Rating: 
Summary: Captured the essence of religion in daily life
Review: As a daughter of a Jewish father and a Lutheran mother, I related to Winner's experiences. As a Christian, I struggle now with much of the evangelical world, which can be based upon consumerism and emotions. Winner puts into perfect description the inner turmoil many have gone through during the conversion experience. As I read her novel, it was as if she were writing my story.
... at times I was lost as to who she was speaking of, seeing as the time we were introduced to a character was many pages earlier. But, her non linear style was refreshing in the Christian work of writing.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has converted, whether to or from Christianity. I would also recommend this book to anyone who experiences difficulty connecting with Christ. Winner, and her icons, gave me a new perspective and drive to pursue holiness. Thank you, Lauren Winner, for your vulnerability and openness. Your book will be aclaimed by many for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Return of Christian intellectualism?
Review: This book was recommended to me by a friend a few months ago, and I came across it serendipitously. I was eager to read it after looking at the cover's synopsis, and the catchy title. I was so very impressed with Miss Winner's knowledge of language, sacred texts, etc. She completely opens her soul in this book, and it was fascinating to see inside someone like that. I highly enjoyed the word origins, and the history of holidays (both Christian and Jewish), and her commentary on every aspect of spirituality. Many characters were introduced in the book, and I had a hard time remembering everyone when they were mentioned again dozens of pages later. I did feel a little disjointed with all the skipping around, things did not come in chronological order. One minute she is teaching class at shul, then she is at Oxford, already converted into Christianity, steeped in Anglican teaching. I do appreciate the great amount of knowledge and intellect that Lauren Winner brings to the field. After reading this book, it is as if you are good friends with her, and you know so much about her life and her daily struggles. Although the ending is abrupt, I liked how she returned to certain parts of her upbringing, and built up her library again. I look forward to other books by Lauren Winner.
Rating:
Summary: Neville meets Lauren.
Review: In "Girl Meets God," (a title I'm convinced the author did NOT come up with, and is not really fitting to the book---perhaps the cover should change designs too) Lauren Winner does some pretty incredible things. She manages to tap into C.S. Lewis-like intellectual thought, write like Anne Lamott, think like a Cambridge graduate student and still comes across as being smart enough and human enough, to live out Jesus' loving call. Anybody interested in Jewish tradition will be fascinated (like I was) by how much this tradition aids in the Judeo-Christian beliefs. Not only do I admire Winner for such a provocative, insightful, and honest memoir, I also respect her for writing with such clarity, free from any "Christian rules." She knows how to be human, which is something so many Christians forget. For a look into how the next generation will learn, think, and process the idea of God, check out this book. It's a great memoir. Thanks Lauren.
Rating:
Summary: "...a nice way to fill the time..." - the Venerable Bede
Review: "Go out to do the work I have given you to do" These consoling words, repeated in Lauren Winner's mind for a week, were "snatches of reassurance" given to her from God. My "snatch" from God was "He will be provided for". Lauren's were given to her during her agony over what she should be doing with her life. Mine were given to me one morning, with rosary beads still in hand, while agonizing over the fate of my son, newly diagnosed with Autism. I made it through the toughest time, the first 3 years, and I believe that God with the help of my favorite interceding saints, saw me through it all. Now that I have gotten to the point that I can joke about autism (this doesn't happen often), my spiritually, ironically, is an uphill battle. In the best of times, I sometimes find it harder to believe. Lauren relates this best when she says "What I need to learn, maybe what God wants me to learn, is the long grind after you've landed". I'd like to believe as Lauren does that even during the dry times, while praying, "work is being done whether I feel it or not. Sediment is being laid." I like that. There are other moments of self-recognition in this very inspiring book. Some of my personal favorite lines were quoted by other reviewers here as well. It's very reassuring for me when people from such different walks of life "get" a book as I "get" it. Don't we all make deals with God? Lauren did when she asked for the gift of glossolalia (to speaking in tongues). If her wish wasn't granted, she threatened Him. I've made similar deals myself. How reassuring to read this quote of Augustine's she's included, "Of his bounty, the Lord often grants not what we seek, so as to bestow something preferable". I say, "cool". I grew up in NYC suburb where you were either a Jew or Catholic, therefore, seemingly diametrically opposed. Lauren, because of her erudition of Jewish Orthodoxy and Christianity, highlights for me the wonderful similarities of the two. The stereotypes are squashed and the beautiful words of her Jewish rabbi friends are sweet and relevant in my own Roman Catholic life. If this book did nothing else, it inspired me to praise God on more than one occasion, think about Him, read the Book of Ruth from Gideon's Bible, and thank Him while I vacationed at The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Not bad, Lauren. And by the way, Jack, my autistic son, had a wonderful time. Say a prayer for him.
