Book Review and Giveaway: Hungry Heart

By Melissa Amster

I’ve been a fan of Jennifer Weiner’s writing ever since I spent the day in bed reading Good in Bed. And then I fell in love with In Her Shoes. I’ve read all of her other books and enjoyed those as well, especially The Next Best Thing. I even got The Littlest Bigfoot for my oldest child to read. I’ve met her at numerous book signings and she has called me out by name in front of hundreds of people. I even went to a party she hosted in New York City last year to promote the books of female authors. When I heard that Jennifer had written a memoir, I was eager to get my hands on it, even though I’m not normally into memoirs. I knew Hungry Heart would be special though, and I was absolutely right!

Jennifer takes us on a journey through adolescence, college years, young adulthood, and parenthood. She talks a lot about her writing career, her family, her weight, and so much more. Even when she talks about some of the hardships she endures, she is so relatable that you just want to reach through the book to hug her and tell her you’ve been there too. I know I could definitely relate when she talked about not fitting in and being tormented by her peers or left out from gatherings. I could also relate to a situation she went through in college.

I learned new things about Jennifer. I didn’t know she was on a rowing team in high school and college. I didn’t have much insight to her relationship with her father and sister before now. (She talks about her mother and grandma at book signings.) I also didn’t know about a more recent difficult situation she had experienced.

I loved reading about her inside jokes with her family. My favorite was "difficult." I also liked hearing her reasons behind her push to get more recognition for female authors. I feel like I'm doing my part with this blog and only hope that with Jennifer behind the movement, more female authors will be recognized by well-known media outlets over time.

The only two concerns I have are with jumping around in time (as that could get confusing) and too much information at certain points (especially toward the end of the book). Neither took away from my enjoyment of the book though.

Hungry Heart is engaging, humorous, and inspiring. I feel like I know Jennifer a lot better now and I like her even more than I already did.

Thanks to both Engleman & Co and Atria for the book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks also to Engleman & Co for sharing a copy with one lucky reader!

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 


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Giveaway ends October 18th at midnight EST.

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