Hadley Leggett's debut "All They Ask is Everything" is a contemporary women's fiction multi POV journey through the foster care system. A. young, troubled, mother is accused of a crime plus neglect and her children are removed to foster care. She has an overbearing, estranged mother herself and both have a history of profound losses. The story is told from three POV's--the young mother, the foster mother, and the estranged grandmother, all who want to serve the children's best interests. Leggett brings to light how complex such situations are and how navigating social services can make it even more so. I found this book a quick read, with fast paced dialogue and scene, and it left me with much to consider. Leggett's medical background comes through in tidy glimpses as well. The social worker's depiction fell short for me, and did not feel as authentic as other characterizations but perhaps the character is based on someone the author has encountered in real life. Ultimately, Leggett brings the book to a satisfying end and though some of the plot points lose a little plausibility in their execution, it definitely kept me interested and I kept on reading. I am giving it five stars as I continue to think of the story several days later. Appreciate Lake Union and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Painful but honest mother/foster drama from three perspectives.

4.5 stars

This was hard to read. It's not fun as a parent to see children caught up in stories of abuse and neglect. And reading this, seeing all sides, didn't make that easier.

But the three narrators did keep this a gripping story of a grieving, depressed widow who's let things slip, and showed how the system might close in around her when her children are seen as 'at risk'. Hannah leaves her daughters in the car for too long going to the shops and social services takes them away from her. Julie, desperate to be a mother is the foster parent now taking care of them and finding a family that she doesn't want to let go of. And Elaine, Hannah's high-flying lawyer mother, with her own career now faltering she sets her sights on swooping in to 'save' her daughter but then determining the children would be better off with her instead.

The stage is set for a three-way confrontation of determined women, with two little girls at the heart of the battle.

Each story demands sympathy, all the women feel like real women with real wants and problems and failings. The story doesn't seem to take the side of anyone, and never does lose sight of the two girls in the middle.

I dreaded making my way through this at the start, but grew more empathetic towards Hannah as the book progressed, and my fears about graphic scenes were unwarranted.

It's a sad book in the end - about lost fathers and loves, lost chances, but bringing the hope and possibility out by the end.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. As a single cat lady with no intention to ever have kids, this didn't seem like the book for me. And then I started it and couldn't stop. It had me rushing through it page by page, chapter by chapter, trying to figure out what happens next.

The author did a great job of sharing the complex layers and pressures of systems trying to protect children and mothers doing their best while dealing with life's complexities. I wasn't sure what was going to happen from page to page and appreciate how real and raw it all was. Each character had very different circumstances and complex things they were grappling with and trying to navigate. It impressed me how well the author balanced all of it and how connected I felt to each of them and how unsure I was at what should happen or would happen at each turn. It's an important and valuable narrative and I'm so grateful to have experienced it!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC. I’d give this 4.5 stars. I loved almost all of it, with the exception of part of Julie’s storyline which just seemed overly dramatic. But this story was heart wrenching and I found both Hannah and Julie relatable, less so with Elaine. Really wonderful book!

This thought-provoking story pulls at your heartstrings from the very first page and I just wanted to reach into the book and give Wren and Ivy a huge hug. They need so much love, attention, and stability. There are a lot of difficult issues brought to light in this book, but I felt like the author did a good job of handling them with sensitivity. I really enjoyed the writing style and the way I was drawn in and emotionally invested in the outcome for these girls and the three women involved. I was moved to shed a few tears at the hopeful tone of the ending and the challenges faced in the story will stay with me for a long time.

Hannah has recently lost her husband. She has two little girls. And Hannah is spiraling! Due to a unique situation, her children have been taken away from her. She is struggling with this fact, and refuses to accept help in any shape form or fashion.

