This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

* Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for providing the audiobook in exchange of a honest review.

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I couldn't recommend this book enough, everybody could learn from it. Hopefully, there will be one day when the majority can accepte the difference within us and this book will for sure help!

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Loved this. I really enjoyed everything about this. I loved the story completely. It will stay with me for a long time. I appreciate that the author has very strong voice - one I really enjoy.

I was conflicted about this book. I loved the idea of putting trans children at the forefront and having supportive families. But the book seemed so dramatic and very unlike things that everyday Trans kids go through. Like the trip to Thailand and being able to move. This is a good start but not indicative of the lives of the trans people I know.
I wasn't big on the narrator. Her voice was flat with only a bit of rhythm. I didn't enjoy that part of the book.

I tried with this book. But I just couldn't get into it. Rating it 3 stars because while it wasn't the book for me it might be the perfect book for someone else.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Not my cup of tea. I couldn’t get into it. I really wanted to, but just couldn’t.

Audiobook ARC from the publisher via NetGalley but the opinions are my own.

A fascinating listen.
This was such a thought-provoking book, addressing issues I hadn't even considered.
I will happily read more Frankel books. She considers every situation from all points of view, and the result is quite incredible.
The narrator was superb, evoking the emotion felt by each character perfectly.

I have no idea why it took me so long to pick this book and it’s hard to put into words what it made me feel. It was raw, open, beautiful and heartbreaking. Sad, funny, heartwarming and eye opening in so many ways. A must read for everyone who really wants to learn.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this complimentary audiobook.

I originally read this when it first came out. It was powerful then, but after having children of my own this book has taken on a whole new depth for me. I absolutely adore Laurie Frankel's story, writing, and the narration was spectacular. This powerful, insightful and thought provoking read is a must-read for everyone's list.

5 Stars
"This is how children change…and then change the world."
This was the most amazing story of a family and more importantly of a child growing up trying to find their way. Rosie and Penn's fifth son Claude says he wants to be a girl when he grows up and that he does,
I honestly feel like everyone should read this book. They should especially read it if they have a hard time understanding how someone could change their gender. It is beautifully told. I am a better person for reading this book and it will forever live in my heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

“This is How it Always Is” by Laurie Frankel is a look in to the chaotic life of Penn and Rosie as they navigate parenting their five children to be themselves, to be happy and fulfilled. Isn’t that what all parents want? When their youngest, Claude expresses at an early age his desire to be a girl, they support their child as they nurture all their children to express themselves. This is a beautiful portrait of family, love, friendship and partnership. Frankel gives the reader a poignant, heartwarming and relatable insight into a topic that so quickly becomes politicized and polarizing. I highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction. This is a novel about and for the modern family.

I love this book soo much. It handle soo many important issues when it comes to raising kids. I feel like a lot of parent can relate (I know I did) to the inner struggle when it comes to what society deems acceptable and when it just boils down to wanting your kid to be happy and being able to live their best lives. I think this book and its message will always stick with me when it comes to raising my own children.

Thank you NetGalley for an alc.

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel: I laughed, I cried and I hugged this book well before page 100, and I have not stopped loving this book since.

I am at a loss for exactly how to compose my thoughts, as no words will be enough to convey my adoration for this novel.

If only we could all be this open-minded, this caring and this loving; to only want others to become their own unique version of happiness for themselves.

How did I manage to learn so much about parenting from a fictional book? In the same breath, I also think this shares the highlight real of perfect parenting. Yes, there are tough "how do we handle this" moments, but they (generally) turn out okay. This family is the gold standard, and I know their experience is not the norm, but let me live is this utopia for a minute.

There was a moment during Part III when I hesitated, when I wondered: why Thailand; why was this change needed for the characters; for the story? Then it all made an even more beautiful sense than either Part I or Part II ever had.

I am not sure how to express my love of how Gabra Zackman narrated this book. Her expressions, inflection and tone are so perfectly subtle that it lets Frankel's words truly speak for themselves. Zackman's voice provides a sense of calm to an otherwise turbulent plot; she is a serene anchor for the story to pivot around. It is the voice she created for Penn that will stay in my head when I think of this book. This has become one of my favourite audio books of all time, and it will be one that I recommend time and time again.

