Jennifer Weiner at her absolute best! I have read every single one of Ms. Weiner’s books and Mrs. Everything is by far her greatest work. A touching and relatable story of two sisters taking different paths in life. At times heartbreaking, always captivating, and absolutely un-put-down-able.

I usually like books by Jennifer Weiner, but this one just did not work for me. I tried and tried...and tried again, but just couldn't read it for more than just a few minutes at a time. I think it was just not a subject for me at this time.

Jennifer Weiner's sweeping novel follows the lives of two sisters as they struggle to find their own way in the world. Bethie becomes a free-spirited nomad while Jo settles into the the role of a traditional American housewife. Despite their differences, each sister is searching for happiness in this ever-changing world. The world needs more stories of women becoming who they are meant to be, so I was excited to pick up this June 2019 book release.

Everyone seems to be raving about Mrs. Everything, but I honestly wasn't impressed. To me, Weiner seemed to take all of today's values and shove them into baby boomers. I felt the novel dwelt too long on their childhood - the entire first half is about Bethie and Jo growing up - but then skipped large chunks of their adult lives when they were interesting, only to cram in the next generation at the end.

Mrs Everything touched on so many themes (molestation, rape, lesbianism, feminism, biracial relations, #metoo, etc.) that it didn't deliver a strong message on any of them. In all, I can't say that I would ever recommend this book, but to each their own.

Sometimes I get nervous reading books that are hyped up because the author is famous, or the publishers want it to be an instant best seller…but then sometimes the hype is real! Mrs. Everything is one of those books where it deserves all the accolades it receives! I absolutely loved it! Jennifer Weiner is new to me, so I’m not just saying this because I have read all her books. This is the first book by her I have ever read, and it was brilliant!

Mrs. Everything is the story of Jo and Bethie, two sisters from Detroit. The story spans their lifetime from young childhood, well into their adult lives. Growing up in the 1950’s they have already established roles in their home. Jo is older and a tomboy, and never seems to get along their mother. Bethie is the girly-girl, pretty one that seems to do everything right. As they continue to grow throughout the decades of women’s lib, free love, Vietnam, sex and drugs their lives take very different shapes. Neither of them is living the life they want but they are too scared to make changes. Is it too late to start over, choose a different path, change the present?

There is so much in this story! I highly recommend you pick this one up. I laughed out loud and I cried. You become so invested in both Jo and Bethie you just want to reach through the pages to protect them and tell them they will survive the traumas that happen.

“Mrs. Everything” by Jennifer Weiner follows the lives of 2 sisters from the 1950's onward. The author has said that this is her take on “Little Women”, which seems true enough as it highlights in some instances how far women have come and at what cost, while also showing how little has changed for women by and large.

The book touches on what it is to be a woman in all the roles that women find themselves, including those they find themselves thrust into and those that the fall into by circumstance or choice. The characters are chronicaled as they struggle, with some limited success to figure out who they are as people independent of those roles.

This would make an excellent book club read as it covered so many topics that would make for good discussion: Racism, sexism, sexual orientation, rape, drugs, motherhood, the freelove era, the #metoo movement, and more.

While there were a lot of plusses for the book, I found the material to be a little bit too much. There were too many issues and at times the pacing seemed a little bit too slow. A good read, but not a great read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book and following both sisters from childhood to adulthood. This book kept me engaged and wanting to read it all day long. The characters are developed and multi-dimensional. The mother daughter relationships made me explore my own relationship with my mother.

I really liked how the chapters went between the two sisters and through their lifetime. This was an interesting read that I really liked. I was surprised that this was a Jennifer Weiner book. It is very different from other books I've read from her.

I hope Jennifer Weiner writes more books like this one. I would definitely read them!

