It's me, not the book. The reason for the three star rating.

I've read a few [author:Laurie Frankel|300536] books, but this was my least favorite. I am a very logical person and there were a few things that just didn't make sense. I can normally suspend reality when reading, but I just couldn't get past it.

First of all, this is a great story of what family is and what family means. All families look different, and India's more different than most. It is also full of positive adoption stories.

[author:Laurie Frankel|300536] is similar to author's like [author:Jodi Picoult|7128] and [author:Kristin Hannah|54493] in that she writes a book for a purpose. There is a topic that is tackled that is thoroughly researched. I appreciate that. It is what makes these authors all automatic reads for me. I love many of their books, but not all. And that is OK. (If you've ever spoken to me about [author:Jodi Picoult|7128], I'm sure you've heard all about my opinion of [book:Leaving Time|18816603], lol.)

So, while I love the author's style and the overall message of this book, I did not love some of the details. Most significantly, the details around India adopting Fig and Jack. I get adopting children who need you, but the timeframe gets me. <spoiler> Who in their mid-twenties, who just gave up their own child for adoption a couple of years ago, is going to adopt four year old twins? It just doesn't make sense in my head. 10 years on, sure. Get it. But not at 26-ish and just starting her career. </spoiler>

This one was also weird for me- while I was reading it, I was happy and didn't want to put it down. When I was about to read, I didn't want to pick it up. Why? No clue. But I never read multiple books at once, but this took me a week with four other books read in the middle.

Patti Murin narrates the audiobook and is wonderful, as always.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

What another delightful story with beautiful nuggets of truth by Laurie Frankel. Family Family explores what it means to be family via the life story of India, who is a loveable, unique character. The novel dragged on a bit longer than I found necessary (some details in the middle portion could certainly have been left out without impacting the overall story), but since the characters and their conundrums were so fun, I didn't mind too much. The narration was fabulous.

Review to be published on my bookstagram the week of the pub date.

Family Family deals with difficult subjects, that might be triggering for some, but the messages within the story are so very important! The story is well written, dramatic, humourous , and thought/reflection provoking.
Although this book may not be for everyone, everyone should read/ listen to it and then reflect.
I had the good fortune of receiving Family Family in the audiobook format. The narration of the audiobook is clear, well paced and easy to listen to. I’m not sure that I would’ve enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed having listened to it. The story is long and, as life is, rather complicated. I listened to it while on a lengthy road trip.
Be sure to read/listen to the Author’s Note at the end of the story. It reveals valuable background/insight…….more food for thought.
Kudos to Laurie Frankel for daring to start the conversation by writing Family Family.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to enjoy the audiobook version of this ARC.

This has got to be one of my favorite literary fiction novels. Frankel discusses such important topics like adoption and different family dynamics in a way that is hard hitting while also being fun and exciting. I fell in love with these characters and never got bored. I was so interested in the glimpses of India’s life before her two kids as the book progressed and loved seeing her in the present day, how she had grown and become such a great mom. I would recommend this book to everyone!

MacMillan audio, thank you for allowing me the chance to listen to one of my top books of the year. Laurie Frankel is for me a treasure and I love her intentional writing, her voice, and how much she cares for her characters and her stories, it is so clear she not just loves to write but that she loves to share meaningful characters, memorable stories, and that she wants her readers to understand that love and family, identity, are complex in incalculable ways. She is a favorite for a reason. "Family is a force to be reckoned with"

The audiobook itself is well done, Patti Murin cares for Frankel's characters as well, she delivers a solid performance, excellent pacing, and I felt, as I listened to her reading, that she had taken time to understand the stories, words, phrasing... all that goes into making a story about adoption important, inclusive, and needed. I appreciated her performance.

“The one thing she knows for sure is what makes a family isn't blood. And it isn't love. No matter how they're formed, the truth about family is this: it's complicated.”

Family Family follows India Allwood from the time she is in high school pursuing her dream of acting into adulthood when that has come to fruition. As a high school senior, India finds herself pregnant and forced to make decisions for her future. She chooses adoption and places her daughter with a new family. Throughout her later career, India places another child up for adoption and then later adopts children herself. As India’s past is analyzed by the media, she faces backlash for her comments on one of her acting projects. In a series of meaningful events, India connects with family members as they all discover the true meaning of family.