I'm not sure if it's the prose or the audiobook narration style, but This Is How It Always Is gave me major Beartown vibes many, many times (although neither are even close to the same book).

This Is How It Always Is gets each and every star in the sky, as five is simply not enough, dethroning To Kill A Mockingbird as my all-time favourite book.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copy to read and review.

My face is soaked in tears. Wow.

Laurie Frankel knows how to pull on the heartstrings, and the audiobook made this feel personal and cinematic.

As a mother this made me equal parts scared and resolved.

One of the best family dramas I have ever read.

This story is a beautiful one. Am I reviewing both the story and the audio file? Yes. The audio book was excellent! Sometimes the narrators voice can be super distracting in audio books. Sometimes I dont like the accent or the tone of voice. Sometimes the narrators are over acting.

THIS NARRATOR WAS PERFECT! I usually only really enjoy Julia Whelan reading fiction novels but this narrator has made me decide to branch out and listen to new ones!

Thanks for this copy! I really enjoyed it!

This book is very captivating. We read this for my book club and the discussion was amazing surrounding this book/topic. Being transgender is more accepting in the part of the country I live in, and I also feel my generation is more accepting as well. The book club consisted of many women from different parts of the country and different generations and hearing how they felt about the story was insightful. I personally thought this story was wonderful and I cried at many points of the book. I felt very strongly for the characters and the family and what they were going through in their support for their child. I was able to put myself in the mom's shoes and understand where she was coming from and fully understand how sometimes we are born into the wrong body. Very good read/listen and wonderful for starting tough conversations.

THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS review

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❤️‍🩹In my quest to read the manyyyyy backlist Reese’s bookclub picks, I picked up THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS and went in blind. I enjoyed this one and it’s a book that definitely made me think!

❤️‍🩹Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Claude is the youngest of five brothers and really wants to be a princess when he grows up. He loves wearing dresses and wants to grow his hair long and be a girl. Claude’s family want him to be whatever he wants to be, but they also want to protect him from strangers who don’t understand their child. Keeping Claude’s secret is a big task for this family of 7, and is it something that can stay a secret forever?

❤️‍🩹I felt so connected to the characters in this story! I’d never read a book by Laurie Frankel before but I really enjoyed her writing style and need to read more of her backlist! After reading so many thrillers lately, I kept expecting some big twist or finale but that’s not how literary fiction works for the most part. I really liked this one overall, but something about the ending left me wanting more. I’d definitely recommend this one and I can’t wait to find more undiscovered gems and I work my way through Reese’s bookclub’s backlist!

I received this audio book as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity.

A thoughtful and compassionate book.
Excellent narration
A beautiful story.

#NetGalley
#goodreads

I was unable to download this book but after release day I did purchase and read and loved loved loved this book.

SUCH A HEART-TUGGER!

Claude is 5 and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves to wear dresses and pretend he's a princess. His parents, Rosie and Penn, want to support Claude in being a girl but are not sure the rest of the world is ready to hear their secret. The choices they make as parents in order to keep Claude's secret will only drive the inevitable. Their secret is safe.....until one day it isn't.

As an empath, I really enjoyed being able to stand in the shoes of the parents and Claude. It's crazy how much reading stories like this can allow us those opportunities like no other. This is my second Frankel novel and I'm so impressed with her writing. I love not having to think about how something reads and can just get engulfed in the story. Frankel is a master at taking us deeper into the heart of the situations at stake. She paints real life pictures for us that we might be able to identify ourselves or those we know in her characters. It's my understanding that Frankel's inspiration for this novel happened within her own household. Perhaps that is why the reader can sense her raw emotions on each page.

Gabra Zackman might have the most buttery voice I've ever heard in a narration. She brought so much beauty and respect to the storyline, portraying each character with care and creativity.

Thank you Macmillan Audio , Laurie Frankel, and NetGalley for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book in the times we are in now is a must read for parents whether their kids are transgender or not. This book is very eye opening and I think helpful in showing what families go through while their child transitions. Insightful and heartfelt.