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kiar55's review against another edition
4.0
This book is about a family that falls apart and how each member hits their own personal rock bottom and what they do to heal themselves and the family.
pages_and_papercrafts's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this satirical familial drama featuring the points-of_view of a mother and her two daughters during one troubling time in their life. Although the timeline is the same, each of them faces different life changing events and have to learn to rely on each other. It was heartbreaking at times but sure am happy with the ending.
angelicafun's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book more than I thought I would. It is basically about the women of the Miller family: Janice (the mother), Margaret (the older daughter) and Lizzie (the younger daughter). Just when they think their lives are all going perfectly, Paul Miller decides to divorce Janice and run off with her best friend and also take all the money he got through stock exchange. Margaret deals with her debts and the fact that she broke up with her boyfriend and Lizzie is trying to find her place in high school. The characters are realistic with all their faults and decisions they make through their lives. Lizzie broke my heart into pieces with her story (as she turns from the school wallflower to the school slut and then tries to find redemption through God). I liked Margaret the best. Sections on Janice bored me a bit at the beginning, but at the end everything turned out okay.
If you are looking for a family drama mostly based on the female point of view, check this out.
If you are looking for a family drama mostly based on the female point of view, check this out.
joemdief's review
4.0
The raw emotion the author uses in depicting the 3 main characters through their own, and each others point of views was sensational. It was a quick read, the kind of book that's fast paced and full of interesting details that weave the characters' past and present together. If anything, this book could be renamed, Deconstructing the American Dream, because that is surely what Brown has done with her work.
anovelobsession's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, even though at first I found myself not really liking the main characters. For one reason or another, they are all going through very difficult times in their lives and to be honest, they don't handle it all that well. But I kept thinking about Janice, Margaret and Lizzie when I put the book down and when I was finished with the book, I thought about how the rest of their lives would unfold. Janelle Brown did a good job of getting me hooked on her characters, likeable or not, flaws or not.
elderwoodreads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was... certainly a book. Quite a bit of it felt a little unrealistic to me, but there was quite a bit of nice character study as well. I'm not sure why but I couldn't DNF it. Definitely didn't hate it but I'm not sure i liked it either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, and Blood
marynolanpleckham's review against another edition
Rich people behaving badly. Unlikeable characters. Whining. Not for me.
alison_marie's review against another edition
4.0
An all-around great book. It took me a while to get into it, but once the book hooked me, I read it in an afternoon.
karenleagermain's review against another edition
4.0
For years, I have seen Janelle Brown’s “All We Ever Wanted Was Everything” prominently displayed at bookstores, but I just never bought it. I finally saw an autographed copy on sale at my local Borders and decided to give it a shot. What’s not to love a book that has an ice cream sundae on the cover?
This book was impossible to put down. I raced through it in less than a day and felt a bit sad when I reached the end. I don’t think that it is one of the best books that I have ever read, but it was certainly compelling. It felt like a beach read with a bit more substance and heart.
The story is alternates chapters between three different women- Janice (the mother), Margaret (her adult daughter) and Lizzie (Janice’s teenage daughter). Each woman has a compelling enough story that a whole book could have focused on a single character. I hope that Brown decides to write a sequel with the same characters. The ending was a bit abrupt and I felt longing for some closure.
This book was impossible to put down. I raced through it in less than a day and felt a bit sad when I reached the end. I don’t think that it is one of the best books that I have ever read, but it was certainly compelling. It felt like a beach read with a bit more substance and heart.
The story is alternates chapters between three different women- Janice (the mother), Margaret (her adult daughter) and Lizzie (Janice’s teenage daughter). Each woman has a compelling enough story that a whole book could have focused on a single character. I hope that Brown decides to write a sequel with the same characters. The ending was a bit abrupt and I felt longing for some closure.