Wow. This book is so timely as a mom raising teenagers. I felt so much for Lyla-and for her dad. Our kids have become so immune to what is inappropriate, my heart broke for her that she felt this kind of thing happens so often that it would blow over. I felt outrage, and fear-as a mom, we want our kids to make good choices and I was just as sad as Fitch's mom was to learn how easy it is for a good kid to make very bad decisions. I was not a fan of the rushed ending, but thought everything until those last few pages was very well done.

I liked this book, but didn't love it. Although she tackled some relevant topics, I just didn't connect well with the characters--they all seemed a little too stereotypical and one dimensional to me. I think maybe she tried to hit too many issues and maybe it would've worked a little better for me if she had delved deeper into just one. It was an entertaining read, but just lacked something for me.

Emily Giffin is a go-to for me when I am in the mood for some chick lit. I always enjoy her books and that held true for All We Ever Wanted. I was sucked into the story and finished it in one sitting.

So, I’m a bit late on this one, having downloaded it to my Kindle months ago. I’m not sure why I let it sit for so long because once I started this one, I was completely hooked. All We Ever Wanted tells the story of the wealthy, upstanding Nashville family, The Brownings. Kirk and his wife Nina are extremely proud when they learn that their son Finch has been accepted into Princeton. However, while at a charity gala one evening, they learn from one of the gossipy women in their circle that Finch has taken an inappropriate picture of a fellow student at his high-profile private school, and that it is spreading among the community like wildfire. Tom Volpe is a single Dad working extra jobs and doing his best to raise his teenage daughter, Lyla. She attends Windsor Academy with Finch thanks to financial aid and doesn’t exactly fit in with the rich and privileged students at the school, but when Finch’s photograph of Lyla has circulated around, Tom aggressively defends his daughter, demands repercussions for Finch’s actions, and finds a surprising ally in the process.

I absolutely loved this novel. I mean, LOVED it. Emily Giffin’s characters were completely amazing – whether good or bad – and the main conflict of the novel is something that could happen to any parent. I can’t count how many times I have made comments such as, “my child would never do anything like that,” assuming that I had raised him/her “right” and they just wouldn’t think of doing this or that. In this novel, those assumptions are completely upset and proved to be untrue when the popular, wealthy, intelligent, and charming Finch takes a photo of Lyla and then captions it with a comment even more inappropriate than the photo itself. However, once the photo is shared and each family begins dealing with the aftermath and consequences, lines are blurred, desperate measures are taken to fix everything, and it essentially becomes a battle of morals and what is right and wrong. Add in several lies, omissions, some manipulation and you can guess how things go.

I would say that the major theme of the novel revolves around the fact that assuming things about others – whether loved ones or complete strangers – is a careless way of thinking and unfortunately, can lead to a great deal of disappointment, anger, and heartbreak. Nina not only learns things about her son and his morals that are surprising and disappointing, she also recognizes and/or finally faces things about her husband Kirk that she had not seen. Nina and Tom are the moral heroes in this story, Lyla is repeatedly a victim, Kirk learns nothing, and as far as Finch goes, I honestly don’t know if he learned anything from the experience but I don’t want to go into that because of spoilers.

Faithful followers of my blog know that overall, I prefer romance or more light-hearted women’s fiction than novels such as this, but I cannot praise All We Ever Wanted enough. I think that parents will especially relate to this novel, but anyone that has ever stopped to wonder if their “perfect” life is truly “perfect” will most likely be fascinated by this novel. It’s a page-turner, there are several twists and surprises, but most importantly this one will get you thinking about things that are important.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing this review copy in exchange for my honest review!

Chick-flick books are usually not what I ever reach for - I usually go for murder mysteries. But somehow I love the other books I have read by Emily Grifin. This has a slight change of a pace though and doesn't feel chick-flick at all - more domestic drama. When I was 97% done on my kindle and the story was still spiralling, I was wondering how it would ever wrap up cleany - but it does - with a tug at the heartstrings.

All We Ever Wanted was not my first book by Emily Giffin and I'm kind of glad about that because this was not my favorite one. In fact, I had to start it 3 or 4 times before it took and I pulled myself through the rest of the book. If I didn't have a bit of a loyalty to Giffin, I may not have made the additional effort at all.

Ultimately, I was disappointed in how the characters in this novel come across. They seemed a bit cookie cutter & fell far too hard into stereotypical male/female, rich/middle-class/poor roles. I was hoping for her to mix it up a bit but she never came through. The ending came and went and I was left unimpressed and slightly bored. Sorry Emily!!

So why three stars? She really is a great writer and I could definitely see what she was attempting here. I didn't HATE anything about it - but I didn't really LOVE anything either. For me, it just didn't hit the mark.