Mrs Everything was a very different story than what I’m used to reading by Weiner. The story spans the life of a family, two sisters and their mom from the 1950’s to the present. It’s definitely a slower paced story that was surprising and also very powerful. The two sisters go through tragedies and heartbreaks that mold the course of their lives. Lots of heavy topics covered in this one; death of a parent, rape, drug use and homosexuality. I really enjoyed the book. It was just a bit on the long side for me, otherwise it would have received a 5 star.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to review this story.

Always a popular author with our patrons. However, I find that this was just your standard chick lit without much else going for it. It was all very..meh. I know Jennifer Weiner can do better than this, and hope to see a higher standard in the future.

Mrs. Everything really surprised me, and inba great way! Not to say that I was expecting a terrible book, but I just hadn’t read much of Ms. Weiner preciously. This was such a lovely book about two sisters, Jo and Bethie, and follows them from their childhood in the 50s in a cookie-cutter “perfect” house with their parents and then throughout their lives. Both girls are so different, and I saw myself in both of them, at different times throughout their lives and my own. I didn’t grow up during the time of “free love”, Woodstock, and such but I felt like I was living their experiences right along with the girls! This book really makes you think about how we, as women, feel the need to put ourselves in little boxes of conformity, and what happens to us as we deal with life, heartbreak, and tragedy.

4 out of 5 stars for Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review this wonderful book.

I'm extremely impressed. This is so different from the other books I've read by Weiner, pleasantly so! It's a telescopic novel flipping between perspectives of two sisters, Bethie and Jo Kaufman, spanning 60+ years from the 1950s through 2022. Though there were some instances where I felt like Weiner was using a more general idea rather than specifics to glaze over a few subjects, I was still floored by how epic the coverage was, following along through the early and sudden death of the girls' father, the respective strained relationships with their mother, Bethie's childhood sexual abuse and her wild pre/post college years, Jo's struggles with accepting her sexuality and her future potential as "just" a woman, and beyond. Can't say more without revealing too much, but there is A LOT going on. It bordered on excessive, but the style of retrospective voice which effortlessly described what was happening in the scenes the reader doesn't get to see firsthand, provided a steady balance to both summarize and explain the fullness of these character's lives. Well done, Weiner.

Normally I find it easy to pick up and put down books, dabbling in a few at a time, but I found it difficult to not compulsively read more and more of the girls' lives, wondering how the changing time will affect them, if at all, and if they, Jo especially, would ever make the selfish choice to be herself despite her family's discomfort with who that is. It was a pleasure to cheer on the pair as their paths diverged and overlapped again and again. I think it spoke accurately to how special and fragile a sibling relationship can be.

Read so soon after I devoured Ask Again, Yes I couldn't help but compare these two spectacular books. I'd recommend both for anyone looking for a grueling, emotive read as I'm sure either would deliver.

In “Mrs. Everything” Jennifer Weiner uses some aspects of “Little Women” with the characters of Jo and Beth, but her book covers the 1950’s onward. By subtly referring to “Little Women” it highlighted both how much and how little things have changed since then. That proved to be one of the most thought-provoking and angry-making aspects of the story (the lack of change, not the book!) I would describe the other novels I’ve read by Jennifer Weiner as chick-lit, but “Mrs. Everything” goes beyond that to an epic family novel with outstanding characters and a broad sweep of American history and life over the past 70 years. Well worth reading and it would make a great book club choice.

My review was posted on Goodreads on 7/10/19

I loved this epic following sisters from kids to adults! It was interesting to see how Bethie and Jo swapped in and out with being the “good” sister vs the one in trouble, and I found myself agreeing with some of their choices and disagreeing with others. The book felt very realistic in that way – no one is entirely one way or the other. I also loved the historical context into which their growth was placed, which made for a kind of history of feminism that took us to the present day. This was really different than Weiner’s usually light chick lit reads, but I loved it!

This was a great book that I did not want to end. Jennifer Weiner's creates characters that you love and never want the book to end. The story follows a pair of sisters and their mother thru life. The spans from the 1950s to the present day. So many events that happened in the story are similar to my experiences. I really enjoyed this book and would love a sequel revolving around Jo's girls.

