I started a new book by Jennifer Weiner called The Next Best Thing. Here,
we are introduced to a woman, Ruth, who has been through a massive amount in
her 30 years. When she was younger, she was in a car accident with her parents.
Her parents both passed away and she (being a baby) was left with massive head
injuries and was in the hospital most of her young life. Her grandmother cared
for her and taught her to be strong through all of what she was going through. Ruth
saw many kids her age come in and out of her joined hospital room. This made
her question why she wasn’t healing like all the other kids her age and why she
had to go through all this and why the other kids weren’t happy about all that
they were blessed with. Her grandmother gave her a diary so she could write
down what she was feeling. At night before it was time to go to bed, she and
her grandmother would watch a little bit of TV. Their favorite show was The
Golden Girls. It not only inspired Ruth to strive for a better life, but it
gave her hope that maybe one day she would.
Ruth is
all grown up now and she is now following her dreams of becoming a writer. All
those diaries that she filled while she was in the hospital were being put to
good use. Even though she has scars on her face from the accident that usually
doesn’t hold her back. She and her grandma move to Hollywood to try their luck
at becoming someone. Ruth works for a hot shot writer named Rob and she starts
out as his assistant. Slowly, she starts writing and he reviews her works and
says that she has a chance to make it big. Ruth begins to fall in love with Rob
because he accepts her for who she is and this is the first time that a guy
ever has gotten over her physical defects. Ruth starts to write out a story
based on her grandmother and her own adventures and parts of their lives; she
calls it The Next Best Thing.
While
Ruth faces her struggles sometimes not head on, she is a very relatable character.
She hides her face from people because she wants to be like everyone else,
while many of us hide who we really are. It’s not as obvious as Ruth’s but many
people mask their insecurities while Ruth is open about hers. I know that
everyone can relate to Ruth’s story because we are all people who have had struggles,
insecurities and felt as if we don’t belong. At one point in the book, Ruth’s
grandma is moving out of their house and Ruth says, ‘“So you’re pushing me out
now.” I meant to sound light-hearted; instead I sounded sullen and glum.
Grandma must have heard that in my voice, because her own tone sharpened.’ You
really get a feel of who Ruth is and how she tries to be strong for her own
good, but her emotions are actually read like a book. It’s a great novel and I
can’t wait to see how it ends.
