Good In Bed

I first read Good in Bed, Jennifer Weiner's debut novel, many, many 'pre-GoodReads' years ago. I remember enjoying it and it helping to solidify Weiner as a go-to author for me.

2022 is its 20th anniversary, so I bought a digital copy and got reacquainted with Cannie Shapiro. This reread was good, but not quite as great as I remembered. It has important societal messages about weight, worth and family, but got bogged down a bit in the middle when Cannie gets stuck in a low self-esteem spiral as she struggles to find her own strength and path in life. 

There are a few serendipitous events that happen to her (a friendship, her career) and an (obvious) love match, but Cannie is a character readers can easily cheer on as she figures out what she wants, what she loves about herself and who she wants to be.

I'm a little disheartened that I didn't love it as much as I remembered, but Jennifer Weiner remains one of my favourite authors and readers who enjoy stories about acceptance, positive body image and dealing with family drama should enjoy book.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Author: Jennifer Weiner

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, ReRead

Series: #1 in the Cannie Shapiro series

Type and Source: eBook - personal copy

Publisher: Washington Square Press

First Published in Print: April 2, 2002

Book Description from GoodReads: Weiner's witty, original, fast-moving debut features a lovable heroine, a solid cast, snappy dialogue and a poignant take on life's priorities.

For twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie Shapiro. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her friends, her rat terrier, Nifkin, and her job as pop culture reporter for The Philadelphia Examiner. She's even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body.

But the day she opens up a national women's magazine and sees the words "Loving a Larger Woman" above her ex-boyfriend's byline, Cannie is plunged into misery...and the most amazing year of her life. From Philadelphia to Hollywood and back home again, she charts a new course for herself: mourning her losses, facing her past, and figuring out who she is and who she can become.