This one wasn't really for me, but I'm still very thankful to Henry Holt Books, Laurie Frankel, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital access before publication day.

3.5
What constitutes a family? What is the wholeness of the family unit? This book explores that idea regarding adoption, parents, adoptive parents and biological parents and all of their roles in the family. This is handled in a really great way. Laurie Frankel does a great job of getting in deep to the emotional aspect of individual lives, her characters become real on the pages.

Family is number one in my life with God right along the side. There is so much to learn from and grow within our own families. No family is perfect, ever, and that is exactly the point of life and the family unit. There is so much to learn from one another. Being a daughter, sister, parent, etc has allowed me to grow and develop in ways that are hard but also rewarding.

I enjoyed this story of these adopted children, a mother who placed her child for adoption and the daily struggles within.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for the e-copy of this book.

It took me a bit to get into this book, but once I got into the groove, I couldn’t put it down. It was such a great book with so many layers. I really enjoyed it and have already recommended it to friends.

India Allwood is a famous actress with two children. She finds herself in the midst of a scandal when she speaks out against a movie that she stars in. The movie, about adoption, is full of regrets. India knows that all stories of adoption are not full of pain and regret. She speaks out to a publicist and all of a sudden finds herself possibly jobless and confronting a lot of people from her past.

This novel is really good. Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Laurie Frankel is such a gifted writer. Her characters are so real and beautiful and I want to highlight the wisdom they say. Family Family is a story of relationships and all the different ways people can be a family.It's also about choices and forgiveness. The first few chapters were a little confusing with the split timeframe, but once I got into it I could not put it down.

This novel was hilarious, heartbreaking, and beautiful and I loved every minute of it! Family sagas, especially ones with strong themes around motherhood, usually don’t resonate with me, but Family Family captivated me from the first pages. It tackles heavy topics (including adoption, abortion, what it means to be a family, and staying true to oneself) but does so in a way that feels fresh and lighthearted. I couldn’t wait to pick this one back up each night and even though it’s only January, I'm pretty sure this will be on my list of favorites for 2024!

Loved this book and author. I chose it based on one of her other books, This Is How it Always Is. The story is about adoption and a complicated mix of families. It is told in a light hearted way that also makes you think about adoption and parenting and what makes a family. I would definitely recommend this book.

The twists and turns in this one…still on the fence as to whether they worked for me.

I did love the concept of “family, family.” Everyone has it: those members of your family that come into your life through irregular ties or situations. They *are* family and they make your unit that much stronger. The family in this novel is tied together through adoption and it is clear that that connection is very dear to the author.

More than anything, I struggled to believe how little friction there was in this book. BUT that exact element is the catalyst for this book: every adoption story and the family it creates is different and deserves respect.

Thanks to Henry Holt Books for the ARC!

It took me a bit to get into this, but once I did I loved it. I especially loved the ending and the overall message of how we define family. It is very rare to read books that focus on adoption and this did on so many levels.

Family Family by Laurie Frankel touched my heart. Being a part of a family in which adoption is a central component, I was interested in the way in which the author would approach the topic. Frankel clearly wanted her audience to see adoption as a way in which families are born-not a last choice, not a painful decision, not regretful- just another way in which a family comes to be.

The characters are well defined and real. India is a force: opinionated, focused, funny, thoughtful, with a kindness and compassion beyond her years. The members of her family are also well articulated and their thoughts about adoption and family stretch and grow as the story unfolds.

I appreciate the way in which Frankel presents her opinions about families created and defined by adoption as well as the ways in which our society tends to present adoption and contrasts the two. This was an engaging and illuminating read.

I have complicated feelings about this book. On the one hand, there was a lot to love… The way the book shines a light and a different perspective on adoption. The characters were quirky, unique and well-developed. The writing was heartfelt and humorous and brought you right into these characters’ lives… and yet… It seemed to drag on and on. Even when I was enjoying it, it felt like it was taking forever. (It actually did take me over a month to make it through.) I felt like it could have been edited down quite a bit. Some of the points the book was trying to make felt over explained to the point where I felt like I was being hit over the head with it, and something that I thought, “wow, that’s beautiful and profound” about the first time just grew old when it continued to go on and on to make the point.

So would I recommend the book? Yeah, probably. There was a lot to love about the story and I do think it’s worth a read. I just felt like it could have packed the same punch and been more concise if it had been edited down quite a bit. Overall though, I did enjoy it.

