Everybody's Favorite by Lillian Stone is a really exciting and humorous read. The author has outlined the plot with the intricacies of her life, along with satire and jokes. For me, the best thing about the book is that it is based on the author's own life, and it is really not easy to laugh at yourself. Although the language was a bit hard for me, Still, the story has its moments of laughter and enjoyment. Lillian Stone's awkward moments in life served as a hilarious experience for the readers. The only barrier for me was the writing style, which would have attracted more readers if it were simple. I would like to give the book 4 stars.

Funny, quippy quick read. Recommended to me by a writing teacher. This is a great collection of essays that says a lot about the anxieties of being an adult and a woman today.

I couldn't really get into this one. I am 1-15 years older than the author and probably therefore than the
target audience, so maybe I just didn't experience this time in quite the same way.

What a wonderful and authentic book!! I loved all the different reference to the 90s in this. I just loved everything about this book!!!

This author knows how to make lemonade out of the multitude of lemons life has sent her way since she was a child. She comes from an Evangelical family, has OCD, and has dealt with body shaming and negative body-image issues. She’s awkward and uncoordinated. Despite all of that, she’s come through with a delightful sense of humor. I hope to see more books from her in the future.

Lillian Stone grew up in Springfield, Missouri, a member of the Evangelical church, and a real people pleaser. Despite her physical/mental problems, she’s a popular kid and a member of every school club she can join. She tries out all kinds of athletics, most without much success. She keeps trying to come to terms with herself, despite her OCD and motor tics. But the attitude to all of this is humor.

She lays out, with humor, the problems most girls and young women have coming to terms with growing up and finding a good, reliable partner. She clearly explains how hard it is to ignore the pressure that society and social media presses on those who are a bit of odd-man-out. Yet, she seems to have come to terms with it and found her niche in life.

I liked how she delved into the history and mythology of her hometown and the Ozarks. How in small towns, everyone knows your business. There’s no keeping secrets.

This book includes some crude situations and crude language, and discusses some small shoplifting incidents that the author committed. It also has overriding religious and southern themes. The book focuses, primarily, on the author’s adolescence, always a difficult time for young girls. I could empathize with many of the situations the book discusses.

Everybody’s Favorite is a book of essays, a bit of a memoir of this author’s coming of age. It’s interesting. While many may not have experienced all the situations the author has, they have likely shared many things with which they can empathize.

An interesting and entertaining book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

What a fun and easy read. The book navigates the ins and outs of adulthood. Lillian Stone realizes that she is fighting the need to be perfect. The book will make you laugh out loud and feel really good. Perfection is not all that important be yourself and be true.

This is a good, fun, light read. I didn't have to sit down and read it all at once which was nice. A pop-in and pop-out type of read where I didn't have to remember the plot and characters because there were a few times where I didn't pick it up for a few days. The stories were totally relatable given my age similarity to the author. Pick this one up when you need something humorous and to reflect on a late 90's early 2000's childhood.

I don't know what you all are reading on the beach this summer, but for me it was this. As an elder millennial who spent her formative years in the nineties, I felt very seen while reading this book. I didn't quite know what to expect when diving into this one, but after seeing gel pens and a scrunchie on the front cover, and a quote from Bob Odenkirk on the back cover, I was in.

Jillian Stone's storytelling and sense of humor was fantastic throughout the entire book---portions had me audibly cackling. Aside from humor, I genuinely appreciated how Stone approached even her tenderest memories. Nothing was off-putting, it was raw and relatable.

Let's just say that by the end, I had a lengthy list of friends who I will be forcing to read this book.

A perfect collection of essays that are laugh out loud funny and provide a look back into a time not so long ago. Although I am several decades older than Lillian Stone, I can still identify with all of the emotions in these essays!

Totally fun and best read one-at-a-time as a way to stretch out the enjoyment.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of Lillian Stone before but I was drawn in by the promise of all the things 90's and 00's. There really wasn't much 90's but I enjoyed it all the same. Especially since Lillian grew up in the Ozarks, right around Branson. We just took a trip to Branson last month, and it was fun being in the know on some of the attractions she talked about. I think Lillian is very funny and very relatable as a millennial. It was a fun read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Book Club Girl, and Dey Street Publishers for gifting me a copy of the memoir by Lillian Stone - 4 stars!

This is a fun debut memoir, a nostalgic look at growing up in the 1990s and 2000s. Lillian's ability to recognize her own anxieties and issues and make them relatable and funny is completely spot on. While I am probably not the target audience for this book, I still loved all the references from this time period. Each of the essays will touch some part of you and definitely make you laugh!

