Reviews for Why Moms Are Weird

The average rating for Why Moms Are Weird based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-11-23 00:00:00 Martti Meikalainen I put off reading this book for months after I bought it. When I first came across this book, it was through amazon, and the title caught my attention, then the positive reviews caught my interest. I went looking for it at bookstores around me and couldn't find it anywhere, so I ended up ordering it online. When I first received the book, I admit I didn't like the look of it. I was worried that I have been duped by amazon reviews, the way I was with "The Hating Game" (worst.book.EVER.), so I put it aside and figured I'd get to it eventually. Months later, it was still lying there on my bedside table, I picked it up and couldn't even remember why I wanted to read it in the first place or what it was about. The minute I started reading it, I realized how wrong I was to have put it off for this long. I knew I was in for a treat, and I was. Pamela Ribon is an incredibly talented writer, and I've come to understand that she started off with her own blog, which then transferred to books. That must be why you could relate so much to her writing style, because it is very personable, it almost feels like every section is just another blog post. Absolutely wonderful. I like the fact that there aren't chapters, but more like moments. The whole book works that way, in moments. Each section describes a moment in Benny's life and when you put all these moments together you get the entire story, and you see Benny and all the other characters progressing in such a natural way. Yes, I'll admit, as a chick-lit, it has its predictable twists and turns, and its typical happy ending, but Ribon does it in such a way that it seems more natural than other chick-lits. You relate to all the characters in this story, her mom's strange ways and how each layer is slowly uncovered throughout the story so we really understand why she is the way she is and why she acts the way she does. It's endearing in a way, and her methods of moving on are things I can definitely associate with. Jami's rebellion - although quite extreme - are also things you relate with. We all wanted to experience that kind of liberation at one point, the sort where you just didn't want to give a shit about anything. I was a little disconcerted with Mickey and Benny's relationship, it moved a bit too fast in my opinion, but then again, there were several passages that took place between them where Pamela Ribon just nails a certain emotion or situation, and I marked them all. All in all, my first for Ribon, but definitely not my last. Can't wait to read more.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-05-25 00:00:00 Paul Pruitt I've been a long time reader of the author, Pamela Ribon's blog- Pamie.com and so of course I was very excited to see that she was going to be published. Pamie has a way to make you laugh out loud one second and feel heartbreak the next. When she published her first book, Why Girls are Weird I bought it the first day I could find it in the stores. It was great, and if I had to rate it now I'd probably give it an enjoyable 7/10. So, needless to say, I was quite excited to see the author was releasing a new novel, Why Moms are Weird- which feature totally different characters... but they went with the "Weird theme in the title again. The book follows Benny "Boobs" Bernstein, who is living in LA and just as her life starts going in a great direction, she needs to go home to Virginia to take care of her mother, who's been injured in car accident. When Benny arrives home she discovers a her mother's life is not quite what she remembered- and as she tried to sort out the pieces she's also forced to face her own realty and how her decisions effect those around her and herself. The premise of the story was great- but somewhere along the lines I got lost. This novel isn't the "light" fun the last book was. This one goes to a dark place at times- as the character is forced to face her family and demons she fights with her self confidence. I don't shy away from a novel that goes to "dark places" but at the same time I feel like this one kind of switched from "medium" to "dark" rather quickly and I think it damages the message the author is going for. I didn't always agree with Benny's analysis of the events going on around her and while the author tries to keep us sympathetic to all the characters, I was confused by their actions and couldn't sympathize. I really wanted to like this book- because I really like Pamie...even though I'm only her creepy internet stalker that reads her blog. The truth is, I didn't really enjoy this book the way I thought I would. There are some parts which were funny- and made me smile, but a lot of the time I kept thinking "WHAT!?"- trying to be on the same page as the author. I'm giving the book a 4/10- it's not bad, and well written, I just feel like it didn't add up the way it could have. Yes, I will read Ribon's next book if she decided to put it out- but I won't put this one on my "must read" recommendation list either.