CERTAIN GIRLS

The sequel to GOOD IN BED occurs 13 years after that vengefully funny story of a fat girl who puts her boyfriend in his place after he publishes an article about their sex life. In this work Cannie, now a wife and mother, prepares for her daughter Joy's bat mitzvah. Julie Dretzin's portrayal of Cannie is appropriately anxious. Much of her humor is subdued by her worries over her mothering and her husband's request for a second child. Rachel Botchan narrates alternate chapters, using a young voice to depict Joy and coloring her reading with the teenager’s anger over family secrets and determination to uncover her mother's past. Though more serious than Weiner's first book, this sequel has emotion and wit, as well as an enjoyable plot twist near the end. S.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2008]