Nina Browning is living the good life after marrying into Nashville’s elite. More recently, her husband made a fortune selling his tech business, and their adored son has been accepted to Princeton. Yet sometimes the middle-class small-town girl in Nina wonders if she’s strayed from the person she once was.

Tom Volpe is a single dad working multiple jobs while struggling to raise his headstrong daughter, Lyla. His road has been lonely, long, and hard, but he finally starts to relax after Lyla earns a scholarship to Windsor Academy, Nashville’s most prestigious private school.

Amid so much wealth and privilege, Lyla doesn’t always fit in—and her overprotective father doesn’t help—but in most ways, she’s a typical teenaged girl, happy and thriving.

Then, one photograph, snapped in a drunken moment at a party, changes everything. As the image spreads like wildfire, the Windsor community is instantly polarized, buzzing with controversy and assigning blame.

At the heart of the lies and scandal, Tom, Nina, and Lyla are forced together—all questioning their closest relationships, asking themselves who they really are, and searching for the courage to live a life of true meaning.

I have to confess that while I am usually not enthralled by women’s fiction, I LOVE Emily Giffin’s books! I was so thrilled to receive an advance copy of her newest title, All We Ever Wanted, out June 26th of this year!

After reading the summary of the book I was worried that this would be the first of her titles that I wouldn’t like, but I am pleased to say that was not the case at all. I was wrapped up in the characters from the first few chapters. The book is written from the perspectives of all of the main characters, which makes them more compelling since readers are given a view into their mindsets as the story unfolds.

This is going to be the perfect beach read of 2018, and I can’t wait to hear what you all think of All We Ever Wanted!

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are those of this blogger.

This is my second book in a row where an author I enjoy is writing outside her niche, and I am loving the results. Prior to All We Ever Wanted, I have read three other Emily Giffin books and have been well entertained by each of them. The central themes were always romance and friendships. In this novel, Giffin tackles issues of wealth, privilege, motherhood, a burgeoning ideal of what it means to be pro-woman. In other words, All We Ever Wanted is not your average chick-lit.

In All We Ever Wanted, Giffin was onto something profound and necessary, not just timely. (This was by far the deepest, most thought-provoking novel I have read of hers.) As a mother of a son, I empathized with everything Nina was mentally battling when she was trying to reconcile Finch's behavior with who she thought he was. What part of that was the fault of the parents? I could even relate (to some extent) to how Nina and Kirk both had wildly different ideas about parenting and disciplining appropriately.

While by the end of the novel, I felt that Giffin had erred in making it too unrealistic in that the characters of the book ended up being either all good or all bad and only the good ones were shown to have any growth (but very little responsibility for their own behaviors that contributed to the drama at the center of the story). I also felt like maybe she tackled too many pet-peeve issues (e.g. "salt-of-the-earth" as a class insult) rather than hit the big one (the demeaning of females on a large scale) as hard as she could.

I did appreciate the way Emily Giffin treated ideals different than her own in a way that did not seem overly judgmental. All in all, I think the story in this book is not too heavy for the genre which the author is known for, yet All We Ever Wanted is a great book to start a discussion about how we, as women, can do more in our own attitudes and behaviors to change the world's perspective on women.

Thanks to Emily Giffin, NetGalley, and Random House for my advanced ecopy of this book.

Intense with lots of plot twists. Expect the unexpected here. High quality writing and great characters.

Thank you so much for this advanced readers copy!

I love Emily Giffin and was thrilled when my request was approved. This is a mature novel, exploring issues such as parenting, marital pr0blems, suicide, divide amongst classes and general greed and manipulation that comes with great wealth. I really enjoyed this book, however, I thought it ended quite abruptly. I will still forever be an Emily Giffin fan!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All We Ever Wanted was not at all what I was expecting. If you have ever wondered how your life turned out the way it did, this book is for you. You think when you are young that adult life is going to be so much fun; you can do what you want, be who you want. Twenty years down the road you wonder, how did I get here. Giffin does an amazing job of taking a look at the choices Nina Browning makes in life and how those choices affect those around her. Her son, Finch, makes choices of his own and Nina begins to question her parenting ability, her marriage and her own beliefs. Giffin created a compelling story with characters that are strong and flawed at the same time. This book is for anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction, and chick-lit.

