Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

When do you realize that you actually enjoy doing something? My dad says most people realize this soon enough. Apparently I am not "most" people, well that’s fine with me. One of the reasons I like to read so much is because of the language. English is my second language, and I learned to speak by reading it.

When I was in Elementary school, I remember being picked on by most of my classmates because I didn’t dominate the language. I was determined to learn English by the end of my 5th grade year, so I asked my teacher for extra reading material. Once in middle school, I looked forward to the first 30 minutes of my English class because we had to read silently. I remember thinking that I would always put myself in people’s places, to understand how they feel. So, when reading a book I always put myself in the characters place, and hence the laughing out loud in public, and the crying when "no one" is watching. Anyway, this reminded me of a book I read a while back, and it was a book that made me laugh, but most of all I could relate to the heroine.


Minerva’s English was perfectly fine, so that’s not the reason I liked her so much. Minerva is the type of character that most of us can relate to (let’s face it, not all of us are at our ideal weight). She is just like most of us think of ourselves: a little plump, plain, and tired of searching for that special someone. I mean, haven’t we all wanted to shove a swizzle stick through someone’s heart? Okay. Maybe not Stephanie, heaven forbid we waste ANY candy.

Can you imagine a really hot guy (Cal) betting that he can get you into bed in less than a month? I would react just like Minerva- go along with it and teach him in a lesson (of course it was all a misunderstanding). In Minerva’s case, wanting revenge backfired because she fell in love in the process. Haven’t most of us experienced the “I want you back because I didn’t realize what a good thing I had” with an ex? It’s always fun to see a little competition too.

Finally, don’t most of us struggle with our weight? I mean sure, when I was in high school I was 110lbs so I never worried about it (don’t you dare ask how much I weigh now). Anyway, don’t we all know someone that is calorie obsessed and makes us feel guilty? Honestly, I got to a point in which I was tired of every single heroine being so "beautiful" and "almost perfect". I mean, sure it’s nice to picture the characters good looking, but it’s always nice to relate to an amazing personality. If you haven’t read this book, I suggest that you do. AND if you haven’t read anything by Crusie, you are out of your mind! Get to it! I promise you will enjoy it because Crusie is definitely fantabulous.

P.S. The greatest English teacher I had in high school was Overton (Happy now?! Please write a review ASAP).

5 comments:

  1. I struggle with the whole perfect vs. imperfect heroine thing. Most (not all, but most) of the books I've read with a non-stick-figure heroine had a hard time portraying the lady as anything other than, well, fat. And that always bothers me. I don't want to picture the leading lady as a cow! However, I agree... sometimes it's nice to read about a woman that isn't totally perfect and supermodel thin. And, if the author can pull it off, even better.

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  2. When I first read this book, I was just tired if reading about "Ms.Perfect". It wasn't realistic, and I wanted to relate to a heroine. Crusie does a good job of not portraying Minerva as a cow. I don't think I could read a sex scene if I pictured a cow. Nope.

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  3. I really like how Jennifer Crusie makes her books about the "chubby" girl. It a nice change.

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  4. this was my first Jennifer Crusie book. i enjoy her because she's hilarious, her tone is light hearted but there is still meat to her story. i have noticed that all her books showcase a fuller figure woman & i'm ok with that. i'm also ok with the so called perfect women, as long as the story is good.

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  5. As long as the story is good, I am okay with anything. I just wanted to read something different, and the "chubby" girl theme is a nice change. Stephanie made a good point, some authors can't write about the "chubby" girl without making them sound terrible.

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