Another engaging plane read for the win! It’s definitely one of those books that you want to read “just another chapter” to see what happens next. The author truly shines a light on there not being a one-size-fits-all model for family and of the many different structures and dynamics that can exist and still make up a family.

FAMILY FAMILY was a heartwarming story that stitches together the stories and lives of actress India Allwood’s family. When promoting her newest movie, India blurts out in an interview that she thought the movie poorly portrayed adoption - only telling a tragic, sad story. As an adoptive mom herself, she knows first-hand that there’s more beauty than tragedy to be shared. Stuck in the middle of a publicity crisis, India’s daughter decides who better to help than calling on family?

India made such a bold exclamation because she’s not just an adoptive mother to her twins… she also placed a baby for adoption when she was in high school, and nobody knows. As the personal details of her life that were pushed far beneath the surface start to rise up, her daughter, now 16, is eager to support her birth mom when she gets a call from an unexpected source. India is forced to face her past decisions, lovers and reacquaint with her children to help set the record straight.

FAMILY FAMILY hits shelves Jan. 23, 2024! Special thanks to @henryholt and @NetGalley for the e-ARC.

I’m joining the many posts I’ve already seen announcing that Family Family by @laurie.frankel is a book that will almost definitely end up on my favorite books of the year list (as both of her other books have in the years I read them). It’s an amazing story about family and everything that that means, and I’m so grateful to @henryholtbooks for an advanced copy.

The book, told in dual timelines from multiple POVs, is about India Allwood and her family. India has always wanted to be an actress. As a teen, she worked towards this goal with precision and index cards, and as an adult with adopted twins of her own she’s promoting her latest movie about adoption that has caused a media firestorm. In a weak moment, India tells the press the truth—that she doesn’t think it was a very good movie which only adds fuel to the fire.

This is just the very basic premise to tease a book that is about so much more than could ever be explained by a synopsis. Plus, I think avoiding spoilers on this one is a good idea. It’s obviously a book about family and what makes a family. It’s also about falling in love for the first time and the second time. And it’s about making choices that break your heart so that you can follow your dreams.

While I don’t think anyone considers Frankel a romance author, the romances in her books are the kind that make a middle-aged, cynical person like me swoon. She writes such beautiful, thoughtful men and the ones in Family Family are no exception.

I—shockingly—listened to this one, and the audio by Patti Murin was so well done. There’s a bonus interview with Murin (who originated the role of Ana in Frozen on Broadway) and the author where Murin tells Frankel that the world of an actress she created was spot on. As a huge theater lover, I found that aspect of the book so fun. Frankel also says that she deleted 300,000 words in revision. I’m sure that was an exaggeration, but I would love to see some deleted scenes because I loved every character in this book and wanted to spend even more time with them.

Nobody writes quirky, messy, real, human, loving families like Laurie Frankel. She's especially good at crafting the sweetest, most intelligent child characters.

I love what this book had to say about parenting in general and adoptive family relationships more specifically. This novel touches on a variety of themes, including cancel culture, lost loves, ambition, and fame.

But the most powerful theme/message is that adoption is not inherently sad. It can be a clear net positive and non-depressing part of each involved individual's life story. That's where this book gets its title from... an exploration of "family" as compared to "family family" which I think is such a cute way to put it.

I believe readers who loved Frankel's This Is How It Always Is will enjoy this new novel, as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Henry Holt for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

3.5 stars.

“Adoptive mom and movie star India Allwood knows what makes a family isn't blood. And it isn't love. But when she finds herself beset by scandal (social media, political, and Viking), she learns the hallmark of true family is this: It’s complicated.”

This book is receiving heaps of praise and rightfully so. I loved reading about the topic of adoption from all sides and the various definitions of what makes a family. With a few caveats, I can see myself recommending “Family Family” to many people. To start, the story is told in past and present timelines. I personally loved the past sections—they were wonderful and I could have read a whole book on India’s teenage/collegiate years and her difficult decision to place her babies for adoption. However, the present sections had annoyingly precocious children and a sappy storyline that I felt was a little too unbelievable. The ending worked, but it was also far-fetched.

With those things in mind, I still really enjoyed this heartfelt and uplifting novel. I appreciate the important message it shared and I’m glad I read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. for this advanced copy!

