Jennifer Weiner’s “Good in Bed” is an entertaining, laugh-out-loud chick lit novel written for any woman in her twenties struggling to find her place in the world. Weiner’s engaging narrative is told from the perspective of Cannie Shapiro, a plus-sized pop culture reporter for the "Philadelphia Examiner."

The book begins when Cannie finds out her ex-boyfriend landed an impressive job at Cosmo-esque “Moxie Magazine” as the featured male columnist. Not only does he break into the magazine world before she does, he also uses her as material for his latest article, “Loving a Larger Woman.” Cannie’s reaction to her ex-lover’s article is far from happy. She even considers suicide for a moment. “Finally, I pictured the paramedics trying to maneuver my dead, wet body down three flights of stairs. ‘We’ve got a big one here,’ I imagined one of them saying. Okay. So suicide was out.”

In one year of Cannie’s unpredictable life, she breaks up with her boyfriend, discovers her mother is gay, moves to California to write a screenplay and finds out she’s pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's baby. The reader is left spellbound and wondering what horrible or fantastic situation Cannie will encounter next.

Weiner takes the reader on a shaky roller-coaster ride with surprising smoothness. Her ability to float seamlessly between description and dialogue makes this story rich and full of colorful details. The book’s strengths lie in the fully developed female characters, who add depth and draw an emotional connection from the reader.

However, the book is unrealistic at times, which makes it a little hard to swallow. When Cannie is befriended by Hollywood star Maxi Ryder, the reader is left wondering if she wasted her time on a novel with a typical Hollywood ending. Fortunately, this isn’t the case.

Originally published in 2001, “Good in Bed” went relatively unnoticed on the West Coast. Its most recent publishing by Washington Square Press makes its second run much more impressive than the first.