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Blockbuster #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner returns with an irresistible story about a young woman trying to make it in Hollywood…

Actors aren’t the only ones trying to make it in Hollywood.…At twenty-three, Ruth Saunders left her childhood home in Massachusetts and headed west with her seventy-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to make it as a screenwriter. Six years later, she hits the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie’s going to be the showrunner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on her boss, and her grandmother’s impending nuptials.

Set against the fascinating backdrop of Los Angeles show business culture, with an insider’s ear for writer’s room showdowns and an eye for bad backstage behavior and set politics, Jennifer Weiner’s new novel is a rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, a heartfelt story about what it’s like for a young woman to love, and lose, in the land where dreams come true.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0061NT77C
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books; Reprint edition (July 3, 2012)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 3, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2760 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 401 pages
Reviewer: Daffers
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Another good one!
Review: I was first introduced to Jennifer Weiners books 3 years ago when a friend fave me a copy of Good in Bed for my birthday. To be honest, i was t exactly thrilled because im not a "chic lit" reader. I was between books and decided to give it a go and i was pleasantly surprised. The book was very good, held my my interest from beginning to end and was so very funny! So after that book i went on to read ALL the rest of her books and always anticipate a new one coming out every few years. They do not disappoint and The Next Best Thing hasnt either! Its a really good story and it struck a personal cord for me by the fact that the main character was raised by her grandmother as i was also and the mention of notable sitcoms from my own childhood that are dear to me because of the time i spent watching them with my own grandmother. This book, like all others of Jennifer Weiners is very down to earth and the characters are always very relatable, and that is one of the reasons I think her books are so successful with women. Jennifer Weiner is still the only author in the "chic lit" category that I will read. I also think that its a little unfair that her books are pushed into this category as they are much more than a "down and out girl meets handsome rich man and lives happily ever after" kind of book like most "chic lit" is. I really enjoyed this book amd look forward to many more.

Reviewer: Christina (Ensconced in Lit)
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Authentic, entertaining, and a great behind the scenes novel
Review: The Next Best Thing has been on my to read list for a while. It's not a young adult novel, so I haven't had a chance to pick it up. It's been panned in reader reviews since then, and I decided on a rare whim not to listen to those reviews and see for myself.The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner is about Ruth, a young woman who has been disfigured in a terrible accident, and who has dreams to become a writer for a TV show. She has been orphaned by the accident, and lives with her colorful grandmother. The rest of the plot is wrapped around her body image difficulties, the craziness of trying to get a show to air (and not get cancelled), and the compromises one has to go through to get your story to be told.After I saw the low ratings of this book, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I don't know much about the behind the scenes of any show, and it was fascinating for me to learn about it. I learned later that some of this was autobiographical and that totally makes sense to me, because the authenticity of the book jumps from the pages. I also loved the characters-- particularly, her grandmother, the two Daves, who are her staunch mentors in this business, and some of the cast that she auditions. Weiner definitely has a way with words. The ending for me, was perfect-- I couldn't imagine it ending any other way.That said, in entirety, this isn't a perfect book. My biggest beef with the book is Ruth herself. She really skates on the edge of being annoying with saying how ugly she is and how no one is ever going to love her because of her disfigurement, etc. I feel like this could be scaled back a bit, because we already get that she has these insecurities. I also thought that some of the two dimensional characters could have been fleshed out more-- like the air headed star of the show, Cady. We never get to see a good side of her. It's fun to hate the pretty, but they aren't all awful. Because of this, the plot seemed heavy handed in places: pretty equals bad, and disfigured or ugly equals good, rather than one can still be happy, successful and lead a meaningful life even if their outsides are not the norm.That said, Weiner is a talented writer, and I'll definitely be picking up some of her other books.

