In Her Shoes

I've been in a book rut lately. I finished off my last set of library books over a month ago, but haven't made it back in to pick something new out. In the meantime I've been rereading over some of my older books. But, I was in need of a change and picked this book up over the weekend and tried my best to hold out on reading it until I was finished the other book I was reading (Orson Scott Card's Xenocide (Ender Series #3)). Temptation lured me in and I devoured In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner.

The story focus on two sisters, one is the brainy type, the other the thin pretty one, who lost their mother at a very young age. They struggle with the roles that have been doled out to them since they were young. The sisters have a falling out but discover that they really do care about each other while venturing away from the roles that they thought they were supposed to fill and are drawn together with their maternal grandmother (who they didn't know exsisted). Overall, a wonderful book. I had trouble putting it down (not mentioning staying up late to read, or sneaking it out from under my desk while at "work").

There is definatly something about the chemistry between the two that reminds me of the relationship that I have with my sister. She has made some unintelligent choices over the years, has struggled through school, decided to move out (in the middle of the night without telling anyone), got lost in a sea of meaningless relationships with many guys who barely cared about her and more of what she looked like and could give to them, married young (eloped is the better term, and of course, didn't tell anyone until after the ceremony), and has most recently decided that after 3 years of marriage that she can do better than her current husband! (Praise the lord!!)
I truly believe that any woman out there with a sister will appreciate this book. Its not hard to identify with one of the women. (I confess, I was termed the more bookish of the two... or let me guess, you've already figured that part out!)

I'm going to be sure to include Weiner's Little Earthquakes to my list of books to read. Did I mention that they are making In Her Shoes into a movie coming out this fall. It's to star Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MacLane. I really hope that they do the book justice.