There are so many emotions that the reader experiences in this tale. I found Hannah’s situation so tragic. But I also found her to be so stubborn. There is a southern saying, “ you are biting your nose off to spite your face.” It basically means, don’t be so stubborn that you hurt yourself in the process. Hannah tended to do that on more than one occasion. She frustrated me. But, who is to say, that I would not have done the same thing. Anything to save my kids!! Hannah‘s heart was definitely in the right place, even if she didn’t go about it in the correct manner.

Then there is Hannah’s mother, Elaine. She is a piece of work. But I absolutely love the way this story turned out. You have to read this to find out! And believe me, you do not want to miss it!

The narrator, Eva Kaminsky, could not have been better!

Need a fantastic book from start to finish…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Meh this just didn’t work for me. The whole thing was just infuriating on every level. All three lead characters were abysmal. Everything was just so over the top including the cops actions and Hannah becoming increasingly more manic. The ending was very disappointing.

ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING
BY: HADLEY LEGGETT

About 3.50 Stars!

This is a first time novel making its debut, written by a thought provoking author, Hadley Leggett, called, [book:All They Ask Is Everything|199541837] is a character driven literary fiction novel, which brings to light a fast paced important subject by this author right in the beginning. Right away you're introduced to a grieving, single parent named, Hannah. As the mother's impulsive decision is life altering that had me saying to myself: "OH NO DON'T DO IT!," that kicks off the action by which the thesis is one that sets up the rest of this novel, by which this poor choice focuses. Her actions made with good intentions wanting to do something nice for both of her young children, but so not responsible reverberates like skipping stones in a lake. Causing concentric circles that progress continuously heartbreaking consequences for herself, in addition to being frightening for both her, and her innocent children. She has two daughters named Ivy, who is three years old, and Wren who is a seven year old that has been given too much responsibility resulting her to have to act as a stand- in mother to her younger sister and herself. This was made more poignant for me when I read the informative Author's Note, and the Acknowledgements section, of the laws regarding foster care with specific afflictions that are protective regarding parents in Washington State. Indicative citing how it relates to this mother and her interactions with the Child Protective Services changing the organizational shifts in policies, and law changes that have been instituted around the same time period that this literary fictional but very raw narrative takes place in, 2017.

There are three main characters with alternating chapters told in the third person points of view that starts off with Hannah, who is around forty who is the biological mother of Wren and Ivy. I didn't find her as emotionally devastated by losing custody of her children since I wouldn't be able to function in her position. Seeing your children being carted off with police after you didn't think they were harmed by your split second decision. I can only surmise Hannah must have known better to explain her reaction being not traumatized more significantly. Being arrested and charged with serious offenses to be atypically authentic by how a mother would be inconsolable I would expect. The children didn't seem equally realistic as they were separated by the only parent they had would have been equally inconsolable as they watched from the police SUV as their mother was arrested. The fact of a mother and her two young children being ripped apart from each other I would imagine would elicit unimaginable terror from both Hannah and her young children. If that happened to me when my two children were that age, the results would have both myself and them hysterical by the sheer amount of shock. I don't think anything could prepare me or my children at that age to be separated by an unknown entity, let alone police without being prepared for such a huge shift in our lives. If this narrative would have included the powerful grief stricken response instead of it being portrayed as if it was a normal occurring experience that their reactions displayed with being so calm it would lend more credibility. Since Hannah and her children didn't react in a manner that matched their circumstances which was a family torn apart without notice it didn't seem to phase the children. Maybe the author didn't want to upset her audience leading her to display less effect, on both Hannah and her young daughters. Maybe it's my own imagination, nevertheless I would have shown a stronger reaction by the shock at never expecting to be ripped apart the way these three were.

