Women! We are a force to be reckoned with! We have come so far as a gender with more roads to conquer. Jennifer Weiner’s new novel, Mrs. Everything, takes readers back to a time when women were the secondary sex. They earned college degrees in MRS and honorary Phds in Laundry, Cleaning and Child Rearing. During this time, homosexuality was considered taboo and sticking with “your own kind” kept you on the right path (whatever that means). Weiner’s story follows two sisters’ life journeys through the changing decades of our modern history. This book highlights the struggles women have had through the years and still have today. Plan to be swept away reading this beautiful family drama.
Mrs. Everything is a grand story. It follows sisters Jo and Bethie from their childhood in Detroit in the 1950’s through present day. Jo is the tomboy of their nuclear family. She is a voracious reader who wants to make the world a better place. Bethie has the girlie girl flare. She loves to look pretty and strives to be a traditional woman of the time. Things rapidly change for these two sisters when they each encounter situations that put a snag in their life long dreams. The tables are quickly turned leaving Jo as a stay at home mom and Bethie as the quintessential wild child. This book is a tough one to summarize without giving away too much (I hate spoilers). All I will say is that this story sets up with plenty of space for the characters to develop and evolve in a world that is constantly trying to stifle their growth. Weiner does not skip a beat sharing these two sisters’ lives. She takes her readers behind the scenes of Jo and Bethie’s most intimate experiences. Their individual stories are told in alternating chapters with plenty of overlap. Weiner covers a lot of ground in her book. Readers will get to watch how Jo and Bethie maneuver through some heart wrenching experiences that ultimately shape the course of their lives. Though Weiner’s message is powerful, her writing has a delicate touch and is extremely easy to read and absorb.
In Mrs. Everything, Jennifer Weiner writes about women who were thinking outside the box. Women who were in an uphill battle against the social norms of their time. Weiner’s characters are heroic and fierce in their own right. Yes, they succumbed at times to the expectations of their gender. They also rebelled and challenged these standards, changing the path for fellow women. These ladies were determined to find their happy ending. Weiner’s book was an absolute joy to read. Be prepared for Jo and Bethie to steal your heart. You will be rooting for them every step of the way.

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This book was very different than I was expecting. Instead of a typical time frame for many books --a day, a few days, maybe a couple years-- this book covers the entire lifespan of two sisters, from the 1950s to the 2020s.
Jo and Bethie are two, nearly opposite sisters growing up in a time when our country was going through major changes in civil rights. Just as they witnessed the struggles their country faced while attempting change, they also experienced similar difficulties in their family and their own lives as they grew up.
I enjoyed this book, but I will admit that it seemed like it took me awhile to get through it. I realize this book is largely about women and women's rights, but I did not love that nearly every man in the book was of dishonorable character. There were only two men in the book that were portrayed in good light. Despite these few things, it was a very interesting book and I really liked learning about some of the social history of our country during a time when my grandparents and parents were growing up.
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my honest review.
Mrs. Everything is available tomorrow, June 11, 2019.

Once again, Jennifer Weiner does not disappoint. Weiner crafted a masterful story of two sisters, Jo and Bethie, as they are coming-of-age and trying to find their place in society from the 1950s through 2020. I appreciate the Weiner did not shy away from difficult topics such as assault, feminism, sexuality, and identity and created a real story about the struggles and triumphs of everyday life. Although I found some parts a little long at times, I flew through the book, and cried several times. I believe Weiner herself has said that this is her most ambitious book yet, and I applaud her for having the courage to share this personal story.

Jennifer Weiner’s latest is an extremely ambitious story that follows the lives of two sisters essentially from birth to death. I loved the way the structure gave the reader a chance to really get to know the two main characters. They both grow and change a lot over the years, but even their most dramatic changes feel perfectly natural and earned. It’s an incredible feat of characterization and was my favorite part of the novel.

