52 weeks, 52 books discussion

This week's read, Jennifer Weiner's new book which sounds really interesting and like a bit of a departure for her.

http://amzn.to/1lGoXvO

I read it recently. It was really good, but darker than her other books.

SPOILER ALERT (Stop here if you haven't read it yet)

Keep going otherwise...



I would have preferred the entire book to take place in rehab with flashbacks from time to time to say how she got there. The rehab part reminded me of Orange is the New Black and I loved it!

This book is definitely darker than many of Jennifer Weiner's books but I found the descent into addiction interesting.

Melissa wrote: "I read it recently. It was really good, but darker than her other books.

SPOILER ALERT (Stop here if you haven't read it yet)

Keep going otherwise...

Perhaps this is a totally self-involved comment, but did you see any resemblance to SPIN (A few passages felt familiar!)


I would have preferred the entire book to..."

some parts made me think of spin. :) i also thought of Rachel's Holiday

Melissa wrote: "some parts made me think of spin. :) i also thought of Rachel's Holiday"

Yes, it's funny. I only read Rachel's holiday this year -- probably never would have written Spin if I had known it existed.

I think Spin and Rachel's Holiday were different in a lot of ways and I love them both.

Melissa wrote: "I think Spin and Rachel's Holiday were different in a lot of ways and I love them both."

Thanks Melissa.

I just finished this book. It was okay, but I think a lot more could have been done with the story. I like Melissa's take on it, having it told in flashbacks from rehab would have been interesting. I actually also thought that having some chapters from David's POV would have been good.

I just finished All Fall Down a d I was surprised at how much I liked it. I have read a few of Ms Weiner ' s other books and this had a definite shift. To me the story was crafted in a way that my interest in the story accelerated as the main character's addiction spun out of control. Being a working mom of a same aged child, I related to many of Allison's feelings. It was a fascinating look into how addiction can warp your thinking and how difficult recovery is to attain and maintain. God bless those who are struggling with this disease and the surrounding lives that are changed.

Denial Denial Denial...the lies and deception. One woman's life and how it spirals out of control one pill at a time. This book gave me a lot to think about and really grabbed me from beginning to end. I liked the author's way of getting into the mind of the main character and I sympathized and understood how this could happen in life. However, I would have liked to get the husband's thoughts throughout the book. I was very frustrated at David and was waiting for him to somehow get involved.

I read In Her Shoes by this author and enjoyed. This one is a big departure from that type of story.

Arlene wrote: "Denial Denial Denial...the lies and deception. One woman's life and how it spirals out of control one pill at a time. This book gave me a lot to think about and really grabbed me from beginning t..."

Definitely a big departure but a good one I think. And yes, it was hard to understand David, but the main character was such an unreliable narrator - have you read Rachel's Holiday? Similar territory

I never shared my full review. http://www.chicklitcentral.com/2014/0...

Catherine wrote: "Arlene wrote: "Denial Denial Denial...the lies and deception. One woman's life and how it spirals out of control one pill at a time. This book gave me a lot to think about and really grabbed me f..."

I agree the departure was a good one and worked. I wonder if this author knew someone or quite possibly dealt with this subject on a personal level. Have not read Rachel's Holiday.

My in-person book club is reading this in Feb/March

This was my first of Jennifer Weiner's books - though I've had her on my to-read list for a while. I listened to the audio version, and I found it compelling and evocative.

I'm on vacation with my family in Mexico and decided this would be a good time to read this book. This is the first book I have read by this author - I thought it was good. Allison's story is believable - how can a person go from living a relatively normal life to being an addict? JW clearly did her research and gave us a very reasonable explanation how that can occur.

I found the husband Dave to be really unlikable - what a selfish assh*le he was. I'm kind of glad we didn't get to hear his perceptive because he was so self-absorbed it would have just annoyed me to hear him whining - I wish in the end she would have divorced him and married someone who actually behaves like a true "partner".

anyway, good book.