In Her Shoes : A Novel (Paperback)

by Jennifer Weiner (Author) "Baby," groaned the guy-Ted? Tad?-something like that-and crushed his lips against the side of her neck, shoving her face against the wall of the toilet..." (more)
Key Phrases: honey bun, Simon Stein, Golden Acres, Michael Feller (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Feller sisters are equal but opposite. Maggie is the good-looking, dyslexic little sister who knows how to get anything she wants--but not how to keep it. She "felt as if somewhere between the ages of fourteen and sixteen she'd walked off the edge of a cliff and had been falling ever since." Rose is the plump, practical, responsible older sister who knows about law but not much about her own happiness: "What did she like, besides shoes, and Jim, and foods that were bad for her?" When Maggie's latest eviction lands her in Rose's apartment, and Maggie insults Rose by seducing one of her sister's rare boyfriends, what follows is a chain of events by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. Embarrassed Rose evicts Maggie and begins a work sabbatical leading to a new livelihood and way of living. Maggie flees and runs away to Princeton. Masquerading as a student, she learns to love poetry and saves money for a trip to Miami--and a visit to a long-lost grandmother named Ella who might offer her a last shot at sanctuary. But In Her Shoes, the second novel from Good in Bed author Jennifer Weiner, is about more than the sisters' latest sibling rivalry; Maggie and Rose must sort out the childhood vulnerabilities and family mysteries that still linger two decades after their mother's death. In less capable hands, the plot might grow corny, but Weiner's humor and affection for the characters ultimately helps them transcend both neuroses and grief and learn the redemptive power of love. --Jane Hodges --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Weiner, whose debut novel Good in Bed was an instant bestseller, is back with another exuberantly confident offering. Twenty-eight-year-old Maggie Fuller relies on her looks and size zero body to flirt her way through life while working dozens of dead-end jobs and dreaming of stardom. At the other end of the spectrum is her older, larger sister, Rose, who relies on her intelligence and is an accomplished attorney at a large Philadelphia firm. The only things that these two seem to have in common is their shared history, a loathing for their "stepmonster," Sydelle, size six feet and a passion for luxurious shoes. When Maggie is evicted from her apartment and loses yet another job, Rose takes her in and tries to endure her closet raids and endless insults. But her patience abruptly ends when Maggie crosses a line so sacred that Rose kicks Maggie out and all but terminates their relationship ("Her sister was like a fucking Weebel, [Rose] thought. She'd wobble, she'd screw up, she'd steal your shoes... but she'd absolutely never fall down"). The sisters go on with their lives and Maggie discovers that she has a brain and a will to learn, while Rose learns to loosen up a bit and finds that there is more to life than work. The two sisters also get to know their maternal grandmother, Ella Hirsch, who they haven't seen since their mother's funeral more than 20 years ago. With Ella's love and support, Maggie reaches out to Rose and the two begin to repair their relationship. In the end, these three remarkable women learn that they are stronger than they thought they were, that family ties are worth preserving, and that there are perks to sharing the same shoe size. Weiner, a marvelously natural storyteller, blends humor and heartbreak to create an irresistible novel.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (July 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743418204
• ISBN-13: 978-0743418201
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (275 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #43,944 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Good In Bed Follow Up, February 2, 2003

By	"beachrunnerjkn" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Her Shoes : A Novel (Hardcover)

Ms. Weiner's debut, Good In Bed, left me eager for her next book, and In Her Shoes did not dissapoint. ... from the moment I opened this book, I was hooked, captivated by real and compelling characters who are just like so many people you know. Including yourself.

Jennifer Weiner has a gift for creating characters who's greatest weaknesses are also what makes them so charming and likeable. In this particular book, the focus is on sisters, Maggie and Rose. Rose is the heavy set, intelligent, highly succesful one. Maggie, two years younger, is beautiful, outgoing, but not school or book smart (at first) and jumping from one job failure to the next.

The relationship between Maggie and Rose is at the crux of this book -- complex because of a difficult past shadowed by a family tragedy. Jealousy threatens to tear these two apart, particularly through an act of deceipt. However, these two sisters find out that the ties that bind them are stronger than anything threatening to tear them apart.

More than a Bridget Jones type story, this book will tug at your heartstrings, make you cheer for these likeable, perfectly imperfect girls all the way. Also parallel to the story is a Grandmother who links them to their past, and draws them toward a happy future. If you like happy endings, funny anecdotes, and great characters, this book is for you.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If this book came with a remote...., October 28, 2002

By	Meredith L (Crawfordsville, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Her Shoes : A Novel (Hardcover)

I'd been hearing a lot of buzz about this author so I decided to buy her new book. Well, if this book had a remote, I'd be hitting the Mute button: bye bye, buzz. Somehow I made it to the ending, but this is distressingly shallow material, not at all the family drama I'd been led to expect. Such trite writing...for one thing, the dialogue is terrible, especially when characters are supposed to be witty. Weiner seems to draw all her ideas about conversation not from real life, but from TV (judging from the glance I took at her website, that's EXACTLY where Weiner must get her ideas). Nobody outside of sitcoms talks like this. The characters are from central casting (there's even the obligatory African-American best friend...you go, girl!) and Maggie seems to have been written just so the author could bat her around. She's so stupid she can't even succeed as a bimbo! Not to spoil the ending, but what kind of book tries to pass off as a triumph a scene where a 28-year-old woman manages to read a poem aloud without making a mistake? This is Maggie's high point? What contempt! And why would anyone be attracted to a man like Simon Stein? Simply because he knows what to order at every restaurant in town? We're supposed to think Maggie is the dumb one, but Rose is smart when she marries a ridiculous character like that? I think there's meant to be a Cinderella motif here (nasty stepmother, shoes) but it's very weak. This novel is like TV between hard covers. Anne Tyler and Zadie Smith have nothing to worry about.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Glad I didn't actually buy this book..., October 31, 2005

By	halleyg (Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

A friend of mine lent this to me so thankfully I didn't waste my money. This book was awful. The characters are unrealistic and boring, and their personalities change without warning or explanation. As for the title "In Her Shoes" obviously being a play on Rose's amazing and expensive shoe collection and the fact that Maggie always takes them - that is the biggest contradiction of all. We are supposed to believe that poor, overweight, fashion disaster Rose has immaculate taste in shoes but can't even dress herself or care enough to pluck her eyebrows? It is so unbelieveable it's laughable. Just as much as Maggie, who is full of contradictions. She is so learning disabled that she can't read off a teleprompter at an MTV audition, but later in the book she starts breezing through classic literature? She has sex with a stranger in a bathroom stall but then later when a guy touches her, she takes three showers a day for feeling "dirty?" The rest of the characters change on a whim as well, and I can't say I cared about any of them, but Maggie takes the cake. If anything, after reading this book (which I more skipped through than read after torturing myself 3/4 of the way) I am inspired to write my own novel. I am not a writer, but if all you have to do is throw together some chapters about characters without any character - hey, I think I could do that, too!