Damn, I just blew through a 400 page book in less then two days. And I actually comprehended everything, mainly cause it was a Jennifer Weiner book and I have enjoyed the past two books of her I read. So it's not really much of a surprise. Just shows you how much I did this weekend as well (nothing).This book was about 4 different women and at first I was afraid I was going to have a hard time keeping track, but like most books, it ended up being easy to tell everyone apart. The book was mainly about 4 different women and how they dealt with their small families and new babies.Lia (Lisa) is the only person that spoke in first person. The other three women where not told from her perspective, but her narratives where the only ones that spoke in first person. She was from Philly, but moved to LA to give the acting thing a try. She met a guy, they had a baby, got married and the baby died. I didn't find out that he died from SIDS until like halfway through the book and that is why Lia is back in Philly. She just up and left her husband and back in Philly started sort of stalking Becky when she was pregnant and they ended up becoming friends, which I thought was kind of weird. The other women and Becky helped Lia get over everything and she went back to LA.Becky is a chef and married to a doctor. She has major problems with her mother-in-law and when her husband finally accepts that his mother is crazy, Becky feels bad for her and doesn't want to cut it all off. I hate stuff like this, maybe because I can't relate at all. My grandmother sucks and is annoying and because of that we never see her. Easy as pie.Kelly had a hard life growing up and therefore wants a perfect life. When her husband gets fired before she has her baby and all he does is sit around, she gets totally worked up that they are going to have no money and goes back to work quickly and can't deal with it all. She and Steve (Scott? She had a boyfriend with either name in college which in writing her backstory, Weiner mentions briefly and I hate when names sound the same) separate because she feels like she is doing everything and blows up at him, but then she finally tells him why she acts like that and they get back together.Ayinde used to be a successful tv reporter until she met and married a famous basketball player and they have just moved to Philly. She wants to go back to work after she has her baby, but no one will hire her because of who she is married to and then throws herself into becoming the perfect mother and becomes a little too possessive. She finds out a bit into the book that her baby has a heart defect and tears herself up over it (it will heal itself) and finds out that husband cheated on her and the women is not pregnant but she doesn't want to leave him because according to the baby book she swears by, it's not healthy for the baby to have an unhealthy home life of parents being divorced.Everything works out well for everyone in the end. Out of all three Weiner books I have now read, I think this was my least favorite, if only because I can't really relate to it too much. I know the books are just growing with the write, but I am like 10 years younger then her and can't really relate. I like them, but can't really relate.Grade: C+
moodyladyLittle Earthquakes is a novel of friendship, motherhood and loss. Jennifer Weiner has really created a wonderful story that you don't want to put down.The novel revolves around the lives of 4 women, three who meet at a yoga class during their pregnancy and a fourth who has returned home to recover from the loss of her child.All three women experience a "little earthquake" that rocks their world and changes their lives.The women's struggles with their pregnancies and dealing with their new additions were depicted perfectly. None of the women had it easy and the outside forces.Becky is a chubby chef with daughter Ava and mother-in-law, Mimi who would try the patience of anyone.Kelly is an events planner with baby Oliver and an out of work husband that is enjoying his unemployment more than she'd like him.Ayinde is a newscaster, with preemie, Julian. She is married to a professional basketball player who does the unthinkable.All three of these women are tied together by Lia, an actress who returns home to put her life together. Together she helps them with some of their smaller problems and they help her with her grieving process.It was hard not to love every character because their problems were those that so many women face daily, trying to juggle their lives and motherhood. But what really made me love this book was how the bonds of friendship never broke once.This is one of those books that will have you feeling a wide variety of emotions while you read. This was a fantastic book!
I really enjoyed this novel. I don't usually read chick-lit, not because I don't like it, but mostly because my usual literary tastes tend to other genres more often than not. It doesn't mean I won't sit down with a light read once in a while in-between other books, or that I'm not willing to read something that's outside my usual genre. I like to consider myself versatile in my readings. So, I picked this book up for the YBS #8 at Bookrelay because I saw it on many wishlists and had added it to mine as well. I looked at the story's premise, sounded like something I'd like to read and went ahead. I didn't regret my choice. I really liked this book: the characters felt real, with their problems, their ways of getting around those problems, of dealing with them. Characters who suffered, laughed, cried, fought, smiled, lived. Characters that, despite everything, looked like real people. The story is simple -- it's about four women and their maternity problems, their lives, their husbands, parents, mother-in-laws... But it's told with such heart, captivating you from the first page to the last. There are characters you'll love and hate, with whom you'll identify with, with whom you'll cry and laugh. I ended up shedding some tears at the end of the book, just because I wasn't indiferent to these characters that seemed so real.I will be looking for more books by Jennifer Weiner in the future, without a doubt.
—Xeyra
Here's the thing: I like Jennifer Weiner. In terms of developing a narrative, she's probably one of the most refreshing chick-lit writers out there, because she doesn't fall back on the trite searching-for-Mr.-Right-and-meeting-him-accidentally formula that sadly characterizes most of the genre. I avoided this book for a long time because it's about a subject (new motherhood) that I can't currently relate to, and hope not to be able to relate to for several more years. But I did find it surprisingly relatable (particularly the mom who tries to do everything herself and has a spectacular meltdown as a result) and, even though she's not the best humor writer (I could swear most of her jokes and situations are lifted from old episodes of Friends), I still find Jennifer Weiner kind of charming.
—Clare
So I deviated from my usual elitist book-selection method whereby I try to only read books with awards or accolades, and I read this book. Largely because it was sent to me free from Barnes & Noble. I had never heard anything about it, so was a little amused and surprised to find out it was basically full of pregnant characters. (Barnes & Noble, are you spying on me??) I was also surprised to discover that the author also wrote "In Her Shoes," which I frankly didn't even realize had been a book before it was a trashy movie starring the constantly-annoying Cameron Diaz. Anyway, that kind of set the tone for the book.In the end, it was a fairly enjoyable read, about as enjoyable as "In Her Shoes" was as a movie - it's definitely mind-candy, fluff that can be easily-digested in a day or two. Like any good piece of candy, the story is quite compelling at times, and even moving in parts, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading a high school diary (despite the fact that the subject matter is motherhood). I think it's largely because of Weiner's very liberal sprinkling of punctuation to indicate emphasis ("Oh my GOD!!" she screamed. "Are you SERIOUS????!!!!")If you're in the mood for a book alongside those Shopaholic books that I've heard about, this is probably a pretty good choice. There's definitely some tragedy and drama sprinkled in there though - I thought that one of the most interesting aspects of the book was the title. One of the characters goes through a nearly unspeakable tragedy (from a mother or a mother-to-be's point of view), and she talks about how she once saw an interview of an earthquake victim. The interviewer asked the victim, who had lost her family, "How long did the earthquake go on for?" And the victim looks hollowly at the interviewer and replies, "It's still happening."
—Glorialaihuang
