In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner (2003)

I recently went on a weekend trip to Denver to fetch my kidlets from their paternal family. We drove from Kansas City to Denver in 8 hours, and about 100 miles into Kansas I realized I forgot my book. If you've ever driven across Kansas, you'll understand what I mean when I say after a while, every CD sounds the same. So, I stopped at some kind of Stuckey's/DairyQueen/Gas Station and chose a new novel to read on the journey to Colorado.

I had never heard of Jennifer Weiner but the cover of the book In Her Shoes had a banner across the front that said From the author of the NYT's best seller 'Good In Bed. I was thinking it would be great to read some good old fashioned chic-lit mind candy. I began.

The Story

We are introduced to Maggie Feller, size 0 tramp with no regard for anyone except herself. Maggie is a selfish, terrible, slutty thief. She cares only for her great tan, perfectly curved (some parts fake) body. Maggie has no friends and she isn't a really likable person. Worse yet, she's a constant disturbance and a 'royal pain' to her older sister Rose Feller.

Rose is a successful lawyer. She is a very responsible woman. Her cross to bear in life seems to be her younger sister Maggie, who has created in herself, Rose's antithesis.

Maggie is evicted from her apartment as she has been several times previously, and she moves in with Rose as she has no place else to go. During her stay, she manages to have Rose's car impounded, ruin many pair of Rose's shoes, trash her apartment, and..sleep with Rose's new boyfriend. Rose's feelings of resentment overlap her feelings of obligation to her younger sister, and she kicks Maggie to the curb and tries to wash her hands of her little sister.

We learn, (in way too much detail), Rose and Maggie's past family history. Their mother died when the girls were a very young age, and their father decided to marry a woman named Sydelle. Sydelle was not a great mother to Rose and Maggie, as she always harped on Rose's weight and Maggie'sirresponsibility. The girls' father is somewhat of a puppet as he is controlled by Sydelle and really doesn't do much to make things different or better for his daughters.

The story twists when we learn that Maggie and Rose's maternal grandmother is alive and healthy. Ella Hirsch has been sending cards and gifts to her granddaughters for years but they have not been getting any of her correspondence. A secret is revealed about the girls' real mother, as the story is told through the eyes of three women. Ella, Maggie and Rose have their own story and their own pasts. As the story develops, the reader finds out what will happen when the separate stories mesh and come together. As it turns out, the same size shoe is not the only thing these women have in common.

The three women go through major life changes alone. Rose quits her law firm and opens a new dog-walking business. She also becomes engaged to a wonderful, caring man. Maggie decides to go to Princeton and take up the art of actually reading literature and poetry. (Of course she isn't really enrolled in the classes, she is just 'stealing' them like she does everything else in life). Ella decides to make some friends and open up about her past.

The climax of the story occurs when the three women come together and find out if their blood ties will get them through years of hurt, anger and betrayal.

My Thoughts

I have to admit, I started reading this book because I thought it would be a quick, painless read and I could then delve into The Bonesetter's Daughter which I had been reading previously. The tone of this book is a very modern one, reciting Counting Crowes lyrics and Sex in the City episodes, as well as talking about current fashion boutiques. The beginning of the story seemed to go on forever about the personalities of the girls, and I thought that I was right- this would just be another trashy chick-lit novel.

I was really getting bored after about 200 pages of the book. I was thinking 'How many things does this author make Maggie do to prove she's an idiot? How many things does Rose have to do to show she's a dork?'

But..then Maggie's unlovable character started to evolve and she began to show a very complex, vulnerable side. I found myself starting to root for her to 'do the right thing.' I also started to feel empathy for Ella, who was just so desperate in wanting to know her granddaughters. She had been robbed of so much time with them. I wanted Rose to forgive Maggie, I wanted the girls to meet their Grandmother, I wanted Rose to have the perfect wedding...

Even though I thought I was initially tired of the two sisters, I grew to like them. A whole lot. In fact, I couldn't put the book down. And, I actually cried at the end of the book. Well, ok. I sobbed.

Jennifer Weiner really surprised me. Although I think that this novel could have been written in less than 421 pages, Weiner really created a book with a larger theme that the reader encompasses. Do we really think that a person can put themselves in someone else's shoes? Do we really think that family members can really be friends? Do we ever want to admit our respective roles like Maggie (a screw-up), and Rose (a dull, straight arrow)? And, the biggest question of all, can we change our various forms of self-rejection and become more than we think we'll ever be?

I would recommend this book to friends. 3.5 stars.

Thanks,
Summer