In Her Shoes (novel)
Encyclopedia
In Her Shoes is a work of Jewish American literature
by Jennifer Weiner
. It tells the story of two sisters and their estranged grandmother. The novel was a New York Times bestseller.
Rose is a thirty-year old single, successful lawyer who struggles with her weight, and who resents her younger sister's beauty and success with men. Maggie, a twenty-eight year old who uses her beauty and charming nature to hide the obstacles she faces due to dyslexia
and related learning difficulties, resents Rose's academic success and consequent wealth. While close as children, standardized test
ing sets them on different paths in high school: Rose's success on the exams leads to Princeton University
and University of Pennsylvania
Law School; Maggie's failure on the exams leads to a future path of drifting through a string of clerical jobs until she ends up homeless and jobless on Rose's couch. Both nearing the age of their mother when she died, Rose and Maggie each feel as if there is a vacuum in their lives which they are unable to fill.
After wearing out her welcome with Rose (and being evicted from her father's home by her step mother), Maggie runs away, choosing to hide in Princeton University
, which she had visited when Rose was a student. Finding shelter in a lower level of the library (with a fully equipped bathroom/shower), Maggie fills her free time doing something that she had avoided her entire life: reading. She also accepts a part-time position as a care-taker for a nearby elderly woman. Maggie is surprised to find that when reading in her own way at her own pace, she enjoys the activity and even begins to attend a poetry class. Eventually, however, a boy (whose wallet she had stolen) discovers her belongings in the library. Realizing her charade at Princeton is over, Maggie runs away. She travels to find her long-lost grandmother, whose old letters she had discovered previously in her father's desk. Rose, meanwhile, leaves her career in law in order to discover what life as a dog-walker would be like. She also begins to date Simon Stein.
Grandma Ella, who had previously tried to track the girls via the Internet
(only finding information on Rose) is delighted to see Maggie and invites her to stay in her home. Gradually Maggie, Ella, and eventually Rose reconcile with each other, and in the process come to terms with both the life and death of Caroline.
is a film directed by Curtis Hanson
with an adapted screenplay
by Susannah Grant
. It stars Cameron Diaz
, Toni Collette
, and Shirley MacLaine
.
Jewish American literature
Jewish American Literature holds an essential place in the literary history of the United States. It encompasses traditions of writing in English, primarily, as well as in other languages, the most important of which has been Yiddish...
by Jennifer Weiner
Jennifer Weiner
Jennifer Weiner is a Jewish American writer, television producer, and former journalist. She is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Background and career:...
. It tells the story of two sisters and their estranged grandmother. The novel was a New York Times bestseller.
Plot summary
Rose and Maggie Feller are two young sisters who share little in common except their shoe size. Rose is the eldest and has been watching after Maggie since they were young children and their mother Caroline died in a car accident. They were raised by their father Michael (perpetually in mourning for Caroline) and stepmother Sydelle (who resents them both).Rose is a thirty-year old single, successful lawyer who struggles with her weight, and who resents her younger sister's beauty and success with men. Maggie, a twenty-eight year old who uses her beauty and charming nature to hide the obstacles she faces due to dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
and related learning difficulties, resents Rose's academic success and consequent wealth. While close as children, standardized test
Standardized test
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a...
ing sets them on different paths in high school: Rose's success on the exams leads to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
Law School; Maggie's failure on the exams leads to a future path of drifting through a string of clerical jobs until she ends up homeless and jobless on Rose's couch. Both nearing the age of their mother when she died, Rose and Maggie each feel as if there is a vacuum in their lives which they are unable to fill.
After wearing out her welcome with Rose (and being evicted from her father's home by her step mother), Maggie runs away, choosing to hide in Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, which she had visited when Rose was a student. Finding shelter in a lower level of the library (with a fully equipped bathroom/shower), Maggie fills her free time doing something that she had avoided her entire life: reading. She also accepts a part-time position as a care-taker for a nearby elderly woman. Maggie is surprised to find that when reading in her own way at her own pace, she enjoys the activity and even begins to attend a poetry class. Eventually, however, a boy (whose wallet she had stolen) discovers her belongings in the library. Realizing her charade at Princeton is over, Maggie runs away. She travels to find her long-lost grandmother, whose old letters she had discovered previously in her father's desk. Rose, meanwhile, leaves her career in law in order to discover what life as a dog-walker would be like. She also begins to date Simon Stein.
Grandma Ella, who had previously tried to track the girls via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
(only finding information on Rose) is delighted to see Maggie and invites her to stay in her home. Gradually Maggie, Ella, and eventually Rose reconcile with each other, and in the process come to terms with both the life and death of Caroline.
Film
In Her Shoes (2005)2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
is a film directed by Curtis Hanson
Curtis Hanson
Curtis Lee Hanson is an American film director, film producer and screenwriter. His directing work includes The Hand That Rocks the Cradle , L.A...
with an adapted screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Susannah Grant
Susannah Grant
Susannah Grant is an award-winning American screenwriter and director. She wrote the screenplays for Ever After, Erin Brockovich, directed by Steven Soderbergh, 28 Days and Disney's Pocahontas. For Erin Brockovich she received an Oscar nomination in 2001...
. It stars Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
, Toni Collette
Toni Collette
Antonia "Toni" Collette is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television and film as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish....
, and Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
.