First Five Star Book of 2024!
I could not love this book anymore! India is a delightful, quirky, thoughtful character and I was all in for the story of her family. Family Family is the wonderful story of what family means and how the way you become family may have nothing to do with how you became family. Run, do not walk, to get this fantastic new novel.

India wants nothing other than to be an actress, but when she finds herself pregnant at 16, she has to face a monumental decision and what it means for her dreams. This book follows India as she wrestles with difficult choices and how they affect not only herself but also the people around her.

I really enjoyed this book. It was so touching and dealt with difficult subjects in a delicate and hopeful way. The characters were a little too perfect, and their lives, not realistically messy, but overall, so endearing. I absolutely adored the attachment of the characters to one another because family can be about blood and who you grow up with, but it is also about who you choose to call family. Really lovely.

A coworker of mine gave me a copy of This Is How It Always Is, and it was such a wonderful, powerful book, that I ended up buying my own copy, and filing Laurie Frankel’s name away as an author to remember. So when this audiobook appeared on NetGalley, I was delighted to be approved for it.

Since it’s an audiobook, I want to focus a little on the narrator, Patti Murin. She was new to me, and wonderful! In this book, she tackles a huge range of characters, both male and female, ranging in age from ten to adults in their thirties, and managed to make all of them sound completely unique. I loved every minute of listening to this audiobook, and will be sure to seek out additional audiobooks narrated by Patti Murin. In addition, there is an author’s note, and a conversation between the author and the narrator at the end of the book.


There’s so many aspects of this book to love, but i’m going to focus on the characters. To start with, Frankel builds an amazing cast of characters, and we get to meet a few of them at various points of their life, allowing us to see them through varying lenses. I’m sure you didn’t think the same at 16 as you did in your 20s or in your 30s, and neither do our characters, so it was really cool to watch them grow so much in one story without it being a huge saga.

The story really centers around India’s experience with adoption. After starring in a movie about adoption, she gives an honest interview about how she feels about the movie, and kind of implodes her career. But she feels the need to be truthful, and her experience as an adoptive mother of twins has colored her view. However, this leads the paparazzi to do some digging and it leads to a whole storm as secrets from her past are revealed.

It’s not easy to write a book with multiple POVs and have some of the chapters be in flashbacks without losing me, especially in audiobook format, but I had zero problems following along with this book. Maybe it was because the voices all sounded so different, courtesy of the narrator, or because the author wrote the characters so differently that each of them had such a unique voice, but it was never difficult to keep the characters separate.

I quickly found myself caught up in the story, and while it seems juvenile at first, that’s because it’s told through the eyes of a 16-year-old in the beginning. It quickly transitions to a more mature story, where there’s themes of family, love, choice, and bodily autonomy, but also what that means for all the people involved after the decisions are made. I found it fascinating to see how the reverberations of a decision echoed on, as well as seeing how open the parents were with the children about their adoption stories and how they were never made to feel like “adopted children” instead of children, and the parents were just “parents” instead of “adopted parents” vs. “real parents.” In fact, there are multiple instances where this kind of exclusionary language is challenged outright, and it made me want to cheer.

This is the kind of book that I expected from Laurie Frankel, and she didn’t let me down. She writes a story that pulls a reader in, characters that feel so real it’s easy to get emotionally invested, and a plot that hit me directly in the feels multiple times. By the time I finished this book, I was in happy tears, and after hearing the author’s note, I was crying even more. If you haven’t read a Laurie Frankel book, stop shortchanging yourself and pick one up now.

🎧FAMILY FAMILY by Laurie Frankel is expertly read by Patti Murin. They chat at the end and it was a delight to get to listen in! Also, the author's notes are lovely and help share the motivation for this book.

This is a moving story that centers around a girl turned woman named India. We get to see two timelines of her story; one when she is a teen and college student, while the other is as a mother of precocious 10-year-old twins. These twins are trying to help their mother, an actress who has spoken a truth to the media and stirred up a hornets nest about the topic of adoption. What transpires is a moving, hilarious, and nuanced story that gives another version of adoption that is rarely told, and told with such care and beauty.

I absolutely loved this. There are too many things I loved about it to include in a short review, but this covered so many aspects of adoption with heart and humor.

I have many types of adoption stories in my family and extended family. Some were born of difficult circumstances, but an equal amount were exciting & happy choices. The way this was addressed and processed through this story was so tenderly done. I found myself cheering internally so often! I also saw how one woman's journey could be hijacked for an agenda for which it is not intended. And I just adored these intelligent twins! Kids can be brilliant, too.

The narration of this story was superb. Murin captured the irritation of current India (so relatable as a woman in my upper 40's) while also somehow still giving the younger version all the emotion of young adulthood. Her twins' voices were perfection.

