In the beginning, Jennifer Weiner wrote two of my all-time favourite books: Good in Bed and In Her Shoes. They were fun, smart, witty reads, the kind of books you can return to over and over again. 
 There was a spark to those two books that has been missing from her subsequent work, and I'm not sure why. It's becoming harder to believe that Weiner isn't writing about herself, and that these horrible, judgmental asides about other women's weight, appearances, and clothing choices aren't actually coming from her. And that's a turn-off. 
 In Weiner's books, skinny women are usually the villains. If you're not overweight in her universe, you're automatically anorexic--or you spend way too much time on your appearance and are shallow. But in this book, she makes fun of the overweight people as well, in ways that are incredibly cringe-inducing and harsh. 
 "Michelle narrowed her eyes, causing them to practically vanish into her doughy face." Ouch! 
 I still love Weiner's voice, but I'm tired of reading about screwed-up women with nothing to complain about (since when is writing five blog posts a week an arduous job?) whine about their lot in life while passing judgment on everyone else. I was intrigued to see how Weiner would tackle the serious and potentially dark subject of painkiller addiction among suburban supermoms, but it was handled as if it were bad luck in the dating world or a sister who keeps borrowing your shoes without asking. Glossy and light, as if potentially killing your daughter and her friend while driving impaired should be viewed in the same vein as wearing the "wrong" color of nail polish. 
 I keep getting Weiner's books because of the early memories and the power of her voice, but instead of buying new hardcovers as soon as they come out, I wait until I stumble upon a copy at the used book sale. If you're going to go dark, go dark. If you want to stay light, stay light. But trying to combine the two doesn't work, at least not in this case. I just wish the author would ease up on the judging of other women, please. I get that some women are like this, but I can't remember the last Weiner protagonist who didn't have a ton of ugly opinions about other women's weight. 
 It's depressing.