Laurie Frankel writes books that challenge the conventional way of thinking. Family Family is no different. India Allwood grew up knowing she wanted to be an actress, as long as she doesn't have to sing, so no musicals. As India gets into her senior year and preparing for college, the unexpected happens; she finds out she is pregnant. Knowing she has her dreams laid out before her, she knows a baby isn't in her cards but is it in someone else's? Did she become pregnant to give her baby to someone else and make their dreams come true? Fast forward to current time, India is raising her two little ones, juggling motherhood and her acting career. India speaks out about her latest project and the media takes everything the wrong way. Adoption isn't always how it is portrayed in the media. It isn't always the kids looking for their lost parents and the parent that gave them up swallowed up in a life of regret and sadness. Sometimes it is exactly how it was supposed to be.
This is the second book by Laurie Frankel that I have read. Family Family is a thought-provoking, family centered, love story about a mom and her version of the world. I laughed, I cried, I pondered. So many emotions in this book. This book is so well written. It is written in present time with flash-backs from India's childhood and college life. Chapters were clearly labeled and easy to understand where you were in time. Chapters were a great length. Nothing too long so it was easy to pause between chapters. I will always recommend anything Frankel writes and will always be on the lookout for other work by her. Special thanks to Laurie Frankel, NetGalley, and Henry Holt & Company for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 5 BIG Stars for me!

Laurie Frankel is so good at writing families who FEEL like family - complicated, loving, sometimes distant, sometimes suffocatingly close and in her musing on adoption, I think she does this again deftly. The book is also nuanced in the way it examines adoption as something that doesn't have to be lifelong trauma - I think sometimes this gets bogged down by a lot of plot. We have a complicated past and a complex present and I think the mechanics of understanding all of the context of the story makes it hard to really get immersed in all of the characters and their individual voices. That said, I appreciated the heart of the story and Frankel's author's note was even an emotional addition to land on.

Got so wrapped up I forgot to stop. Powerful blend of real emotion and social topics. Although a slow start, once in you won’t be able to put it down.

Family Family has a past/present structure that really worked for me. In the past, India Allwood becomes pregnant in high school, places the child for adoption, moves to New York to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, and how she got to the current timeline. In the present, India Allwood has two adopted children and recently agreed with criticisms of the movies she just starred in about adoption.

I don't feel like I can put it into the right words, but I was completely swept up in Family Family. Frankel is a consistently excellent writer and storyteller. The characters were charming and the dialogue was so clever. I appreciated the perspectives on adoption and other ways of having or not having children that Family Family explored. I'll continue to seek out writing from Frankel.

"𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦."

No one writes about parenting and family like Laurie Frankel. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘐𝘴 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘐𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘐𝘴 is one of my favorite books and 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 touched me in the same way.

Frankel doesn't shy away from difficult topics; instead, she provides different ways of looking at them through wonderfully layered characters readers can't help but come to love. In this book, the wildly creative story focuses on adoption and what makes a family. There are multiple POVs and timelines with twists and turns I never expected, some that made me laugh and others that broke my heart. I found myself highlighting line after line because I identified with so many. (One of my favorites comes from India, an actress, on motherhood - "There was no understudy... It was just you, monologuing unscripted to an unruly audience until you died." Amen, sister!) This is the brilliance of Frankel's work. You may not be going through what her characters are but the emotions and experiences are completely relatable. It allows you to walk in the shoes of people you might never otherwise, and I'm all the more empathetic because of it.

This is my first five-star read of 2024, and I have no doubt it will be at the top of my year-end best list come December.

Thanks to Henry Holt Books the copy to review.

An absolutely wonderful novel about what makes a family, full of endearingly quirky characters. The book starts in the present day, where famous actress India Allwood gets in trouble when she sort of accidentally criticizes her new movie to a journalist, complaining about why adoption is always presented in popular culture as a traumatic thing. But when her ten year old kids step in to help, things start getting even more complicated. Along with the present day storyline, the book also flashes back all the way to 1998 when India was in high school, following her through to the present day as we see how she came to be where she is. And in addition to India’s perspective, we get to see the story through various other perspectives including India’s unique kids.

I just adored this book. It beautifully explores what family means, how adoption can be a happy thing for all involved, and how family is family whether biological or not - just as messy but just as potentially wonderful. If you have read any of Laurie Frankel’s previous books (I’ve read and loved three of her previous four), you won’t be surprised to hear that this one is full of heart, emotions, indelible characters, and things that make you think - but what this one adds to the mix is so much humor. I truly laughed and cried while reading it. And not only did I cry multiple times while reading it, I cried at the author’s note too which might be a first for me. Highly recommend!

4.5 stars