The premise of this book and author Jennifer Weiner, added to the my interest in this book. This story spans across the life cycle of two sisters and how different they are.. In a changing time, of female roles and societal expectations, this story questions a lot about who women are and how we should be. I enjoyed reading the story however, a lot of painful events occur which make the story sad and depressing.. I think this book gives a lot of food for thought and would make good dialogue in a book club.

Jennifer Weiner's newest book is the story, of two sisters growing up in Suburban Detroit. Told in the voices of each of the sisters, the story follows them from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. Shared confidence, old rivalries, and family dynamics all help tell the story. I loved that so many issues facing women and children during the 1950's and beyond were dealt with...education, marriage, drugs, cancer, sexuality, friendships. This book captivated me from the beginning. The parts of about Jo's breast cancer recurrence were not believable, as Weiner did not seem to fully grasp the facts and the science behind breast cancer; that part was disappointing, especially as so many women are truly affected by breast cancer. Otherwise, I appreciated reading about the two sisters and they compromises they make in their lives, as well as the lies they tell themselves and others on their ultimate quest for fulfillment and contentment. A good read!

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman lived in a picture-perfect house. Jo was a passionate tomboy, with a love of books; Bethie was the pretty, good girl, with aspirations of being a star. She enjoys the privilege that comes with beauty.

Things rarely end up how you imagine them to be. The sisters survive unspeakable trauma and life's tragedies. Coming of age in the time of free love, Vietnam, and women's lib, Bethie embraces the more free, hippy lifestyle, balking traditional roles. Instead it is Jo that becomes a mother, stuck on the sidelines of her life. Neither sister has the future they envisioned, but is it too late for them to live an authentic and purposeful life?

Jennifer Weiner's newest work is her most ambitious to date and it is a risk that pays off. When a novel spans decades—in this case from the 1950s to present—there is a risk of the author losing the plot and also getting swallowed up in pop culture references, but Weiner doesn't suffer these fates. What happens instead is a remarkable journey of self discovery through the ages. Her writing is rich and fluid with deeply developed, layered characters.

What is so remarkable is that in our ever-changing society, decade after decade, women are still facing the same issues. Especially with how we decide to live our lives—women are constantly berated for their own life choices whether it be to get married, to have children, or work outside the home when they are a mother. These are things that women are consistently being judged for and they are nobody's business. Let me repeat that for those of you in the back...your choices are nobody's business.

Told in dual narratives, Weiner explores the complexities of female relationships, the difficulties woman face, as well as the expectations placed on women. She tackles some heavy issues: sexuality, racism, abortion, religion, drug abuse, etc., and because of this, both Jo and Bethie's stories are engaging and important.

Jennifer, I applaud you for telling stories that so many can relate to. I understand that this book was also personal in that there is a little bit of your mother in Jo. This novel is not only timely, but incredibly moving and poignant. Appropriately titled Mrs. Everything, this book is a bit of everything for every woman.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book - it was wonderful to see main characters who were Jewish and watch them grow from childhood through adulthood. As an only child, I've missed out on having a partner in crime, someone to hate and someone to love (sometimes all in the same day). While touching on so many taboo subjects (that are still a hotbed today!), the story is so well written that subjects that may make you uncomfortable seems natural...

An engaging exploration of sisterhood, the Sixties, and ever shifting gender roles in contemporary America. Vivid, character-driven women's fiction at its finest. Book groups: gather ye vintage jello recipes and hunker down for astonishing discussions. This book may actually crack through generations of silence, family secrets, and hidden layers of self-awareness. Full review on BookBrowse.

I loved this book so much! Definetly one of the best books I have read this year. You find yourself rooting for pretty much every character in the book. I loved how Jo and Bethie's paths are so different from each other and so different from how you think they would go.