This is the third book that I have read by Laurie Frankel and her writing style is so comforting. She takes on tough, important topics encouraging rhetorical reader to come away with new perspectives. In this novel, Laurie presents the complicated feelings of adoption, the importance of women’s rights, and of a woman’s right to choose. In the author’s note, Laurie connects the novel to her own personal experiences. She talks about the variety of families and states that “wider ranges of normal make the world a better place for everyone.”

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

This is fantastic. Frankle writes families like no one else. What draws me to her stories, the last three I’ve read, is that the characters, especially the young ones are funny as hell. I am drawn to the storylines, which are heartbreaking, but I know that in the end she will take good care of everyone.

This is not a five star read because it is so darn long. At the end of the audio the author explains that the editor cut 300,000 thousand words and still this felt long. This is telling.

Thank you NetGalley for the complementary copy.

My thanks to Net Galley and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

I don't think adoption is ever easy and particularly in today's world and that is the picture we get in this book. India is an actress with twins she adopted and one of her twins gets pregnant in high school and makes the bold decision to make a family happy by not aborting her child and allowing a family to raise her child. Bravo for this storyline, even though I don't think it is as easy as what the book makes it sound.

It seemed India never got rattled and treated her children as adults with the tough decisions they had to make and especially with the world we live in today. She did love her children and talk them through their thought processes which was impressive but just didn't feel realistic. Likewise, her children seemed to glide through life and it's challenges in a "simplistic" way as well.

Overall, it was a fiction story that did not feel relatable at all in reality. With 7 children adopted in our family, it felt far too simplistic. And for me, it was just not relatable or interesting.

Family Family is an exquisite family drama about, you guessed it, family. I love how Frankel tackles the topic of "unconventional" families. You can tell that this novel was dear and near to her heart as she manages to write a beautiful story about imperfect people doing the best they can for themselves and others. The characters in this book are real and relatable and so incredibly likable. The dialogue is funny and smart and doesn't shy away from tackling important and controversial topics in the most uplifting way. The audiobook narrator did an amazing job bringing a whole slew of characters to life. Overall, this was delightful, quirky, thought-provoking and endearing. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest opinion.

I LOVED this book!! The premise of the novel was something that is not commonly covered in novels and I really appreciated it! I went into this one not knowing anything about the book or this author and I'm pleasantly surprised! I'm already recommending it to friends and family that read (and many who don't) because of how much I loved it. I can't wait for this to get released so that I can get a physical copy for myself!

Family Family is a story about India Allwood and covers the span of her life from the age of 16 until she's 32. This novel is all about family in every sense of the word--biological family, chosen family, adoptive family, extended family, etc. Everything ties together perfectly. I think Frankel did a great job at getting her writing of the kids to truly sound like kids at whatever age they are. Sometimes kids in adult novels like this can sound like they're younger than they should be or too mature. I think she did an impeccable job, and since a large portion of this book is about kids at various ages, that's a huge factor!

Admittedly the way that the book hopped back and forth between past and present POVs got me confused a couple times. The past POV is India's perspective and the present is of India's daughter, Fig, but the audiobook narrator did such an amazing job of changing her her voice from one character to another, I was able to catch on quickly! I know that at the beginning of chapters, it states when in time it is taking place, but with the audiobook I didn't always catch it. That's the only complaint I have and it's small enough/personal enough that I don't think it's an actual flaw in the book or narration--it's just my brain haha.

I loved India's story. We learn about her early years and the present timeline now that she is a famous actress. I just loved how this author uses her words to describe and create emotions in the reader. I loved how adoption is portrayed and the book seamlessly goes between characters and timelines making me feel even more emotions for each one. I highly recommend this book, (and this author's earlier books). The narrator in this audiobook was fantastic and delivered the story perfectly!

Thanks so much for the audio arc!

I just read “This is how it always ends” and didn’t realize I was reading a second Laurie Frankel right after.

