Giffin absolutely NAILED IT with this absolutely made-for-book-clubs story! ALL WE EVER WANTED is set in the world of Nashville's elite, and it is a riveting story of class, race, rape culture, social media, parenting and marriage. I had to slow myself down to keep myself from finishing it too fast, and won't be able to stop thinking about this story for a long, long time. As a parent of both daughters and a son, this book paints a stark picture of my worst fears of parenting when my kids reach their young adult years. Easily on my list of Best of 2018 ~ intensely readable, wide appeal, so many hot issues. Go put it on hold at the library immediately, or buy from a local store!

A sweet book, and a nice exploration of values and family choices. The characters were a little predictable, but not so much that it got in the way of the story.

This was my favorite Giffin book. At first I thought it would be a typical mean girl type of novel but it had more meaning than that

I'm sorry but this read turned into the common crass language and story that seems to be popular these days and I quit reading shortly after the first chapter.

Loved this book, even when I was not reading it I kept thinking about it and couldn’t wait to pick it up again and I finished it in a day. Would definitely recommend to others and can’t wait to read other titles from this author.

Highly recommend!!

5 Thought Provoking Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book is a MUST read! Not only was it absolutely brilliant it also touched on so many of today’s issues... it was a book that really made you think... what would I do in that situation? And as a single mother of two boys and a girl I could see so many sides of this story... and this book really made you realize that with social media a teenager’s reputation can be trashed in a matter of minutes.... makes you long for the good old days when you needed to make a trip to the local drugstore to get your pictures developed and your rash words were only ever read/heard by a handful of people...

One night, one thoughtless moment, and lives are changed forever... what do you do when your daughter has had her picture taken in a compromising position at a party and it is plastered all over social media? What do you do if it was your son that took this picture? Meet Tom single father of Lila the girl in the infamous picture and Nina the mother of Finch the photographer.... both parents instant reaction was to defend their children, as all of ours would be, but what is the right thing to do? Wow, this is tough! If I were Tom I’d want blood my heart would break for my daughter in that situation... but what would I do if I were Nina? What If it were one of my boys that took this picture? This was something that nagged at me throughout this entire book.... i’d like to think I do the right thing, I’d like to think my boys would never do something like this.... but how hard would it be to let your son ruin his life over one indiscretion?Ugh still have no idea what I would do, and fingers crossed I never need to figure it out!

This book was told from the perspectives of Nina, Tom, and Lila and I thought this was super effective.... all three characters were likable, relatable, and reel.... Nina was probably the most relatable character to me, because she was a mother... my heart broke for her what a horrible position to be in! But to Nina’s credit she handled the situation with intelligence, grace, and an open mind.... actually all three of these characters handled the situation in a very commendable manner... unfortunately not every character in this book did... it is always amazing that controversy can show people’s true colors....

Loved this book from first page to last and the ending was perfection... strongly encourage everyone to pick up this book and make sure you have a box of tissues nearby when you read it!

*** many thanks to Valentine Books for my copy of this wonderful book ***

Emily Griffin's novel, All We Ever Wanted, focuses on the issue of an inappropriate online photograph of a high school student. This is a great subject matter to tackle as it affects so many young people today. However, the plot and seriousness of the subject seems to get lost in the myriad of the rich, spoiled lifestyle of the kids as well as the parents. I wish Griffin would have focused more on this novel using an "average" person as her basis. I think I may have related and liked it a little more.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

I liked this book, I really did. Ms. Giffin is a fantastic storyteller, and this work is well written, and had me hooked from the first page.

This story is so relevant to society today. It's the story of a high school girl, Lyla, a scholarship student at an elite private school who goes to a party, gets drunk, and the next day, a compromising photo of her starts to get texted around the school. The story is told from four points of view: Lyla, her father (her Mom ran off when she was little), the boy accused of taking and distributing the photo-Finch, and Finch's Mom. I really enjoyed getting the story from four sides. The depth really added to the novel. The reader is taken through the minds of single Dad trying to raise his daughter in this tech-savvy society, the out of her element daugheter trying to fit in, the spoiled rotten boy who has never had to suffer consequences for anything. Ever., and his Mom, who you really want to like because you see how vulnerable she is and you learn her back story-but damn it Mom, get a backbone.

So why four stars? First off, I thought the whole "rich boy, poor girl" plot was a bit too cliche, but what really bothered me was how it all ended up tied up with a pretty little bow. After everything we go through with the characters, Finch, yet again, suffers no consequences even after he blatantly uses his friends, his Mom, and Lyla. I wasn't prepared for a happily ever after.

Thank you NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to review this novel.

I couldn't put this book down! I loved every word. As the mother of a daughter, I got a pit in my stomach reading about what happened to Lyla at a party and how cruel and difficult it can be growing up in this world of technology. Your life can be changed in a matter of seconds! The struggle the parents faced trying to raise children who grow up to be confident, loving, caring, respectable and all around good people despite the outside influences, can be difficult at times.

Emily Giffin did a great job of making the characters so real and drawing you into the issues they each faced as if they were your neighbors. I would definitely recommend this book to family and friends!

This will be short, but to the point.

I find myself struggling with Giffin. This isn't the first time, but I expected to enjoy this more than I did. I didn't finish, and maybe I will at some point, but with the cliche characters...I just needed a break.

