So so book. Collection of short stories all definitely told with a woman's perspective. Some were good and other not so much. Tend towards the husband leaving. The last few were better than the start. A woman who sells her pre-war NY city apt to impress her real estate agent. An elderly woman whose kidnapped by teens in her atalantic city condo. The title story where a woman has an it's a wonderful life experience. ( )

Not a fan at all apparently. I'm always looking for anthologies as short stories are a favorite of mine. So this is the first (and most likely last) book of Weiner's that I'll read. Most of the stories were just depressing. ( )

More than pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I've always passed Weiner's books by due to the cover art - didn't look like my thing. I generally like darker books but it is good to lighten things up once in a while. ( )

A bunch of short stories by Weiner. Some were okay and a few were great, but most of them seemed to just drop off. A lot of the stories felt like Weiner just didn’t have enough juices to sustain her for a whole book and just stopped writing. ( )

The Guy Not Taken is a collection of short stories from Jennifer Weiner that explore a number of topics including unlikely friendships, the impact of divorce on teenage children, being a new mother and the stresses that brings, as well as romantic relationships in all stages. The stories cover a range of emotions from humor to pathos and back again with aplomb.

The first three stories in the collection are linked and all concern one family, which was a nice treat because Weiner created such interesting and compelling characters that you want to stay with them for a while. The relationship between the two sisters felt a little like that of the main characters in Weiner's most famous novel In Her Shoes, especially when a trip to see a Floridian grandmother came up in the second story. Being as I liked that book so much, I was again interested to see Weiner's take on two sisters who aren't particularly alike but love each other deeply. One of the stories was in fact a direct reference to one of Weiner's other books Good in Bed, although I wouldn't have known that without the book jacket explanation being as I haven't read that title yet.

All together, I definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it. While I'm not always the hugest fan of short stories, Weiner created such interesting characters that managed to feel entirely actualized even within the confines of a shorter tale. Her endings, like those of many short stories, were a bit vague but they were all at least slightly optimistic/hopeful, so they were positive without necessarily having to tie up every loose end.

In this book, Weiner showcases her absolutely great writing, and I have to agree with her that it's unfair she's labeled as "chick lit" by many reviewers, critics, etc. This is not a bodice-ripping Harlequin romance book, but a serious exploration of life, which includes familial as well as romantic relationships. It's misleading to all kinds of readers to dismiss Weiner into a "ghettoized" book genre merely because she's a female author. That being said, whether it's Weiner's decisions or the choice of her publishers (more likely), the pastel cover with make-up accouterments and taking the title of the book from the most stereotypically "girlie" titled story in the collection isn't doing anyone any favors either.

For the audio reader, both audio narrators of this book did a fantastic job, especially Mary Catherine Garrison who did the bulk of the narrating and was excellent at varying her voice to give life to all the different characters. ( )