I LOVE a good essay collection! Also, I'm always down to go down the early-aughts rabbit hole of girlhood. Let's be for real, who among us does not cringe at the younger version of ourselves? *cue my emo punk princess era and dramatic AIM away messages.* Oh, and the fashions! Pardon me while I whip out my butterfly clips and aggressively layer my Old Navy tank tops.

Special shout out to these gems in the book and their special appearances: Xanga (hours of HTML coding and glitter avatars), Inspector Gadget (turly the first transformer ), Youngstown ("I'll Be Your Everything" is a still a bop), Victoria's Secret Love Spell (RIP our olafactory senses), B*Witched (C'est La Vie is also still a bop), dEliA*s (accessories and decor for days), and
torrenting (risking federal prosecution one burned mix CD at a time).

This is a delightful and laugh out loud collection that also makes some pointed commentary about society and the ways in which girls and women are forever scrutinized. Overall, I enjoyed it.

5 ⭐️

Order a copy of this book immediately and then keep it on your bedside table whenever you need a pick me up or just want to know that another person in the world knows the specific feeling of being born in the Midwest, growing up being a little weird, perfectionist, goody-two-shoes, joining a sorority (preppy clothes and all, never to be spoken of again upon graduation), moving away from home, and now living with unruly pets who rule your life.

In a honest and truly funny anecdotes, Lillian has captured the essence of growing up and growing into yourself in the early 2000s. I found myself laughing out loud through my entire read whether simply describing how it felt to lurk in a pool spying your crush, “like an alligator in a swamp,” or the entirety of the “An Evening of Carnal Delights as Envisioned by My Ten-Year-Old Self” chapter.

But as much as each story made me laugh, I also highlighted nuggets of wisdom and observations to take away. A balance between humor and truth, this collection of essays hits as a quick and enjoyable read.

I have never anticipated a book more than Everybody’s Favorite by Lillian Stone @originalspinstr . I remember the day she announced her book deal. I got antsy during the countdown for the book cover reveal. Having already pre-ordered two copies (comes out July 18th!), I jumped at the chance to have the opportunity (privilege? honor?) to receive an advanced copy.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy to read and review.

#pantysniffersighting

This is a perfect book to take to the beach this summer.

Lillian Stone is in her 30s, single with her beloved Boston Terrier. She writes like you’re in the room with her – or some bar in Chicago just hanging out.

She touches on what most of us never talk about: running around naked as a toddler making her mother laugh, discovering female body parts, cracking jokes at her father’s loud farts, tossing out the uncomfortable bra, and putting up with the monthly curse.

She will tell you that most likely the world is going to end from viewpoints of scientists. She has a list of what she needs to survive which is similar to those getting ready for a hurricane. There’s probably all kinds of lists and pens everywhere in her home.

She also talks about food and admits to be a tad overweight. As I was reading, I got up to get a popcorn snack and then the next line was: “It wasn’t even good popcorn. It was Skinny Pop” which I happen to like.

Lillian thinks and writes exactly what’s on her mind. I can imagine her with a group of people laughing at all kinds of strange experiences of life. She relates to millennials. Yet anyone can get a charge our of what she has to say.

My thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of July 18, 2023.

I absolutely LOVED this essay collection! As a fellow anxious perfectionist with my own “Madison” mental creation and an evangelical background, it was so funny and relatable!

This was a really great laugh out loud title. I knew from the cover, that this was going to speak to my soul and it did! It was full of laughs but also profound topics and I really enjoyed. This seems like another great title I would love to listen on audio when it releases.

This essay collection could have been plucked out of my own pre teen/teen diaries honestly. Relatable and reflective. Maybe not uproariously funny as far as humor essay collections go, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Where to begin. This is the Ozark’s hillbilly, 90’s baby, mentally ill, religiously traumatized, older sister representation I’ve always craved. I was laughing out loud like a crazy person and tearing up – all within the span of a single sentence, mind you! From freakishly weird kid turned high school Jesus Freak turned fake pearl clad sorority sister turned people pleasing, office plant watering young professional, Everybody’s Favorite is a ROMP and you’ll feel Lillian Stone’s growing pains right alongside her. As a former weird child myself, I saw myself in this wonderful tale of religious fervor and teenage horniness. Read this immediately. But be prepared to cackle.

I grew up around the same time as Lillian Stone and had a religious upbringing and found myself relating to many of Lillian Stone's essays in this collection. Even when the stories didn't hit home for me, I still found them to be well-written and engaging.

This book was very enlightening and informative! I didn’t even realize I needed to read it until I did. Highly recommend.