In short, this may be a favorite. I loved it all. Go get this when it comes out on January 23rd, and if you like audiobooks, this one is worth it!

Thank you so so much @netgalley & @macmillan.audio for @henryholtbooks for this ALC and letting me share my praise!

If you like interesting character driven stories that explore family - you should read Family Family. I love Laurie Frankel’s writing and was very drawn into the story of India Allred. When the story begins, India is a famous actress raising her ten year old twins. We then see her story in alternating timelines jumping between the present and going through India’s life starting when she was a teenager.

There were times the story felt a little long to me but mostly I found myself thinking how much I really like India. I went in without knowing much about the story and am surprised to see how much is shared in the synopsis - personally I think too much. If possible, jump in without reading that and just let India’s story unfold.

I alternated between reading the ebook and the audiobook - the audiobook narration is excellent and there is an interview with the author at the end that I really enjoyed. I highly recommend the audiobook! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

As always, Laurie Frankel has written an engaging story about human dynamics. What constitutes a family?
India Allwood is a successful actress with a new film about adoption. When the film starts getting negative attention, India makes the mistake of speaking out. Everyone assumes she has no idea what her character has gone through. Except, she has…. When she was in high school, she became pregnant and gave the child up for adoption. Not that she put that news out there. It was the child she gave up who did. But the story gets even more complicated. The story is told along two timelines - the present day and India’s past leading up to the now.
As always, it’s the characters here that define the story. I loved each and everyone, especially the kids. Tough choices were made all along the way.
While there are multiple issues addressed here - adoption, career over children, the rights of the fathers, there’s also quite a bit of humor. Frankel never takes a black and white approach. Her whole point is life is gray, that’s it’s never simple. This is a heartwarming story about life’s complexities. I always find Frankel’s stories make wonderful book club selections and this one will be no different.
I listened to this and felt Patti Marin did a fabulous job as the narrator. Make sure to listen to both the Author’s Note and the interview between Laurie and Patti at the end.
My thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook.

Laurie Frankel is a master of family literary dramas. This Is How It Always Is will remain a favorite novel of mine forever. Her latest, Family Family, centers on famous Broadway Star turned TV star India Allwood who is just breaking into her movie career with a film centering on adoption. India herself is an adoptive mother of ten year old twins, so she seems perfect for this film. However India lets it slip to the press, that this movie is not a great portrayal of adoption, and a media storm ensues. Her twins, Fig and Jack, go to great lengths to find some help for their mother. Family Family is a beautiful and joyful and heartbreaking story of adoption and relationships and love and what really makes a family. Told in present day and with flashbacks of India from childhood to present Frankel weaves together a fabulous story.

This Is How It Always Is is one of my all time favorite books. Laurie Frankel's newest was one of my most highly anticipated books of the year. This is a story about family, adoption, and a sort of coming of age story. Laurie dives deep into family - who and what makes a family. Laurie is a parent of an adoptee herself and this story is a fresh perspective on adoption. The story explores why adoption can be a first choice for some, rather than a last resort. There is a large cast of characters full of witty banter, tender moments, and exploring many relationship pairs and zooming out as well. The story is well paced but it does feel about 50 pages too long. Highly recommend if you enjoy a well developed, nuanced, complicated family story.

Recommend if you enjoy 
Famous actor characters and theater references
Complicated, yet dynamic family relationships
Pro-choice and pro-adoption

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

I know we are less than two weeks into the new year, but I'm calling it. This is my top book of the year. What an empowering and real book about how family. I could not get enough of India and all her children. This was an incredible book that helps to broaden the narrative of adoption. The narration was superb and the bonus conversation between the author and narrator only served to add to the excellence of the novel. I will never stop recommending this novel.

Adoption is a big part of my life. I was immediately intrigued by this story. I like many things that were presented and ideas that were explored. Good discussion topic and a great learning opportunity.

I was pleasantly surprised by how captivating I found the audiobook of Family Family to be. I haven't read Laurie Frankel before, but I definitely will be in the future.

If you have very strong feeling about adoption, I don't know how you'd feel, but as someone with not a lot of personal experience, I found this story to be really compelling and brought up a lot of interesting questions I'd never considered before. I loved that the story balanced the value of biological and found families and presented them as equally important.

The story is seamlessly woven together. While it could have been easy for the various timelines and families to be confusing, I found the story easy and interesting to follow. I really enjoyed the dialogue and found it to be well written. If you're a fan of Jodie Picoult or Emily's Henry's Happy Place, I think you should add this to your TBR list!

I received an audio arc from #NetGalley and MacMillan Audio and think this is a great way to experience this story, it's really well done and makes the story even better!