Frankel has a beautiful way of attacking big world issues. I think those two books could really go a long way for therapy, classrooms, new parents, really anyone. She has a way of broaching real life issues without throwing it in your face or making you feel like there’s only one right way to think. She shows you what it’s like to personally deal with an issue and it makes the reader really see things on a broader horizon.

This book, Family Family, dealt with the topic of adoption. And not only on one side. We meet a young girl who ends up putting up her baby for adoption. This was unbelievably brave & Frankel helps her discuss all her options. The book felt calm. It let you really digest how this feels, how it affects every party and how it affects all the lives involved. We follow India through her life and how adoption has left an imprint on her. I think anyone considering adoption, anyone adopted or who encounters adopted people- should really give this a read!

WHAT A UNIQUE THOUGHT-PROVOKING JOURNEY!

Though Fiction, "Family Family" reads like a memoir. In its non-linear timeline, we meet India Allwood. In the past, we see her discovering in her High School Theatre Department that she wants to be an actress. She's good. Really good. She just can't sing. Her Portia monologue from "Merchant of Venice" lands her an education at Julliard. The only problem is that she's pregnant. Once she has the baby, she will place it for adoption just in time for her to get to her dream. We are also following her present self with her 2 children. She's now one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood. She juggles life as a single parent and the media is hot on her trail to uncover her hidden past. As these two timelines inch closer together we then see the full mosaic of India's life story and become enlightened over past misrepresentation of adopted children and families.

As a High School Theatre teacher, I completely bought into this trope. I laughed, cried, and cheered for India the whole way. I loved standing in her shoes and relating to the difficulty of choosing to be a parent alongside a career that I love, yet is so demanding. I was also enlightened by Laurie Frankel on the historic stereotype of adopted children and families in movies and theatre. I love books that leave me more educated.
Because I listened to the audio version, I was elated when I encountered the voice of Patti Murin. Her voice and reading of this story was incredible. Being an actress herself, known for her role in Broadway's "Frozen" as Anna, her interpretation of characters made the story that much more gravitational. I was pleasantly surprised at the cute candid bonus interview content with Laurie Frankel and Patti Murin. I will say that this story is one to digest in chunks. It's long and moves slowly. I appreciated the pace due to the naturalism in the writing. And all of you Theatre fans out there are the perfect audience for this!

A special thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Laurie Frankel has written a wonderful story about what it means to be a family. She does a great job of developing the characters so that we like them - as well as understand their actions and motivations. Her writing as the children in the story is funny and feels age appropriate.

The story is about adoption, and what it means to be on both sides of the adoption story. Frankel's author's note is worth reading as she goes into detail about her reasons for writing this story. She talks about how adoption is regularly viewed as a last-resort, or how adoptive children and their biological parents grow to be broken and tragic. How media and entertainment portrays adoptive families as not being 'real families'. Frankel has written a very good story that makes us look at our judgements by pushing the story a bit into touchier places. This was well done, just like her book: 'This Is How it Always Is'.

The main character is a famous actress and Frankel does a great job of showing the scrutiny and judgment that women in public positions are put under. And how always - when issues of pregnancy decisions come up - it is the woman who is judged for what happened.

The book is narrated by Patti Murin and she does a wonderful job of handling the clever and funny dialogue between characters.

'Fig's mother was famous, but wasn't - horses in the backyard - famous.'

'If we had to worry about all our mother's fears, who among us would ever leave the house?'

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic book by Laurie Frankel. Beautifully narrated to the point I cannot imagine any other voice narrating- this book is full of heart.

As Frankel explains in the interview she gives following the book she wrote it to give adoption a voice. And indeed it does. A few times in fact. India as a sixteen year old girl gets pregnant. She discusses her options with her mother, with her very sweet and also young boyfriend, but ultimately chooses adoption because while her dreams were coming true (as a high schooler being accepted into every college she applied to) she wanted to fulfill someone else’s dream. Through India we get to see parts of the process of adoption, meet families who are adopting (for whatever reason) and we feel some of the heartache a birth mother feels holding the baby she has cared for during pregnancy and then says goodbye to.

As a reader you may see this book and think of it being such a controversial topic you may not want to pick it up. But please do. In this book India is religious- she wears a cross and prays. But the book is also very much about having the choice. Neither pro-abortion nor anti-abortion is pushed on the reader, in fact I think it’s very tactfully presented and with India simply stating “that was the choice for me.”

