The Next Best Thing cover art

The Next Best Thing

A Novel

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The Next Best Thing

By: Jennifer Weiner
Narrated by: Olivia Thirlby
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About this listen

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner, an “utterly engaging story” (Time) about a young woman trying to make it as a writer in Hollywood.

At three years old, Ruth Saunders miraculously survives the car crash that takes her parents’ lives on the icy Massachusetts Turnpike. Her eccentric grandmother nurtures her through years of surgeries, feeding her home-cooked meals, dispensing irreverent wisdom, and telling Ruth she’s beautiful, even though her scars will stay with her forever.

After college, Ruth pursues her dream of writing to Hollywood, heading west with her grandmother in tow, hoping to make it big in the world of TV. After years of failure and a badly broken heart, Ruth gets The Call—her show has been green-lit.

But Ruth’s happy ending is only the beginning, as she struggles with how television gets made: terrified (and terrifying) executives and actresses with their eyes on bigger prizes than Ruthie’s show. Add in an unrequited crush on the man who has been her mentor. Add to that her grandmother’s impending nuptials, and Ruth’s big break might just break her.

A rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, The Next Best Thing is a heartfelt story about a young woman searching for her own happily-ever-after in the land where dreams come true.
Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Heartfelt Dream
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I am a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner and have listened to every single one of her books. I so wanted to like this but I absolutely hated it. Performance was great though. Story was sooo boring and not at all interesting. Character development, dialogue and other characters were flat. Only reason I pursued was I couldn’t return it. So disappointing.

I hated this story

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