The book uses its expansive timeline as a means to explore a lot of different cultural movements over the last several decades. It’s fascinating how much has changed…and how much hasn’t. Weiner is never overly didactic with her “message,” but I don’t think it’s possible to read this without taking a hard look at how much work we still have to do when it comes to equality of race, gender, and sexual orientation.

This one comes out 6/11, and I highly recommend giving it a read as soon as you can get your hands on it. I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my 3rd Jennifer Weiner book and by far my favorite! This style of writing that spans several decades tend to be a little bit slower of reads for me, but at the same time they are more emotional and self-reflecting reads that are extremely thought provoking. It doesn't matter what year it is, I can relate to both Jo & Bethie constantly throughout the book. As you read each character growing, I can't help but reflect on ways I have grown or areas of my life that I am still learning to grow. This is a great book, however, it is not a super easy / fast read. This book really takes mental concentration - which is not a bad thing but something to be prepared for. As I read each trail and tribulation Jo & Beth went through (and even Sarah), my heart ached and really felt for them. As they grew, I felt like I grew. My favorite part about a book like this is that it really helps you think about the saying "walk a mile in someone else's shoes. This really hits me hard as I am reading, as I think of everyone around me.

Just by reading this book you will understand patience and empathy and look at the world differently - even if it is for just a moment.

In Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner, As two young girls growing up in the 1950s in Detroit, sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman were intricately involved in the many changes they saw taking place around them. Growing up in a Jewish family, they knew about some of the discrimination that happened of course, but never imagined the way a person’s race or their gender would become the subject of demonstrations, discussions, and even riots in the years to come.

But as Jo and then her younger sister Bethie took their first steps into the world as young adults, they had a first hand look at what things were truly like out there. And they each decided to do what they could to make a difference in their own way. Neither Bethie nor Jo could imagine the ways their bond would be tested. Or the challenges they would face as adults and the sacrifices they would have to make. Through it all, though, the one thing that remained constant was the importance of their relationship as sisters. Something they worked determinedly their entire lives to cultivate.

A novel that explores subjects ranging from feminism to interracial relationships to dark family secrets, Mrs. Everything was a powerhouse work of fiction that left me an emotional wreck. And I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Jennifer Weiner didn’t pull any punches with Mrs. Everything. It will be a tough book for some sensitive readers to get through due to the controversial subjects Weiner included in Jo and Bethie’s rocky journey. I won’t give spoilers, but if you look at the years this story covers, from 1951 up through the present day, you can only imagine what two young Jewish girls from Detroit went through over those decades while the world constantly changed around them.

It’s difficult to describe Bethie and Jo’s relationship and their struggles in this book without giving too much away. I can say that we got to see how every decision they made and their reactions to their ever-evolving world drastically changed their individual paths. It also altered Jo and Bethie’s bond in ways they could never foretell. Their emotions and personal issues were written realistically and with such rawness to them by Weiner that I felt like I experienced those emotions right along with our main characters. Something that made me smile as many times as it drove me to tears of sorrow, joy, or frustration.

At the beginning of their story, when Bethie and Jo were children, there were a lot of details, some passages that felt almost too much about the minutiae of their daily lives. Then as they grew older, it seemed just the more pivotal moments were addressed–in a more concise way–almost mimicking the sisters’ thought processes as they became adults. I could be wrong, but it felt like Weiner did this intentionally. It seemed like the narrative voices of Jo and Bethie changed as *they* changed, with things speeding up and more years being skipped over as their lives sped along. And, truthfully, it was what helped hold my attention after a slower beginning that eventually turned into a heartbreaking but poignant ending.

Mrs. Everything is a vivid, emotionally-present fictional story that is bound for the big screen, in my humble opinion. With complex characters and a multi-layered plot based around fascinating moments in history, Jennifer Weiner has crafted a touching novel that will remain with her readers long after they’ve read the last heartfelt page.

I had such high expectations for this book and I just never got into it. This is terribly disappointing to me because I am such a Jennifer Weiner fan. I knew that this book was different from her previous novels so I was prepared with an open mind. I had also just finished Elin Hildebrand’s Summer of ‘69, also very different from her typical style of writing and LOVED it. Mrs. Everything just fell flat for me.