When you are young you think you know what you want for the rest of your life. Nina Browning had it all-wealth and the privileged life that goes with it, a handsome husband and wonderful son. Then her world changed because of a thoughtless, cruel act by her son. It's then she realizes that money should NOT be able to buy everything, especially at the cost of someone else's well being. All We Ever Wanted is a timely book for this day and age, when so often people do not take responsibility for their actions.

A huge thank you to Net Galley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of All We Ever Wanted.
Wow, not at all what I expected from a Emily Giffin book. I really enjoyed Giffin's books a long time ago. They were always fun "chick lit" for me. But, this book really deviated from that and I LOVED it. Told from different perspectives, a scandal unfolds and reveals the darkness that can surround society brought up thinking that the rules don't apply to them and the impact that has on those around them. Different characters grow and develop throughout the book, realizing hard truths that shape the future we see in the Epilogue. Do yourself a favor and READ.THIS.BOOK. Kudos, Griffin!

** spoiler alert ** "All We Ever Wanted" by Emily Griffin is a somewhat vaguely titled book that delivers a suburban Nashville story about teenage scandal and the parents that had to deal with it. Tackling serious topics like rape, sexting, white privilege, teen suicide, divorce, and misogyny (listed here in no particular order), its a serious work of fiction that could be set in your own back yard.

Not a true story, but might as well be-full of lies and moments of 'not all is as it seems', "All We Ever Wanted" makes the reader question what they actually want to believe. It is well-written from 3 believable points of view and develops the main characters very well. I also appreciated that the other players whose thoughts we don't know also advance the plot and aren't predictable and two dimensional as they often are in novels in the 'suburban this could happen to you' genre.

I'm a sucker for well-developed characters and a plot that doesn't fall apart-this book delivers. As a parent, I'm definitely not looking forward to the teenage years, that's for sure.

As a parent of a teenager, this book was timely and troubling--and so, so spot-on. I love the way Emily Giffin told the story through multiple viewpoints. She has a knack for creating characters that are so relatable, even some that are so real they are unlikeable. She doesn't let anyone off the hook for bad choices--which is real life, and I appreciate that. I inhaled this book...could NOT put it down. I love that Emily Giffin's books don't have fairy tale endings, because again--that's not real life. I can't wait to read her next book!

I have read a couple of Emily Giffin's novels (Something Borrowed and Something Blue, and Love the One You're With), so I’m not like her biggest fan, but I have enjoyed her novels, so I was excited when I was approved for this. Plus, the description seemed like something I would really enjoy! (And also, slightly Jodi Picoult-ish, and I’m a huge fan of hers.)


This is a topical novel – girl and guy are at the same party, guy takes compromising photo of girl, and that’s where we pick it up. The novel is told in alternating viewpoints: Nina (Finch’s, the guy who took the photos, Mom), Lyla (the girl in the photo), and Tom (Lyla’s Dad). Nina’s husband Kirk comes from “old money” and sold his tech company for an “obscene amount of money” (both quotes from the book), and Nina feels that something is off with her marriage, and in her relationship with her son. Nina is also not from money, and sometimes struggles with this aspect in her social life. Tom is a struggling single parent, and Lyla received a scholarship to the private school where Finch is. All of this is important, as this ties directly to the motivations of these characters, and how they respond to what happened between Finch and Lyla.
Specifically, a big thing is what is IN the photo with Lyla, and the fact that she is Hispanic. It’s not only terrible that he took the photo, it’s also extremely racist.

So that’s all I can say about the photo, and the controversy, because everything else I can say to write, would completely give it away. But it does change the course of Finch’s future, as well as the marriages and lives of all parents involved.


A huge portion of the book is dedicated to the idea of the way a person is raised, what their core values are, and how class and money factor into who we are as a people. And how children change from who they are inherently as they grow and watch how their parents react to the world around them.
And that, even, in spite of our best efforts, money can change you, how you perceive others, and how others perceive you.


There’s so, so much more I want to say about this book. It deeply affected me. I felt like it hit on so many topics that are really at the forefront currently (consent, teen drinking, social media, racism, and classism, and all of those other –isms).

I don’t want to keep reviewing and give more away. But this book is really important, especially as a parent with a growing kid. I constantly worry and wonder what it will be like when he’s old enough for social media (whatever that might even look like when he’s old enough), and what I will do, as a parent, to ensure he’s not using it to harm others.


I will definitely be checking out the remaining Giffin’s novels, which I think is the highest compliment you can pay an author. That they touched you so much with one book, it’s now a mission to read through the others.

