Book: The Whitney Chronicles by Judy Baer (CL, I)
It is impossible to discuss The Whitney Chronicles without comparing it to Bridget Jones's Diary--the wacky parents, the matchmaking friends, the choice between two gorgeous men who seem to have it all together. I admittedly don't read a lot of chick lit, so I don't know if this is the standard "formula," but here it mostly works.
Whitney has a master's degree, a successful career, great friends, and an active role in her church and community. She has also just turned thirty and-gasp-isn't married! To cope with this milestone birthday, she begins keeping a diary with all kinds of BJ-type goals for the coming year.
One of her main goals is to find a nice single Christian man. Whitney has a great guy friend who's not dating material and a mom who keeps trying to set her up with every single man she knows. Whitney then meets two great guys in a short span of time and feels weak-kneed and googly-eyed over each of them, depending on which one is in the room at the time.
As in BJD, one of the hunks ends up not being what he seems; unlike in BJD, Whitney is able to find closure in that relationship before she moves on to Mr. Right.
This book tackled a few difficult issues, some better than others. One of Whitney's best friends has a bout with terminal illness, a smack of realism which allowed us to see how difficult times challenge, and hopefully strengthen, faith and friendship. Following her treatment, the friend experiences a severe bout of depression. Many of us know (or are) people who struggle with depression, and I was glad to see such an important issue addressed with such sensitivity and realism (even if the recovery seemed slightly rushed at the end). ***BEGIN SPOILER: I do wish counseling had been offered as a viable treatment resource in addition to medication. This woman's issues were spiritual/emotional as well as physical/hormonal, and counseling would have helped her work through the deep-rooted family and personal issues brought to light in the aftermath of her treatment. ***END SPOILER
Whitney's weight, on the other hand, is not handled as realistically. She goes from being a size 12 to the Same Size She Was In High School in about three months, which to me was grossly unrealistic. I appreciate how Whitney took a sensible, Christ-centered approach to her weight loss (combining healthy eating and Spirit-guided self-control), but I find this speedy weight loss hard to swallow. Either she had so little weight to lose that she was grossly exaggerating her weight problem at the beginning of the book (thereby deceiving her readers as well as herself) OR her attitudes toward food and exercise were Instantly Transformed at the weight-loss support group so she never struggled with that issue again. Either way, I found the weight issue oversimplified at best (and insulting at worst). Again, this may be part of the chick lit "formula," but is my chief criticism of the book.
Despite these complaints, which are quite minor, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Whitney was likeable and imperfect, and I laughted out loud several times at her mishaps (and seriously considered whether I need a similar goal-oriented journal myself). While I'm not sure this book belongs on my keeper shelf, it was definitely worth a read. Grade: B+
Whitney has a master's degree, a successful career, great friends, and an active role in her church and community. She has also just turned thirty and-gasp-isn't married! To cope with this milestone birthday, she begins keeping a diary with all kinds of BJ-type goals for the coming year.
One of her main goals is to find a nice single Christian man. Whitney has a great guy friend who's not dating material and a mom who keeps trying to set her up with every single man she knows. Whitney then meets two great guys in a short span of time and feels weak-kneed and googly-eyed over each of them, depending on which one is in the room at the time.
As in BJD, one of the hunks ends up not being what he seems; unlike in BJD, Whitney is able to find closure in that relationship before she moves on to Mr. Right.
This book tackled a few difficult issues, some better than others. One of Whitney's best friends has a bout with terminal illness, a smack of realism which allowed us to see how difficult times challenge, and hopefully strengthen, faith and friendship. Following her treatment, the friend experiences a severe bout of depression. Many of us know (or are) people who struggle with depression, and I was glad to see such an important issue addressed with such sensitivity and realism (even if the recovery seemed slightly rushed at the end). ***BEGIN SPOILER: I do wish counseling had been offered as a viable treatment resource in addition to medication. This woman's issues were spiritual/emotional as well as physical/hormonal, and counseling would have helped her work through the deep-rooted family and personal issues brought to light in the aftermath of her treatment. ***END SPOILER
Whitney's weight, on the other hand, is not handled as realistically. She goes from being a size 12 to the Same Size She Was In High School in about three months, which to me was grossly unrealistic. I appreciate how Whitney took a sensible, Christ-centered approach to her weight loss (combining healthy eating and Spirit-guided self-control), but I find this speedy weight loss hard to swallow. Either she had so little weight to lose that she was grossly exaggerating her weight problem at the beginning of the book (thereby deceiving her readers as well as herself) OR her attitudes toward food and exercise were Instantly Transformed at the weight-loss support group so she never struggled with that issue again. Either way, I found the weight issue oversimplified at best (and insulting at worst). Again, this may be part of the chick lit "formula," but is my chief criticism of the book.
Despite these complaints, which are quite minor, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Whitney was likeable and imperfect, and I laughted out loud several times at her mishaps (and seriously considered whether I need a similar goal-oriented journal myself). While I'm not sure this book belongs on my keeper shelf, it was definitely worth a read. Grade: B+
posted by JJ at 12:29 AM