One of the best books I've read in a long time. Long after I've finished reading, I'm still thinking about Jo, Bethie, and their journeys. A fantastic read that I'll be recommending all summer long!

I've enjoyed the previous books I've read by this author, and would probably put them in the "chick lit" category if pressed to pick a genre. This book is a bit of a diversion for her, and I think definitely crosses into the more mainstream fiction realm. While still maintaining her style of writing about women, Mrs. Everything ends up being so much more of a commentary on all sorts of women's issues that are front and center newsworthy. The story of two sisters that spans multiple decades, this one explores issues of sexuality, societal norms, the Me Too movement, communes, and much more. How these issues effect the two sisters and their relationship, is at the core of this one, and I thoroughly liked what I read. I was completely invested in both sister's stories, and despite a few slow spots, I thought the flow and pacing was great. There was a lot going on, and a lot to think about with this one. Upon reading interviews with Ms. Weiner and finding out that the book was loosely based on the life of her mother, I was even more impressed with the content. I was born in the late 50's, so a lot of the newsworthy events discussed were things that I lived through, making it a bit of a trip down memory lane.

I really liked this one (although All Fall Down still remains my favorite of Weiner's works). I though it was a great multi-generational story about the expectations put on women, and their ability to adapt and survive despite obstacles put in their way. Well done!

I have been waiting what seems like forever for this book. The wait is over and the wait was SO WORTH IT! Mrs. Everything is about two sisters. I love stories about sisters. This novel tells the story of Bethie and Jo and spans their entire life. These sisters are so different from each other, but also very close. This book blew me away with themes of relations, love , friendship and finding yourself. I highly recommend this book and BRAVO to the author for such a finely crafted complex story with characters that I absolutely fell in love with.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher!!

Paris....pickpocket...I'm just in time to review lol

I would highly recommend this as a book club book...and I have to mine at the library!

Title....medium.....cover...high.

I enjoyed this multi generational story . Alternating POV and beginning in the 50s. Some parts did drag or not that important and over detailed. But it's also a longer book and I can look past that

Strong story

Sometimes a book hits me so hard in my feelings and I love it SO much that I struggle putting said feelings into words that can properly convey my true thoughts and emotions. This is one of those kind of books, I both want to share all the minute details and gush about different quotes and stories that touched a part of my soul, but I also want any future readers to experience this incredible journey all on their own. When I struggle like this, I’m aware that the book must be one that’s truly special for me, I don’t have a hard time discussing a book that was just a standard read for me, or even one that I really didn’t like, but when one is as powerful as this one was for me, I find myself grasping for the right words because it becomes vitally important for me to do the author and the story justice.

This is a multigenerational tale told in alternating points of view, it begins in the 1950s and follows a young Jo and Bethie and I’m such a sucker for stories about sisters, so I was already invested from the start. It spans the years through 2016 and is on the longer side, so this really allowed the author to do a deep dive into the characterization and man, did she do a phenomenal job developing these two women. They truly felt like family to me by the end, there is nothing hidden in terms of the lives of these two, you follow them through all the highs and lows of their lives, the happy and sad, the ugly and the beautiful and there is absolutely no holding back. This really bonded me to them and made them the type of characters that I’ll never forget.

If you’re in a book club and searching for your next read, consider it done because this book will provide a group (especially a group of women) with countless hours of discussion. Following Jo and Bethie’s lives shows the constant struggle women both faced in the past and still face today, whether that’s in their home life and the decisions we make to either have children or not, to work or stay at home, to follow our dreams or to do what is expected of us, it is a constant struggle and as women, we all second guess our choices daily. In broader terms (I don’t want to spoil a thing) it explores sexuality, religion, racism, sexism, and so many more vitally important topics. In a nutshell, Mrs. Everything is everything, and yes it is ambitious as the blurb states, but it’s incredibly well written and hands down, the authors best book yet. And I have read them all!