Reviewer: RobynJC
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Promise in the premise, ordinary in the execution
Review: To start with the positive, here's what is good about this book: the lead character, Ruth, is sympathetic and works hard. The specific bits about what it's like to run a TV show are interesting - describing the job of a show runner, how shows get cast, what happens when you get to pilot, rewrites, etc. Stephen King said once that people love to read about work, and I think he's right. If this book had been more about the "work" of running a TV show, and all the things that go on behind the scenes, it would have been a great book.Here's something else good about the book: I suspect that if you've liked Jennifer Weiner's other books, you will like this one. To me, somehow her work always feels a little flat -- consistently good premise, consistently ordinary execution. And this one is case in point. Ruth, our heroine, is sympathetic and perfect. She has one and only one love interest, Dave, who is also completely sympathetic and perfect. The obstacle keeping them apart is mild and you know will be easily resolved. In fact, it is SO easily resolved, with SO little conflict, that it almost felt lazy. Okay, you say, well, the TV show is the real story here. It is. But the problem is the same. The book is essentially about what happens to a young woman who gets her first TV show produced, and how it falls apart. And that is what happens: a young woman gets her first TV show produced, and it falls apart. Ruth herself tells us on every page that she anticipates what is going to happen next and why it will fail. She is always right: everything always happens just as she predicts, every step of the way. There is almost quite literally not a single plot twist or unexpected development in this book or (frankly) in any of her books. Every character is two dimensional, just who they are stated to be up front, and things play out exactly as predicted. I just couldn't bring myself to care: I knew what was going to happen, I knew what everyone was going to do, and if anything, there was even less conflict and less "unexpected" than I would have imagined.So - I guess this next best thing is probably my last next Jennifer Weiner read. I can see why some people like her but for me, there are too many great books out there to keep investing in a writer who consistently doesn't quite deliver on the promise of her books. One other thing: Jennifer Weiner has made a name for herself calling out publications like the New York Times for not reviewing "women's fiction". I agree with her points, in many respects. The Times has a narrow definition of what is culturally relevant and that's unfortunate. But it's also unfortunate that when I read books like hers, I think, well, the reason she doesn't get reviewed is because her work just isn't interesting enough to warrant the conversation. I wish that weren't true - it would be much more satisfying if she were writing the sorts of books that her publisher describes her as writing -- but alas.

Reviewer: Claire Hennessy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Twenty-eight-year-old Ruth is living the dream. After several years in Hollywood – living with her grandmother, who’s taken care of her since the car crash that killed her parents and left Ruth with a scarred face and body – her pilot has been picked up. And even though she knows this is only the first step, that so many things can go wrong, she realises: this is it. This is her moment.From the beginning, her sitcom The Next Best Thing is shaped into something completely different to what Ruth imagined. A Jewish heroine who’s not a stick figure becomes . . . a skinny blonde. The nuanced portrayal of an older woman in the form of the grandmother – based on Ruth’s own – becomes a joke. And throughout, the sexism of TV-making is noted, as Ruth struggles to reconcile her dream-come-true with her artistic integrity. (Though at no point does she use the words ‘artistic integrity’, worry not.)Jennifer Weiner was the creator of a short-lived TV series of her own, lending this novel an appealing authenticity and behind-the-scenes-gossip feel. Readable, smart and fun – this is one of her best.

Reviewer: j lo
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Good boom from Weiner. I have read many of her other books. I had read "Swim" when it was first published and enjoyed it, so I was excited that I finally had time to read "The Next Best Thing". This story seemed slow and a little boring until the end of the book when the story seemed to end abruptly.

Reviewer: Womanoftheweald
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Very knowing novel about the hell that is being a showrunner in today’s LA. This writer is always poignant, pithy and good to read.

Reviewer: Sheila Longman
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: About a girl who goes to Hollywood with her Grandma who raised her after her parents were killed in car accident and she was horribly disfigured, and makes it, but doesn't like what it makes her, so she gives it up. Of course there is a love story and she does regain herself in the end. An enjoyable read.I do like Jennifer Weiner's writing and recommend her as an author

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Up to J Weiner’s usual standard ❤️