Julie is the Foster mother who Child Protective Services places Hannah's two young daughters in her custody. Rhonda is a secondary character that is the case worker who is from Child Protective Services in Seattle, Washington who is assigned to Hannah's daughters' and she seems overworked by her lack of returning Julie's phone calls whenever Julie calls her with concerns or questions regarding Ivy and Wren. Julie's most important goal in life is becoming a mother, but has been unsuccessful at having her own children. Her townhouse is perfectly equipped to take the girls and seems to be able to provide the structure and stability that these two young girls need. She is responsible for providing a home for Hannah's two daughters' and she has arts and crafts, books, comic books from her childhood that she shares with Wren. Ivy refuses to talk which seems realistic to her being separated from her mother being only three it seems naturally an effect from suddenly being thrust in a strange environment with a stranger who she's never met. Julie takes them to the library and is shocked in the morning to see Wren cooking breakfast when Julie finds them awake in her kitchen. She takes them to Target to buy them new clothes when she turns her back and Wren slips out of her sight, which she quickly locates her. Her problem is that she gets attached to them as if she expects them to stay with her, but she is kind to them seeing that they are constantly supervised. It's not what the girls are used to since at home they would wander their neighborhood unsupervised and a neighbor gives Hannah a prescription bottle of green pills that gave her energy before the girls were taken. Since the girls show up in dirty pajamas they get bought new clothes and are fed healthy snacks along with Julie making sure that they are fed healthy meals which she models for them that they are to be prepared by her. She thinks that both girls are better off with her than with their mother Hannah, and is elated to hear that Hannah's arraignment turns out that her toxicology screen shows amphetamines in her system. Hannah is sent to see a doctor before she's released from jail and he tries to persuade her to go through mental health rehabilitation for a quicker way to get custody of her girls back which she refuses and Julie is thrilled that she can keep Hannah's daughters' longer. She takes Wren to the doctor when she sees bruises on her ribs and back. Hannah finds out that she's been accused of having been abusive physically to Wren when the doctors don't believe that Wren said that she fell off a ladder. The Doctors don't find cracked or broken ribs that they expect when Julie has her Case Worker named Rhonda involved but at Hannah's arraignment She expected to get her children returned immediately and they aren't due to the allegations of abuse mixed with her toxicology showing amphetamines in her system without a prescription. She should have listened to the doctor at the jail who told her to agree to go the mental health rehabilitation route, and she would get her children returned to her sooner. He told her with a doctor's care she could get a doctor to help her with a prescription explaining the amphetamines was a cross over mistake resulting in the lab. Hannah also lies about having a living relative who happens to be her mother who could have had the girls released from Foster care and they could have been reunited the next day with her mother being the guardian getting CPS to not keep making things worse for Hannah now that Hannah's Case worker, Rhonda and Julie's belief that Hannah caused multiple bruises on her daughter with physical abuse added on to Hannah's problems. There's no spoilers here. This is just the beginning of a long story of bad judgement that took all of my patience to finish.

Hannah has a mother who she appears to hate that lives in Chicago where Hannah grew up who was a high powered attorney named Elaine. Elaine is being forced into a retirement that she doesn't want that she plans on fighting. Hannah was extremely close with her father who nurtured her, and she felt that he loved her, until he recently died of pneumonia. Hannah has been estranged from her mother ever since he died, she blames her mother for his dying earlier than he would have, since he caught it when her mother placed him in a nursing home. Hannah knew her father didn't have long to live, but thinks that her mother chose her job predictably, as Elaine's first priority over caring for her husband. Just like it was with her mother leaving Hannah being raised by her father, choosing her job rather than spending time with Hannah. Ever since Hannah saw that her father died from bacterial pneumonia instead of viral, she was robbed from getting a chance to say goodbye because he died quickly in only two days after he caught it. She knows already he had been diagnosed with cancer, but looked forward to spending as much time as possible with him, traveling to Seattle since he knew Hannah was grieving her husband's death. They enjoyed their time spent together as a family which her father showed an interest during his retirement visiting Hannah and his granddaughters, fixing up a vacation home on an island they worked on near Seattle. He planned on giving that remodeled cabin to Hannah to vacation there or move there if she wanted to. Ever since she read his autopsy report that states it was bacterial instead of viral she feels that if her mother didn't place him in the nursing home he wouldn't have died so soon. She has not spoken to her mother since she blames Elaine for her not being able to spend the time with her father, since just like Elaine failed to mother Hannah, her job came first. Hannah believes that her mother's job came before her father's care causing him to catch pneumonia in the nursing home, robbing Hannah the precious time they had left. His death was a shock to Hannah since he died sooner than she expected not giving her the time to say goodbye.