Throughout the novel a family is tied together- one that’s full of love, but still plenty of drama. The author just gives us a lovely book reminding us that not all families are conventional. But that doesn’t mean that they are any less important.

I loved this story and laughed out loud while listening more times than I could count. What a wonderful story and exploration of adoption as well as family relationships. The different POVS made it so much fun and fast-paced. I will be picking up more from Laurie Frankel for sure!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an audiobook copy!

Laurie Frankel's Family Family is a beautiful story about the bonds between both biological and non-biological family. It's emotional, funny, nuanced, and thought-provoking. I loved reading a story that centers adoption as a first choice rather than a last resort - there are not enough of those!

I highly recommend the audiobook read by Patti Murran. I've listened to a few of her books now and love her narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advanced copy of this lovely book.

I very much enjoy a story that follows a person throughout their life span. Bonus points for a non-linear timeline that is easy to follow and does not take away from the journey. Frankel delivers this and more in "Family Family." At first I felt that the premise of a woman choosing to place two babies for adoption after unplanned pregnancies. As the story and India's life progress all the missing pieces of India's life come together. Getting a backstage pass to theater productions was such a treat. A running theme through out is that the more people who love us in our lives, the better. Although I feel that the length of the book could have been edited down a bit, The premise of the story idea won at the last curtain call. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Laurie Frankel has become a favorite author of mine over the years. I had previously read her books One Two Three and This is How It Always Is and enjoyed them both very much. Therefore, when I saw that Laurie Frankel had written a new book I was so excited to get my hands on it. Family Family was centered around the concept of adoption, among other things. If we are honest with ourselves, when we hear the word “adoption”, many of our minds often think that it was probably a last resort, that it might prove challenging for both the adoptive parents or parent and the child who was adopted and that a stigma might be attached to the adoption. Laurie Frankel presented such a refreshing outlook on the process of adoption through India Allwood, one of the main characters in the book.

India aspired to become an actress since she was a young girl and fortunately for her that dream came true. The latest movie that India had been cast in happened to be about adoption. India was not pleased with the way the movie portrayed adoption. In the movie, adoption was seen as something that was tragic. India knew it was nothing close to being tragic and so she could not he,p herself when she voluntarily voiced her opinion about abortion to a journalist. As a result of that unplanned and out of character decision, India found herself in the middle of a “media storm”. India’s unsolicited comments proved to have provoked dire consequences for her acting career unless her family can come to her rescue and figure out a way to save her career.

The topic of adoption was one that meant a lot to Laurie Frankel. I really enjoyed the way Laurie Frankel presented adoption in Family Family. It was positive and uplifting. She created characters that were believable and quite likable. I don’t think that there were any characters that I did not like in this book. There were quite a few twists in this book that I didn’t see coming. I enjoyed that certain parts of the book that made me laugh, shake my head in agreement and even say good for you. The author’s notes at the end were very informative and so worth reading or listening to. I was lucky enough to have won a print edition of Family Family in a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to Henry Holt and Company for providing me with this ARC. I was also approved to listen to the audiobook of Family Family through Netgalley. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to it. The audiobook was narrated very well by Patti Marin. I mostly listened to the audiobook but did occasionally read the print version at the same time. Family Family was about choices, adoption, pregnancy, single parenting, how to find a good balance between a demanding career and bringing up children, standing up for what you believe in, a father’s involvement in an unplanned pregnancy, the choices available after the birth and the ability to follow your dreams. I really enjoyed Family Family and recommend it very highly.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of Family Family through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you also to Henry Holt & Company for allowing me to read the print edition book of Family Family through Goodreads in exchange for a honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

'Family Family' by Laurie Frankel is absolutely delightful. Please read it. It is full of love, heart, acceptance, humor, vivid characters, all on top of a few very important controversial topics. It is full of lighthearted humor and self-irony which is not easy to achieve when talking about such difficult topics as adoption, female rights, abortion, family. I loved this book. It's skillfully narrated by Patti Murin. Do yourself a favor and read or listen to this endearing and touching novel. I think it will be a big hit!

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this audiobook.