All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin completely blew me away, and it evoked many of the same feelings I had reading Beartown by Fredrik Backman.
What would you do if your son is accused of sharing a picture with his buddies that contains a half naked girl with a racist "joke" as the caption? Well that is exactly what Nina has to find out when her son Finch is accused of doing just that. Told in alternating viewpoints, this book is a heavy hitter that touches on a lot of pertinent issues in today's society. Chapters alternate between Nina, Finch, Lyla who is the girl in the picture, Lyla's dad Tom, plus a bit of Nina's husband Kirk sprinkled in. I loved the way Giffin did this because not only did it keep the story interesting, it also made figuring out who was telling the truth much harder. Each character had a very strong, unique voice so you can tell this isn't Giffin's first rodeo, and the characterization was perfect for me.
While the main storyline has to do with the photo, there is also a touch of romance, marital woes, keeping up with the Joneses, and relationships between parents and their children. There are so many topics touched upon and I found the book to be quite emotional. Not only is the cover of All We Ever Wanted beautiful, but the inside is as well. There is struggle and sadness, but also a good dose of happiness and hope as well.
I LOVED Nina and Lyla, and I think a lot of women will be able to relate to them (even though Lyla is high school age). They are very strong female characters and they weren't doormats which was refreshing to say the least.
Final Thought: I have heard that All We Ever Wanted is nothing like Giffin's other books (which mainly seem to be romantic in nature), but it was such an amazing book that it makes me want to read her other novels right away. Her writing is superb and she is such an amazing storyteller. I will definitely be thinking of this book for months, and maybe even years, to come.
All We Ever Wanted in 3-ish words: Beautiful, Must-Read, Ponderous
What would you do if your son is accused of sharing a picture with his buddies that contains a half naked girl with a racist "joke" as the caption? Well that is exactly what Nina has to find out when her son Finch is accused of doing just that. Told in alternating viewpoints, this book is a heavy hitter that touches on a lot of pertinent issues in today's society. Chapters alternate between Nina, Finch, Lyla who is the girl in the picture, Lyla's dad Tom, plus a bit of Nina's husband Kirk sprinkled in. I loved the way Giffin did this because not only did it keep the story interesting, it also made figuring out who was telling the truth much harder. Each character had a very strong, unique voice so you can tell this isn't Giffin's first rodeo, and the characterization was perfect for me.
While the main storyline has to do with the photo, there is also a touch of romance, marital woes, keeping up with the Joneses, and relationships between parents and their children. There are so many topics touched upon and I found the book to be quite emotional. Not only is the cover of All We Ever Wanted beautiful, but the inside is as well. There is struggle and sadness, but also a good dose of happiness and hope as well.
I LOVED Nina and Lyla, and I think a lot of women will be able to relate to them (even though Lyla is high school age). They are very strong female characters and they weren't doormats which was refreshing to say the least.
Final Thought: I have heard that All We Ever Wanted is nothing like Giffin's other books (which mainly seem to be romantic in nature), but it was such an amazing book that it makes me want to read her other novels right away. Her writing is superb and she is such an amazing storyteller. I will definitely be thinking of this book for months, and maybe even years, to come.
All We Ever Wanted in 3-ish words: Beautiful, Must-Read, Ponderous