Elaine finds out that her granddaughters are in the Foster care system. She travels to Seattle and Hannah is ordered to anger management and outpatient psychiatric therapy which in a private meeting prior to her hearing with a Public Defender she has already told the Public Defender that she doesn't have any other family who can take the girls in. I thought Julie was taking great care of Hannah's daughters', but I would have thought that Hannah would have rather have her daughters' stay with her mother instead of a stranger, if only for her daughters' comfort to know they were with family. Plus, her mother could have helped her with defending her, since she was a much more experienced attorney, who she could have gotten Hannah's daughters' out of foster care, and Hannah would have been reunited with them right away. Her mother went to CPS and tried to get the records regarding Hannah's case, but was denied by the receptionist since Hannah didn't want her mother to take care of her daughters'.

Hannah, Julie and Elaine alternate their points of view told in the third person. Hannah isn't what you might think of her as she is suffering from grief. She lost both her father and her husband, but most of all herself from being left with two young daughters to raise which it would be difficult to do with finding herself without a support system. Julie isn't a bad person, but I sometimes felt frustrated with all three of these main characters for their choices left me frustrated in that all three of them each in their own way were responsible for making a bad situation worse. The novel has a lot of great things going for it, although I felt that it got bogged down and I grew bored and had to force myself to finish it at around the 30% mark. It's not like I could abandon it, since it's a Net Galley ARC that as much as I regretted choosing it, I will always continue to read it until the end no matter how much I'd found it just wasn't for me. I think that the Author has her heart in the right place, with an important message to put out in the world. Sometimes, I read something based on the many five star reviews, when I have a different criteria which I will keep to myself. Please read other reviews as I have an outlier opinion, and I'm a minority, overall. I do wish this author my very best wishes for success with this. I love the ending, and I just think that I am the wrong fit for this. I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know, and I think that this will appeal to a much younger reader. I will end this by saying that I feel it could use an Editor to tighten it up, as I think that it took too long to deliver the point.

Publication Date: August 27, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Hadley Leggett and Lake Union Publishing for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#AllTheyAskIsEverything #HadleyLeggett #LakeUnionPublishing #NetGalley

I was so torn reading this book.

Told from the perspective of 3 women, two little girls' lives are being determined through some dramatized legal situations as the FMCs fight for custody.

Each character is relatable in some shape or form. We have a grandmother who feels she screwed her daughter up and wants a second chance to redeem herself. We have the biological mother who has made major mistakes in her life, leading to removal of her rights to have the two little girls in her care. And finally, we have the foster mother, who cares so much but is it just a dream or does she really want custody?

I enjoyed the major, relevant topics discussed relating to motherhood. As someone trying to conceive, this was an interesting perspective that challenged my own thoughts around the subject.

Hadley Leggett's debut novel is heartfelt, empathetically observed, and un-put-downable. This book hooked me from the first page (from the cover, really--it's a perfect cover for a book about motherhood!). I found myself relating to each of the characters in different ways, and I admire how Leggett handled the complex issues in this book with sensitivity and empathy. I don't always love multi-POV novels but this one hit all the right notes. All They Ask is Everything is a perfect book club pick with plenty of situations ripe for discussion. I'll be thinking about these characters for a long time and I'd love to revisit them in a sequel!