If you can’t tell yet, this is highly recommended by me, but especially to every woman. Whether you’re a mom, grandma, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend or none of those things I really thing everyone can relate to at least a piece of this one.

Mrs. Everything in three words: Powerful, Timely and Moving.

“This life,” Cal said. “You have to give up a lot, I have family who won’t see me. It’s hard. It’s not for everyone.”

In the beginning, it is older sister Jo “tall and gangly and everything she did was wrong” and little sister Bethie ” chubbie and cute” a child who “always said exactly the right thing” that complete the makeup of the Kaufman family. Where Jo is closer to her father, Bethie is Mommie’s perfect darling, a child who doesn’t behave in the unnatural manner her older ‘tom boy’ sister Jo does. It is 1950’s Detroit and their new home is surrounded by families just like them, “birds of a feather” all perfectly flocking together in rhythm and God forbid you are “different.” No one tests their mother more than Josette, who doesn’t mean to be so difficult and really cannot explain why things that come easy to others is so hard for her. She can’t help but be herself, even when she tries to be the good girl her mother desires, catastrophe follows and boy does her mother make sure she knows just how much she fails to be the daughter she wants.

It isn’t only within her family that her nature brushes against societal norms. Friendships with other girls mean more than they should, her wants and desires for her future are thwarted by the times Jo lives in, and will chip away at her dreams of freedom. An athlete, a writer, liberal minded coming of age in a conservative world will whip her into an acceptable shape. Through betrayal of those she loves most, and of course responsibility to her little sister and impossible to please mother, Jo (like countless women before her) will forget herself in order to fit in. Marriage, children… she is finally a good girl, right? The world isn’t ready to accept a woman like her, to let her live freely. It’s not safe to be her true self.

Bethie’s beauty should make her world a tasty confection and guarantee her most fevered dreams come true. Her mother knows she’s meant to be something special one day! A girl who everyone loves immediately, the perfect lil’ helper, people pleaser, someone whose very nature charms everyone in her orbit, why… what could possibly derail her future? Sometimes, a girl with so much appeal attracts nothing but danger, through no fault of her own. Bethie learns nothing stays sweet in an ugly world, and before long becomes the subversive daughter that Jo once was, refusing to settle in one place nor with a man. There is so much to taste in the forbidden elsewhere! If Josette wants to spend her life being content, tied to convention… well bully for her. No one is going to tame Bethie. Let Jo pretend!

This is a book about women, their options, the opportunities and lack thereof. The shaming when a daughter, mother, sister dares to look beyond the plans other’s have made for her. The disapproval she will encounter when she strikes out on her own, against the will of her mother/father or husband. The ever looming threat of losing your family if you chose anything for yourself that isn’t ‘approved’. The lessening that is expected when one becomes a wife, mother. Before long, you’ve lost yourself. Too it is about the abuse that girls welcome (according to the world, at least) or have to accept for the sake of survival.

The sisters who once had to support each other drift apart, each denying themselves their true natures. Life happens, it brutalizes and punishes in unequal measure. From an early loss both find themselves sacrificing their dreams and even innocence. It is a story about sisterhood, motherhood and in a sense, self-hood and how every choice or the transgressions of others, and the demands the world puts on us makes us who we are, for better or worse. The question is, can we come back to the self we once buried in order to be accepted?

What is more heartbreaking than thinking about the deaths we suffer, internally, of our many selves? The times Josette and Bethie came of age in were full of strife and civil unrest. Children who questioned their parents ways, be it a mild irritation such as why the fuss of dressing like some cookie cutter family, or the heavy, senseless, shameful weight of their parents racism weren’t exactly the ideal child. Children didn’t question the ways of the adult world, period. Step out of line, and you will be tarred and feathered. You were not free to love where you wanted, with so many constraints, this is why free love (social, sexual movement) was born. Many people bucked convention. Yet children eventually want to please, to have their mother/father’s love, sadly at the expense of their real selves. Other little boys and girls, they get too much unwanted love from some adults. It’s hard to write about this novel without giving away everything that happens, but it truly is a novel full of heartbreak and hope. When it’s your turn to be a parent, despite promising yourself you will do better than your mother/father, you can bet a child will introduce you to your weaker self. Life happens, and comes full circle and at heart it is a tale of two sisters that find their way back to each other.