Nina Browning’s family is living well. A few years earlier, her husband, Kirk, sold his business for a bundle, allowing them to go from being comfortable to being downright wealthy. Their only and adored son, Finch, attends a tony prep school and has just been accepted at Princeton. It seems like a dream come true for everyone. Tom Volpe is a divorced carpenter with a teenage daughter, Lyla, who also attends Finch’s prep school on a scholarship. Ton wants only to provide the best for Lyla and is constantly looking out for her while trying to help her achieve her best. Then, one night, Finch does something foolish, turning both his and Tom’s family upside down. Other actions/reactions involving both families follow, only making things worse. In addition, Nina, who came from a regular, middle class family herself, has become very disillusioned with her marriage and life style—and becomes more so as the days and actions/reactions continue. In this book, the author has presented a rather interesting look at how actions can have repercussions and can impact others, even though they seemed quite harmless at the time and were never meant to cause any harm or disruption of lives.

This is a book that borrows from the current social/political environment to bring out a message of how one simple act can change a multitude of lives for better or worse. However, as I read, I thought the author had taken and overblown one act, using the current social/political environment to make her point. Also, after spending the book demonstrating the impact of Finch’s act, the ending left me wanting, as I do not think that it fit the story well or even completed it. I will not go into the details, but, suffice it to say that, for me, the book left me wanting and unsatisfied. I have read this author’s other books and enjoyed them all, but I did not really enjoy this one as much. Of course, the writing was great, and the characters were well-developed, as always, but I did particularly like any of them, and, as I said, the book had a strange ending, after all the time the author spent on the repercussions of this one act. This will never be one of my favorites by the author. However, others may find it quite different, so, if you enjoy the author, you might want to give it a try. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

I typically have loved Emily Giffin and her unique way of storytelling, I did not enjoy this book as much as I did all of her others but I do like that she chose a darker topic in this current climate which is why I still gave the book 4 stars

As with all Emily Giffin books, I was so excited to read this one! Even better, I received an early copy. This book was well-written, and drew me in almost immediately. It's not just the interesting plot--relevant and timely and related to my job at legal aid--the characters and the writing are also excellent. Thank you, netgalley and Emily Giffin, y'all are the best for getting me this book!!

I finished this book in just a couple of sittings at the beach. It was actually a heavier topic than most of Giffin’s books. I felt like it was very realistic and now in terms of the issue and what happened. I do feel though that Giffin just touched the surface, and it could have gone a little deeper. I liked the way the book switched between Nina, Tom and Lyla. You got to see the story from each of their points of views and know what they were feeling. I didn’t really get attached to any of the characters the way I like to, but they were likeable enough. The ending sort of wrapped up a little too quickly for me, leaving me wanting something more from the book.

Bottom Line: I think Giffin fans will appreciate this book for its heavier subject matter. This was a quick and enjoyable read.

**I received a copy of All We Ever Wanted from Netgalley in exchange for me honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Wow what a book that kept me on my toes with twists and turns I did not see coming. Nina, a rich housewife, soon finds herself questioning this life she now lives with her husband and son both of whom she learns she cannot trust. Her son Finch finds himself in the middle of a catastrophe and risks losing his place at Princeton. High five to Griffin on this work.

I love almost all of Emily Giffin’s book and this one is no different. I feel it was a turn from her normal tone in that it tackled some serious topics in a fairly realistic way. I am drawn to books that tell a story from multiple points of view and this one did not disappoint.

There are just a few points that stopped me from giving this book 5 stars. I don’t want to give away any plot points but I think some of Lila’s responses and reactions were spot on and some were a little too “mature” for her age. I also felt like some of Nina’s motherly instincts where a little off. While she seemed to have an accurate and realistic view of her son and his actions, I feel like most mothers would struggle a little more with their protective instincts in a situation like this.

All in all another great read by Emily Griffin!

I’d like to thank Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book to read. My review and opinions are completely my own and are not influenced by Netgalley or the publisher.

Wow! This book! It is by far my favorite Emily Giffin read of all time! The subject matter of this book is so relevant to today's world, that I feel this is a must read book for everyone. The events that unfold in this story will have you thinking ab9ut every decision and every story you tell. It was a great read that I highly recommend!

It's been a while since I tried an Emily Giffin book. I was gung-ho Emily Giffin for a long time, but they began to feel so formulaic and the infidelity stories just got old to me. So I was reluctant going into this book. But it looks SO GOOD that I had to give it a try. And my oh my am I glad that I did. Watching Nina blossom into who she was meant to be was everything a reader wanted it to be. Seeing the hoity-toity charity attending new-money wife open her eyes to the mistakes she had made was as painful as it was heartfelt for me as a reader. And oh, her emotional connection to Lyla. And Tom. Everything unfolded as I hoped, but more well-done that I even anticipated. The epilogue was perfection. Which is saying a lot because I despise epilogues.... But this was a true epilogue, the way they are meant to be.
Although as much as I am gushing, can I just say for a moment, that good lord, it is frustrating when the outrageous, clearly wrong character is a raging conservative. I'm sorry, but as a conservative, most "right-wingers" would be appalled at both his behavior and the behavior that he condoned.
That is all. Back to the gushing.

Hard to put this one down! Sometimes our children are not what we had hoped and are leading different lives than the ones presented to their parents. This book deals with some tough topics: privacy in the new world of social media and how families are affected, standing by your belief in what is right regardless of the negative ramifications, teenagers ('nuf said - always drama and turmoil). Griffin handles the intricate relationships in this book with empathy and compassion. The writing is beautiful and absorbing. The characters are believable. Great job Emily Griffin - I really liked it!

I DNF'd 'All We Ever Wanted' around 48%, I couldn't stay invested in the story or the characters and pushing myself to continue was putting me in a reading slump. The writing was good, I've liked a few of Giffin's other books but this wasn't one that I cared for. I read the last 2 chapters and decided that I was done. Thank you to the publisher for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley.