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Summary and Reviews of In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner

In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner

In Her Shoes

by Jennifer Weiner
  • Critics' Consensus:
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  • First Published:
  • Sep 1, 2002, 432 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jul 2003, 448 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Follows three expertly realized and finely nuanced characters on an alternately hilarious and heartrending journey in search of contentment, connection--and each other.

Maggie Feller is twenty-eight years old, has never held a job longer than three months, and dreams of stardom, the fulfillment of which has somehow sputtered despite the appearance of her left hip in a Will Smith video. Rose Feller is thirty years old, a fast-rising attorney at a big Philadelphia firm and in love with the absolute wrong man. Rose and Maggie's grandmother, Ella Hirsch, is ensconced in retirement-ville Florida, cramming her days with volunteer work that serves as penance for the death of her daughter. Ella hasn't' seen Rose or Maggie since the funeral, decades ago. In Her Shoes follows those three expertly realized and finely nuanced characters on an alternately hilarious and heartrending journey in search of contentment, connection-and each other.

In Her Shoes

Chapter One

"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 stall.

This is ridiculous, Maggie thought, as she felt him bunching her dress up around her hips. But she'd had five vodka-and-tonics over the course of the last hour and a half, and at this point was not in much of a position to call anything ridiculous. She wasn't even sure she could pronounce the word.

"You're so hot!" Ted or Tad exclaimed, discovering the thong that Maggie had purchased for the occasion.

"I want the thong. In red," she'd said.

"Flame," the salesgirl at Victoria's Secret had replied.

"Whatever," said Maggie. "Small," she added, "extra small if you have it." She gave the girl a quick scornful look to let her know that while she might not know red from flame, she, Maggie Feller, was not worried. She might not have finished college. She ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. Through the eyes of these two young women, we get a pretty modern view of the world. What then, do you make of the rather traditional ending: the fairy-tale marriage that seems to embody all the hopes of the future? Do you think the author is playing with this concept, or using it to offset her rather un-traditional story line?

  2. The author utilizes a rather unusual technique when she tells the story through shifting points of view. How did this affect your reading of the story? Why might the author have chosen to do this? Do you think there are insights that could only have come out through multiple perspectives, or do you think the author wanted the ambiguity and clashing perspective ...
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Reviews

Media Reviews

Library Journal - Rebecca Sturm Kelm
Reworking the age-old theme that self-knowledge and acceptance are needed before love and happiness can be achieved, Weiner embroiders serious matters with threads of humor to produce a novel full of memorable characters and situations. Here's a novel that satisfies on many levels.

Publishers Weekly
Weiner, a marvelously natural storyteller, blends humor and heartbreak to create an irresistible novel.

Reader Reviews

Jessica James

REVIEW OF IN HER SHOES
I enjoyed this book a lot, it made me laugh and cry altogether. I rooted for Maggie to follow her dreams and for Rose to find love. Jennifer Weiner is a brilliant author and did a very good job of writing this book. I recommend this book for anyone...   Read More
Joann

It was such a great book! I couldn't stop turning the pages and with each new chapter, I could relate more and more to what Maggie and Rose were going through. It's definitely an awesome book to share with your sisters, moms, grandmas, friends, and ...   Read More
E W

I enjoyed this book very much. It can relate every woman in different kind of way.
Amanda Wheeler

I can't wait for Little Earthquakes!

Write your own review!

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Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

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  • Revenge Of The Middle-Aged Woman jacket

    Revenge Of The Middle-Aged Woman

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    Full of humor, clever insight, and a whimsical sense of the absurd - an irresistible and finely written fantasy for anyone who ever wondered what a certain age would look like from beyond the looking-glass.

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