Laurie Frankel is consistently amazing, and this book was no exception. She manages to build in so many great insights into a stellar plot, with characters that are just so lovable.


Review copy provided by publisher.

This is such a great book- well written, makes you think, lives on in your head. It’s a love story, but perhaps not the kind of love story you are thinking of. It’s a story of adoption, love of a parent, love of extended family.

This is a story that everyone should read. It did feel daunting starting it because it’s a long one but as it went along I found myself immersed in the story and not wanting to stop.

Thank you so much for the ALC. My review is my own opinion

I have read a couple of books by this author before. She is a good writer that tackles topics that make you think. This book is no exception, however, it wasn't as intriguing to me as her others. I found myself putting this one down for long periods of time before returning to it. The narrator did a good job, but she sounded like a little kid, even when she was narrating adult voices. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy. I really enjoyed this family drama. I liked the back and forth between India’s teenage and college years and her current life. I loved the characters, especially the kids.
I think parts of the story were a little slow for me and it was maybe a little longer than I would have liked, but overall was a good read.

It has been a few years since I have read one of Laurie’s books, and I had forgotten how much I adore her writing! I was so captivated by India’s story, and I felt like I got a new perspective on adoption and what makes a family. It was truly so well done. I also really enjoyed the dual timelines. The dialogue was excellent, and the characters were all so well developed. I can easily see this being one of my favorite books of the year! The narrator really knocked it out of the park with this one. The characters came to life so well and she really made me connect with them.

4.5 stars

A central, repeated point in this novel is that while there are a lot of stories about tragic or magical adoptions on the small and big screen, there are very few about, well, more typical scenarios: ones that go well, that happen among common folk, that do not result in serendipitous recognitions from across crowded airports 30 years later, and so on. And with great flourish, Frankel offers up an option for this distinct kind of representation, along with a solid exploration of the concept of family (and FAMILY family) in general.

Readers familiar with Frankel's work will expect a lot and not be let down. Like other pieces she's written, she has some ethos in this topic as an adoptive parent herself. She speaks about this directly in the author's note at the end of the book. That information won't surprise readers as the sense of authenticity and complexity in this family dynamic feels like it was written by someone who must have either researched carefully or lived it themselves.

India is at the center of this sweeping, multigenerational story about her family. Readers jump (smoothly) through time to know India as a teen, as a college student, at various other points in her life, and in the present, where she is a famous actor and a mother. India has two unplanned pregnancies: one in high school and one in college. Both upend her life, as one might expect, and both result in her opting for adoption. This is where Frankel really hits that theme of a different kind of adoption story. India is sad and grieves loss, but she doesn't go into a state of utter despair. These births are new beginnings of everyone: her included. What's fascinating is meeting her biological and adopted children, reconnecting with the formers' fathers, and seeing how all of their stories collide in the present.

I had a lot of anxiety reading this at times because of my unwavering commitment to the absolute and obvious necessity of choice. There are times, early on, when it seems like this novel is pointing folks in a different direction, and I got so grossed out by this that I almost DNF'd just to escape that disappointing potential. Because I know this author already and her own backstory and previous literary choices, it just seemed...like that outcome wouldn't be possible here. Fortunately, this is the case. India is quite vocal about her perspectives (that options are essential). In today's climate, my tolerance for anything other than this clear viewpoint is like a negative 50 on a 10-point scale, so if you, perspective reader, have similar concerns and hard exit points, I encourage you to hold tight. Frankel - and India - won't let you down. If that's not your thing, this isn't your book, but you should read it and learn anyway. Please. Do that.

For me, Frankel clearly achieves the goal expressed in both the author's statement and at various points throughout the novel. Also, this is just a solid read regardless of the motif and messaging.

I’ve got complicated feelings about this book. I work in child welfare and I’m intimately knowledgeable of how trauma is present in a lot of adoptions. The loss of first family must occur before adoption can happen. However, there is also joy even where there’s trauma. I think the authors and the main character’s insistence on only seeing the joy, belittles the presence of trauma, possibly because the stories are only told from the perspective of a birth/adoptive parent, and not the children.

However, I do believe that adoptive families are as much family as any biological family. I loved all the personalities and the way the adults and children involved came together in this story.

I loved this book. I thought it was so well done and there were so many twists. It is a long book so it can be daunting, but it’s well worth it to me.

I really enjoyed this story! It was heartwarming and funny, and as someone who experienced fertility issues and contemplated adoption, it was nice to read a story from this perspective on adoption. The characters were likeable and relatable. I did find it to be a little long though. I didn't need it to be as drawn out as it was, but I generally prefer a shorter book. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.