Reviews

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

kimreadz's review against another edition

4.0

I'm rating this one about 3¾. I liked it a lot, but there were times when it really seemed to drag. I also got caught up in some of the inaccuracies. In her attempt to portray 'the 60s', it seemed that the author shifted the time line a bit so that everything in her story was happening 3-5 years before it really happened. One glaring example is when she talked about the girls being on the Michigan campus and the fashions there—bell bottom jeans and long hair. She set this in 1962, which was still pretty much the 50s and the tail-end of the beatnik era. Kennedy was still alive and the Beatles weren't really a thing yet. They were around, but the hadn't made their US tour and they certainly didn't look like hippies. Another example is the Vietnam War protests—she had them too early, during Kennedy's term. They didn't get going until after LBJ took office and escalated the war. There are other examples of facts she placed at the wrong time, or inconsistencies, and you can find some of those mentioned in other reviews.
That said, once I got into later parts of the book, the errors were't so glaring and the story moved along pretty quickly. I did enjoy the book.

writer6's review against another edition

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! Mrs. Everything is definitely one of my top favorite books, if not my favorite book, that I've read so far this year. Mrs. Everything is the first book by Jennifer Weiner that I've ever read, and I definitely want to check out Weiner's other books after reading this book!

My Rating / Score: 5 out of 5 Stars on Goodreads' rating system. 10 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.

nikachelle's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

katec9999's review

4.0

Mrs. Everything follows the lives of sisters Jo and Bethie, from their childhood in 1950’s Detroit to the present. Growing up, Jo doesn’t understand why she can’t dress the way she wants, or play with the black kids; Bethie is the golden child who does everything right. As they mature their roles start to change, as Bethie deals with trauma and Jo comes to terms with her homosexuality.

I really enjoyed the time I spent reading this book, and when I finished it Jo and Bethie felt like friends I would miss. There were parts that struck me as unrealistic, and small details that were incorrect for the time, but these faults didn’t detract from the story. I feel that Weiner has moved from her chick-lit label to literary writer with this novel.

siol4929's review

2.0

wanted to love this...the storyline and content are my cup of tea (following a family over a few decades, women trying to find their own way/voice) but I finished this just so I’d be done with it. I kept expecting it to get better, but it was too long and overall I did not like.

hokiegal2k's review

5.0

"We lose ourselves, but we find our way back." Mrs. Everything is a decades long story of two sisters losing and finding themselves, while trying to share their wisdom with the next generation of family as they do the same. Jennifer Weiner does an excellent job of flowing through time and major societal issues, without lecturing the reader. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the way it made me think about supportive female relationships. We're all losing and finding ourselves; how lucky we are when we find people who are gentle enough to remind us when we may stray from our intentions and strong enough to help get us back on the right path.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#MrsEverything #NetGalley

megaleemart's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

burningupasun's review

4.0

Definitely TW's for rape and sexual assault, but this was a good book, overall. I enjoyed reading about Jewish characters, even if they did kind of trail off on their Judaism as adults... I guess that's relatable lol.

shailydc's review

3.0

I think I would have liked this book more if I hadn't read it so soon after [b:Ask Again, Yes|42201996|Ask Again, Yes|Mary Beth Keane|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557052821l/42201996._SY75_.jpg|60897878]. The styles are similar but AAY does it much better.

aejohnson85's review

3.0

This book was a lot heavier than I was expecting. Overall, a good read but some of the characters were beyond frustrating (Lila particularly - why was she so awful?! I didn’t find her redeemed at the end at all). While I didn’t always agree with Jo and Bethie’s choices, I was happy with the way things turned out for them both!