Bottom line: Fingers crossed her next one will take my breathe away.

All We Ever Wanted is the first book I've ever read by Emily Griffin, and while I kept hearing great things about this book, I just didn't feel that it was anything spectacular. Don't get me wrong - it was a very well-written book and was easy to read from beginning to end. But to me, it just felt too similar to all the other books I read and other books of similar plot were more gripping. All We Ever Wanted would be an easy beach read or on a long trip as things tidy up somewhat at the end. There were a few things that I wish were resolved and it didn't seem like there would be a sequel to the story. So, I'll just have to be satisfied with the partially "satisfactory" ending.

In All We Ever Wanted, the story is told in alternating POVs with the main character, Nina, as more of the protagonist of the story as we see her life slowly unfold. Nina is your typical wealthy housewife who came from a middle class family, married rich, and lives with her son and husband. As the story opens, we are immediately taken into an incident that involves her son, Finch, and his classmate, Lyla. The story then quickly escalates to how Nina, her husband, Lyla, and Lyla's dad, Tom deals with this incident. And this is where the story felt kind of typical for me - the fallout of the incident just didn't seem dire enough nor did I feel that it was as devastating as it really should be. This is where the author should have really stressed how horrible the incident was and how the aftermath should be even more tragic and gripping. But that's just me and how I felt in reading the story.

All throughout the story, we see how Nina's husband Kirk had slowly turned from the doting and hard working husband to one that starts to take advantage of his wealth after he sold his technology company. Since he already came from a rich lifestyle, he tends to act like he's better than others, especially those who do not live in the upper crust area nor have a 6-figure income. Nina, on the other hand, was born from a more humble family and background and in fact feels kind of embarrassed of all the wealth. This is also where I wish the author had stressed more about Nina's disgust with all the wealth around her. She is described as humble yet she still lives in an expensive house, drives a luxury car, and wears designer clothing. So didn't feel like there was too much of a hardship on her conscience on that part.

I did like Tom though. While he was more of a blue collar worker and was in fact, disgusted with all the self-righteous millionaires around him, he was the one I felt had the most character growth. His daughter Lyla though was a bit annoying as was Finch, Nina and Kirk's son. Lyla was described very well as the typical self absorbed teenager and while she was supposed to be a smart self absorbed teenager, she did become a better person after the incident happened. Her ending of the story was better than I had hoped.

The gaping inconsistencies at the end bothered me because I wanted to know more about what happened to Kirk and Finch. It did seem that Finch learned his lesson but then the ending just kind of focused on Nina and Tom. If the author had intertwined these two characters a bit more (perhaps) in more chapters then the ending would have had more meaning for me. In essence, it just felt like the author wanted to end things on a happier note than how the story first began.

Overall, it's still a nice read and can easily be read in one sitting. The writing is smooth and clever but I just didn't feel very connected to any of the characters, and I feel that is one of the most important component to a great story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Emily Giffin for the ARC.

As usual, Emily Griffin has written an excellent novel. I was looking forward to this novel and it did not disappoint. All We Ever Wanted is a great Ivey for anyone who is looking for a story where you could find yourself lost in.

I really enjoyed this book. It was not as light as most of Emily Giffin’s books but very relevant. I especially enjoyed how the story was told from multiple perspectives. Strongly recommended.

I'm an Emily Giffin fan from way back so I was eager to read this one which appeared to have a bit more complexity that we usually see with her novels. This novel explores some very timely themes such as racism, social media use, privilege and more. And I found that I quite liked it. I'm glad to see Giffin working to expand her focus to something a little more 'meaty.' It took me a little bit to really engage with the story but once I connected, I really connected. It was a compelling read about themes that interest me and I enjoyed seeing the different ways that she explored them. Not a heavy read but it does address some substantial issues. This is definitely a great summer read but good for any time of the year, of course. I especially connected with the fact that one of the characters felt compelled to really question her values and the impacts of putting those values into practice despite the potential consequences. That struggle really gave me a great deal to think about as a woman and as a mother. All in all, I highly recommend this one. I think it would be an excellent book club book as it is likely to bring up a great deal of conversation for the group.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "All We Ever Wanted"
by Emily Giffin. Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a little bit too predictable to me. I also like to read books that have more of a resolution at the end and I didn't really feel that this felt like a complete ending.

3.5 stars. Emily Giffin has been a favorite of mine since I read Something Borrowed several years ago. I know I'm always in for a page-turner when she releases a new book. I love the subject matter she tackled in this book. It's definitely something that is so relevant in our schools and teenagers today. This book kept my attention and I had a hard time putting it down. I enjoyed the different perspectives in each chapter. I loved Nina and Tom. Emily wrote Lyla's teenage viewpoint and dialogue very well. I give this a 3.5 stars for the rushed ending. I didn't feel like I got closure until the epilogue. However, I was satisfied with the ending, but wanted to know more.