Rating: 
Summary: A Dizzying Journey
Review: You might have a friend who is pretty bright, likes to talk about their struggles, desperately tries to defy any and all 'categorizations', and comes across as passionate but erratic. Chances are this friend is great at dinner parties, but you don't exactly give them the keys to your house and ask them to water your plants while you're on vacation. Maybe this is because you fear that they would suddenly, inexplicably, or tirelessly pursue a 'spontaneous' life, a life that maybe didn't include sustaining your African violets. If you don't have that friend, I encourage you to read this book. After which, Lauren Winner can be that friend. The book is not a bad read. It's a faithful mimicry of Anne Lamott - even when it comes to sentence construction. You'll have lots of long, rambling, free-flowing sentences (with parenthetical expressions) that will be showing you the many divergent paths that her intricate mind is capable of exploring...and you'll see that she's young, hip, and flippant because there will be the necessary punctual follow up fragment. Like this. Overall, I found her a story a little suspect, in part due to the author's note that let's us know certain "details - names, professions, chronology, and so forth" were changed. Also in part due to the freshness of the material; she's so stuck in the churn that I don't think she's fully reflected on her journey. The dust-jacket comparisons to C.S. Lewis (because he wrote a spiritual autobiography?! What about St. Augustine while we're at it?) made me want to puke.
Rating: 
Summary: Girl Meets God: On the Path to a Spiritual Life
Review: I have spent my whole life since middle school, and actually even before that, seeking God. In this collection of biographical and theological musings, structured around Jewish festivals and the seasons of the Christian liturgical year, Winner considers her path from Reform Jew to Orthodoxy to self-described evangelical Episcopalian. Frank, often funny, sometimes sexy, and disarmingly honest, her story is far from the "how I found Jesus" tract one might expect. Sophisticated, well-educated with degrees from Columbia and Cambridge, and the child of a secular Jewish father and a lapsed Baptist mother, Winner at age twenty-something is very much a modern, worldly wise young woman. Her spiritual self-examination could almost be a caricature of the self-absorption sometimes considered characteristic of GenX'ers. Her writing what amounts to an autobiography while still in her twenties might be considered premature. How, the reader wonders, does one know that she will not go off to become a Buddhist next year, but she even addresses this question. The book's appeal lies in Winner's sincerity and her willingness to share her struggle to be honest and faithful to God. Many young seekers fumbling their way to faith will appreciate the example of someone who is not a stereotypical, good-girl Sunday schooler but whose belief is heartfelt and hard-won. Her well-written, absorbing account provides an important validation for those readers who may not be ready for Kathleen Norris or Anne Lamott, but who share their bumpy paths to spirituality
Rating:
Summary: Neville meets Lauren.
Review: In "Girl Meets God," (a title I'm convinced the author did NOT come up with, and is not really fitting to the book---perhaps the cover should change designs too) Lauren Winner does some pretty incredible things. She manages to tap into C.S. Lewis-like intellectual thought, write like Anne Lamott, think like a Cambridge graduate student and still comes across as being smart enough and human enough, to live out Jesus' loving call. Anybody interested in Jewish tradition will be fascinated (like I was) by how much this tradition aids in the Judeo-Christian beliefs. Not only do I admire Winner for such a provocative, insightful, and honest memoir, I also respect her for writing with such clarity, free from any "Christian rules." She knows how to be human, which is something so many Christians forget. For a look into how the next generation will learn, think, and process the idea of God, check out this book. It's a great memoir. Thanks Lauren.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it, looking forward to more by Lauren Winner
Review: I picked this book up by chance at my local library. Having lived through my husband's conversion to Christianity (and then his seminary education), I found this to be an honest and very real account of what it is like to go through this kind of spiritual rebirth. I found myself nodding and grinning throughout the book, and read most of it out loud to whomever would listen because it touched me so deeply. Aside from some disagreements I have with Lauren's assessment of Luther and Lutherans (a-hem), I will be recommending this especially to some college-age young women I know. Can't wait to see what Lauren Winner writes next.
Rating:
Summary: Great, thoughful read
Review: Girl Meets God is a thoughtful approach to a young adult's conversion from Jewish culture into Christianity. I appreciated her honesty in dealing with issues of her heart and soul. For those that have struggled with their own faith, they may find Winner's journey interesting, insightful & helpful. Readers that are unfamiliar with Jewish culture or Christian rituals will find Winner's descriptions and explanations to be informative. At the end of the book, I found myself wanting to write out my own personal story of faith.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful Spiritual Memoir!
Review: Lauren Winner, a graduate student in her late twenties, comes from a mixed religious background. The book follows her on a spiritual roller-coaster ride through two major conversions. First, although she always considered herself Jewish, she must go through a long and difficult process to "convert" to Orthodox Judaism. And yet, even as she is working this out, she is being drawn to Jesus, and her second conversion, ending up as an Anglican Christian. And then she must struggle to sort out what she has gained and lost, rebuild relationships, and integrate the two streams of her heritage. As the book ends, she has not finished this hard work by any means, but she has begun going back to her Jewish roots to understand her Christian life more deeply. Author Lauren Winner is an intelligent, witty, intellectual young woman, someone you would like to spend hours with, just chatting, talking about spiritual things, sharing favorite books--yes, I loved the Mitford books, too. She writes in a lucid, conversational style, with a sparkling sense of humor. By the end of the book I felt I knew her well. The book is not perfect. It leaves far too much unexplained, and, as other reviewers have noted, she is perhaps a little early in the process to be writing this memoir. Still, I enjoyed it immensely. As someone who has walked a similar path, I felt privileged to share in hers. I recommend this book highly! Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
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