctional family background, she may not have known to expect anything better.

As the book progresses, though, she seems sleazier and sleazier, until I began to lose sympathy for her. When she finally left Jose, she didn't become a responsible, stable mother, but a partier and recreational drug user. Since her ex only used steroids, he actually comes across as the more responsible parent in a way. (Not that I'm condoning steroid abuse, mind you, but they are probably less mind-altering than Ecstasy, Jessica's drug of choice.)

I also found it hard to buy the "liberating" ending of her posing naked for Playboy. That's liberation?

There was also disappointingly little about the life of a baseball wife. I didn't get the impression that the Canseco's union was typical of all or most baseball marriages.

So, overall, while the book is easy to read and fascinating in a train-wreck sort of way, it is devoid of any sympathetic characters, except for the daughter and the pets.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Trashy" Would be a Better Title, November 27, 2005

By	Loves Books (Maryland USA) - See all my reviews

I'm afraid it's a little hard to feel sympathy for a woman, however young, who enters into a relationship with a known womanizer - with a MLB star at that, whom are notorious for being less than faithful) - then sticks with him when she knows he's cheating on her from the start. It's harder still to like a woman who then places the blame numerous times on the "poor parenting" and lack of values instilled by her parents. The person I feel the most sympathy for is her mother, who may not have been a role model, but at least seemed to unconditionally love her children and tried to be supportive. Was it really necessary for her to tell her family secrets? While she may want a crack at fame and fortune, I'm afraid she's book-worthy for no reason other than being the ex-wife to a MLB player.

I give her credit for at least being honest in hindsight and taking her share of the blame in many of the situations, even when it makes her unsympathetic - and that makes her likeable. I could better understand her situation had Jose Canseco changed after their relationship began - but it seems like he was an uncommunicative, selfish, arrogant person from the day they met, who never treated her well. Jessica allowed herself to be bought by her attraction to him, his lifestyle and his fame - whether she ever really loved him isn't clear - but for all that, it got her nothing but unhappiness.

For all her harsh words regarding her parents, maybe one day she'll grow up and realize they're just people too - and everyone makes mistakes. Doesn't seem to have stopped her from making her share of mistakes, as I consider her Playboy stint. While she may have divorced Jose, she doesn't seem to have divorced herself of the idea of fame - and her use of his fame for her own means seems contradictatory of what she claims to have set out to do - free herself of him and move on to an independent life being a good parent to her daughter. I don't mean to be harsh myself, but so far, a pretty face and body is what Jessica has traded on all her life and we all know that doesn't last forever.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Repetitively boring, January 10, 2006

By	xxatti (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

I bought this book because I already knew what Jose had to say, but wanted to hear what Jessica had say. The 1st half of the book she said absolutely nothing except repeat how she would catch Jose cheating, they would fight, break up, and get back together again. In fact she just repeats this throughout the whole book. How many times can you read the same story before you get bored?? You really get to the point where you just want to slap her and knock some sense into her for being so stupid.

I really dont know why I kept reading this book. I kept hoping something eventfull would happen, but it never really did. I wouldnt recommend this book unless you want to hear an ex-wifes story about how her husband cheats on her and abuses her in a never ending cycle of 230+ pages