I really enjoyed this book...it made me pause to think of how I would react in the situation Nina and her family faced. I thought it was well written and the characters were nicely developed.

I haven't read an Emily Giffin novel in a few years, so it's possible my memory is playing tricks on me, but I seem to remember finding her writing quick, funny, and engrossing. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with All We Ever Wanted. The subject matter (sexualized images of teenagers, sexist and racist harassment, etc.) is certainly relevant, but every single character was exhausting and behaved in ways that simply don't seem realistic. I see this novel as part of a trend of heavy-handed, overly fair, absurdly both-sides-y "issue" novels (Jodi Picoult's œuvre is stuffed with examples) designed to make readers feel as though they understand a hot topic without doing much to challenge their worldview. I was hoping for some wit and incisive commentary, but this just didn't deliver.

This book was everywhere, all over my feeds, inescapable, so of course I had to read it. Largely, it a good book asking relevant questions (#MeToo, immigration/racism) but don't be surprised as it isn't a happy chicklit/beach read. All We Ever Wanted asks hard questions, making you rethink class and gender privilege. That said, the characters are infuriating, cliche and mostly without redeeming qualities. You're either going to love, hate or be frustrated by this book but it's worth reading.

Emily Giffin delivers realistic characters, riveting plot in 'All We Ever Wanted'
By Sandy Mahaffey for The Free Lance-Star

All it took was one photo taken using a cellphone to put two families’ lives into turmoil. Emily Giffin’s “All We Ever Wanted” is a well-crafted, thought-provoking and timely narrative of how such a small action can have such lasting consequences. Those involved find themselves in a dilemma impossible to escape.

There are three distinct voices, three narrators deeply involved and struggling to make things right. Lyla is a sophomore attending a private school on scholarship. All she wants is to fit in, but she becomes the victim. Tom is Lyla’s father—a single dad desperately trying to make all the right decisions and justify previous choices made. Nina is Finch’s mother. He is a senior at the school, recently accepted at Princeton, and now the accused. She is struggling with finding the truth and realizing how much her husband’s sudden wealth has affected their family and values.

The characters seem realistic to me. Their struggles with loyalty, love, making the right choices and living with the consequences reveal their goodness and their flaws. The plot was riveting for me—I truly could not put it down. Looking at the story from three distinct points of view made it very compelling and gave me great insight into their struggles.

The timeliness weaves a thread of fear throughout the book for me. Lives are potentially ruined because of a photo that should never have been taken was then shared via email. We all know of the dangers, but it becomes so much clearer when characters you come to know and care about are suffering and struggling.

I have read several of Giffin’s previous novels and found this one to be the best. It strikes a more serious tone than others I’ve read and deals with life-impacting issues. Her writing is intelligent; the narrative is smooth and flows freely, so she gives the reader plenty of opportunities to question what they would do in a similar situation.
Technology is a marvelous thing, but in the hands of people whose values and morals are still in flux, it can turn into a nightmare.

Sandy Mahaffey is former Books editor with The Free Lance–Star.

ALL WE EVER WANTED

By Emily Griffin

(Ballantine, $28, 327 pp.)

Release: June 26

This book started out great - very riveting. I couldn't put it down for the longest time. But I hated the ending (no resolution to the book's entire problem), and I got tired of the characters by the end. I've always loved Emily Giffin, but this one doesn't match up.

When Nina Browning's son Finch shares a promiscuous photo of a teenage girl with his friends, she starts to question everything from the way they're raising him to her relationship with her husband. The story is told from 3 perspectives, Nina, Lyla (the girl in the photo), and Tom (the girl's father). I really enjoyed being able to see the story from those different perspectives because it let me into a lot of the story that I would have missed without it.

I loved everything about this book. I couldn't put it down. The story line, character development, and different voices were all done extremely well. I was really able to put myself into the shoes of each of the three main characters, and I felt like I understood them.

While it's a break from the usually Emily Giffin love story, I'd highly recommend this book to women in all stages of life.

Emily is one of my favorite authors of all time and her latest did not disappoint. I thought this was such a timely novel with its plot about a social media scandal in a high school. Since it's written from the POV of both a student involved in the scandal, her working-class single father and the wealthy mother of a boy accused, you get to feel for each of them and see the different sides of the story. Touching on issues of class, race, and morals, I think this should be a must-read for both parents and young people.

Not my favorite Emily Giffin book, but an interesting departure from her usual style and subject matter!