Dreaming of becoming a screenwriter in Hollywood, Ruth Saunders embarks on pursuing her dream. She’s been through a lot in life. Her parents died in a car crash when she was very young, and the accident left her with permanent facial scars. When her script, The Next Best Thing, finally gets the green light, Ruth faces some tough choices, bringing her face to face with the stark realities of trying to make a television show in Hollywood.
As with all of Jennifer Weiner’s books, three-dimensional characters is what drives the narrative forward. Ruth Saunders is a protagonist the reader can genuinely root for. Her scars make her feel like an outsider, a situation that is further exacerbated by the unrealistic beauty standards that plague the movie business. As this is her first show, she is very idealistic, striving to make a program that reflects how real women look, one that others can identify with. However, constant demands and interference from executives and even, at certain points, the actors themselves, force her to continually make concessions that chip away at her principles.
A central theme is the tremendous pressure imposed upon women who are trying to succeed in Hollywood. This includes Ruth, as well as the actors. Ruth cannot pick her own lead actress, as they aren’t slim enough, or famous enough, and the fight to retain even a nugget of control over her own show makes this novel both deeply immersive and depressingly illuminating. Even Cady Stratton, the actress chosen to play the leading part in Ruth’s show, is under constant scrutiny, which stems from the media. Like many actresses, she is plagued by her own insecurities, due to being rejected on unfair, appearance-based grounds in the past.
Fans of romance won’t be disappointed with this book, and the blossoming relationship between Ruth and her colleague and biggest supporter, Little Dave, is both genuine and heartfelt. Like Ruth, he is also at a disadvantage, in the context of Hollywood (he is disabled and uses a wheelchair). There is genuine chemistry between this pair, and as a reader, I couldn’t help but hope that they would finally fall for one another.
With its unflinching yet entertaining focus on the complex and oftentimes frustrating process of trying to make a television program in Hollywood, The Next Best Thing is bound to keep you enthralled throughout. I’d highly recommend it!
The Introverted Bookworm 
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