I am a huge fan of Emily Giffin and really enjoyed this one, though it is more of a departure from her previous lighthearted novels and continues the more family drama feel that she began with First Comes Love. Though I really enjoyed her more lighthearted books, she is a good enough writer to suck me into more serious stories as well. The characters are well drawn and sympathetic, and the issues at heart are complicated and interesting. I am impressed with her growth as a writer and would recommend this to any of my female friends.

4.5 stars. This was a surprisingly deep and touching book. I've been a long time fan of Emily Giffin but her last few left me wanting. All We Ever Wanted started off like a standard rich people problems book but evolved into a rich discussion that posed moral and ethical dilemmas. What does one do when what's right and what's best for your family are in direct competition with each other? I loved reading about a single father who's very aware of his faults but is doing his best. The author does a very good job writing both the parents and kids sides and the reader gets a solid- if abrupt- conclusion. For fans of You Will Know Me or Anatomy of a Scandal.

I loved the book! It felt like a little of a departure from Giffin’s other books, but the subject was so relevent and timely to what is going on in the world today. As a teacher, it really made me think about how kids are being affected by social media at an age when they do not understand the ramifications of their actions- in that what you put online lives forever. Highly recommend for Emily Griffin fans!!

I really enjoyed this novel. I'm not usually one to go for first person story telling but it really worked in this. Especially to really get the reader into the drama of the lies and secrets people keep. The drama that comes with the divide between the rich/not-rich, the morals that parents pass to their children, EVERYTHING about the dichotomies in this book was fascinating. I was rooting for everyone, until the very end when the truth really came out. The author did a good job really making you fall into the drama and suspense of not really knowing who was to blame. Overall, a really good read!

I've been getting a little tired of Emily Giffin's books recently; Dating back to the Darcy & Rachel series, I felt as if she was justifying cheating and I didn't like that. But recently, she has been pulling me back in. This latest book was a change from her usual "late 30's looking for love".

In a story about a flawed family and a high school scandal that threatens to ruin them, Giffin introduced new perspectives--those of teenagers and the offended party. She humanized her characters and addressed issues that are pressing in today's society.

I thought the book rushed through the ending, and the bow was a little too nicely tied, but otherwise I really enjoyed this!

I'd like to thank the publishers for giving me a digital copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

It is easy to see why Emily Giffin is such a popular writer. She is a talented story writer, the book was easy and quick to read, good character development, plot twists to keep you interested. High marks for her talent. That aside, my personal rating of this book is lower. There was a little language which I don't like and I really disliked some of the characters. I think we were supposed to (kudoos to Emily for writing them well) but it made the book less enjoyable for me. Finch is horrid! Beyond a usual high school boy jerk- criminally, morally horrible. It turned out a little too dark and awful for me. Luckily there is redemption in the ending, but it kept my personal grade of the book lower.

All We Ever Wanted explores the pit-falls of social media and how it effects not only the youth, who often don't make the best decisions when posting, and their families. Through a racially worded and sexually explicit post, two families, the affluent Browning family and Tom, a single middle class parent of scholarship student, Lyla. The novel does an excellent job of depicting how one life-changing decision can change the entire future of everyone involved. As a parent, my heart felt for Nina, the mother of Finch (the teenage boy who posted the picture). She wavered between standing behind her son and securing his future or standing up for the victim of the picture. Throughout the book, Nina becomes stronger in her values and decides to make a stand for what she feels is right, regardless of the consequences.

I am a huge Emily Giffin fan, but this book left me feeling flat. Although I couldn't wait to see how it actually all ended and finished it just a couple of days, I felt like it was more of a YA book than adult fiction. I would have liked more character development on each of the characters. I also would have liked to read Finch's perspective since we got to hear Lyla's. Not her best work.

Thanks to netgalley.com I got an early release copy. I really enjoyed the first half and though I felt compelled to finish, I couldn't quite get into the story or the characters.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36344555-all-we-ever-wanted

I loved Giffin’s early books, always excited to get the next one. Her last two, however, were not winners for me, so I didn’t have high expectations for this one.

I’m excited to say that I really enjoyed it. The characters were mostly relatable, and the moral dilemma is timely. My one disappointment was how the wealthy characters were portrayed as basically one-dimensional, with a few token comments about how “not all are that way” but no actual portrayals of such.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this early!