Publication Date: June 11, 2019 Out Tomorrow!

Atria Books

A sweeping tale of two sisters, from growing up in 1950 through present day. Mrs. Everything carries us through all of their struggles and triumphs through the decades. This is an emotional, beautifully written book. Rich in history through the time periods and showcasing an exquisitely portrayed sibling relationship. This is an intricately written, engaging book and what I believe to be Jennifer Weiner’s best work yet. Why not 5 stars? Well- it got a little long in my opinion and I could have done without the graphic sex scenes, which felt a bit gratuitous. This is an ambitious story but I was completely drawn in from the beginning and Jennifer wove it together seamlessly. This book covers a wide range of topics but in a subtle, classy way.

I think I will have a hard time expressing how much I loved this book.
The layers to each character were so deep and so well developed that I found myself wanting to read slower in order to soak them all in and not miss one piece of a character which could mean so much.
The issues addressed in this book were huge! Sexuality, eating disorders, drug abuse, neglect, broken homes, this book had them all. And yet, Weiner was able to write in such a way that it didn’t feel heavy or unrealistic. Like how could one family go through all those things? You didn’t question it, you just completely buy it and then go along for the ride.
I am so happy that Weiner decided to write something that was out of her wheelhouse. She’s a genius at it!

When I accepted the ARC offering of Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner (releasing June 11, 2019 from Atria Books) I was second-guessing myself because I’ve read a couple of Weiner’s previous releases and they were hit or miss for me. In her “Dear Readers” letter at the beginning of the book Weiner states that in addition to being the longest book she has ever written it is also the most ambitious work she has ever attempted. I love that she “went big” and succeeded. Spanning decades in the lives of two sisters, Mrs. Everything is a masterpiece of her-storical fiction.

I will start by saying that I so wanted to love this book. It’s different from my usual thriller/lovey dovey romance books. Something about it just wasn’t working for me. The writing itself is good, but I have to agree with the reviews saying it’s a “three star read with five star content”. I couldn’t get myself to the end however, hence my 2 stars. I think this book hits such important topics,however it spent so much time describing certain unimportant things, then speeding through the important events. I wish I had loved it more.

Thank you netgally for this Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Jennifer Weiner is a wonderful storyteller, and I generally enjoy her novels. Mrs. Everything was no exception, and I was completely drawn into the lives and characters of the two sisters. Relationships between sisters can be complicated and beautiful at the same time, and Weiner truly captures that in this book.

Mrs. Everything is, in a word, ambitious. Jennifer Weiner pulls in every imaginable part of life, and family and national drama, in the course of this sweeping narrative of two sisters through turbulent years. It is an examination of what it means to be a woman in a nation that so often vindicates one idea of what that can mean to the exclusion of all else. These are not perfect people- they make poor choices, they are limited by their surroundings and their pasts, and just as any sisters they both support and hurt each other. Weiner doesn't limit herself just to family drama in Mrs. Everything- it truly encompasses everything, with race, sex, violence, and politics all playing a role. We can't help but root for these two women and their families and friends to succeed, and to come to a place of freedom and joy in their lives, but there are no easy answers for either of them. Just as there aren't any for any woman. Is it overly ambitious? Perhaps. But I cried to leave them at the end- which in my mind is a five star read.

This is a story of two sisters growing up in a time where it wasn’t ok to be who you really are - gay, biracial couple, etc - and follows them through time as their lives develop.

I will buy anything Jennifer Weiner writes because I adore her and her books. I have read everything she’s written. For me, this book was just ok. I’m glad I read it, though, and I think others will really love it. I’ll be anxiously awaiting her next book!

Thank you #MrsEverything #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!