Hannah is, like a lot of women, who think, they are all alone, and after losing her husband and father, she was so lost, and didn't think she had anyone to help her or her two girls. She took her girls to the store so she could make pancakes and left them sleeping in the car. When she came out, the police were there, and she was arrested, and her girls were put into foster care. Many things are revealed, and Julie the foster Mom wants the girls, Hannah wants the girls back, and Hannah's mother wants to take custody of the girls.
After such a devastated loss, will someone help Hannah through the grief, so she can get her girls back? It is a heartbreaking story, and one so real, that it gripped me to reading it all before I could move on.
I received an ARC from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley.

What a fantastic debut novel! Hadley Leggett has a winner in All They Ask Is Everything! A five star read! I can’t wait for an encore!

All They Ask Is Everything by Hadley Leggett is a compelling contemporary fiction novel.
With characters who hooked me immediately and sucked me into their lives. I had such a hard time putting this book down. They are all wonderful and written so well that they jump out of the page.
A thought-provoking and heart felt novel.

4.3 stars

This contemporary fiction novel is delivered from 3 view points of women who are all fighting for custody of 2 little girls. This book demonstrates both the faults in the system governing child protection services as well as the struggles of parenting. It also showcases the extent that people will go to in order to prove that their preconceived notions are right without examining all of the facts.

I was impressed to find out that this is this author's debut novel. I very much enjoyed it and I can't wait to see what else she is working on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

All They Ask Is Everything is the story of three women all trying to do what they think is best for Hannah's daughters. The key is "what they think is best". The story is well written but I struggled with the characters, I didn't really like any of the women though I could empathize with each of them for different reasons. The story gives a lot of insight into the child protection systems and social services that many readers will find interesting.

3.5 for me rounding up though I believe many others will really enjoy the story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author for this advance copy in exchange for this honest review. This one is hitting shelves in a few days on Tuesday 8/27/24!

I’m rediscovering my love for contemporary fiction with some family drama - I will preface this by saying I was not in the foster care system, so I’m not sure how accurate this is (there is an author’s note at the end with all of her research), but this plot and story just pulls from your heart and inspires you to think who the “bad guys” are in this book - very though provoking and very strong for a debut.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for this review. Pub date: 8/27/24!

ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING, the debut novel from Hadley Leggett, is a book about motherhood. Most of the reviews you'll likely see will come from the perspective of mothers -- how they related, how they empathized, how they judged. But this isn't a book *only* for mothers. It's a book for anyone who enjoys a complicated, well-written narrative about flawed people.

ATAIE tells the story of how a mistake made by a struggling, grief-stricken mother, Hannah, sends her two young daughters into the foster care system. Alternating the POVs of Hannah, Hannah's mother Elaine, and foster mother Julie, Leggett builds a complex and conflicting narrative that perfectly exemplifies the conflicting narratives we tell ourselves. These are not perfect characters or perfect mothers and each of their journeys confronting their own flaws happens along their own timelines. At times, this makes for a frustrating read -- as a reader, we can see all the ways in which Hannah needs help, in which Elaine prioritized herself over her daughter, in which Julie is blinded by her love of the girls. Some will say that these women are "unlikeable" and at times, they are. But that makes the ways in which each mother grows and changes more rewarding. It's difficult to write believable, deeply flawed characters that you still want the best for and Leggett handles this balance deftly.

This is an engrossing debut from Hadley Leggett and I look forward to what she writes next.

Content Warning: ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING contains descriptions, descriptions, or themes of the following topics: foster care, child abuse, child endangerment, miscarriage, death, grief, depression.

Hadley Leggett, the Author of “All They Ask is Everything” has written a thought-provoking and heart felt novel. The Genres for this book are Women’s Fiction, Fiction, and Adult Fiction. What do you feel the job description for a Mother should be? Is there a difference between the bonding and love of a biological mother, or a woman who can’t have her own biological children? In society today, does social services meet the criteria for advocating and providing the emotional and physical needs of children? These are some of the questions that the author provides food for thought after reading this book.

In this well written novel, Hadley Leggett vividly describes motherhood through three different women, and two small children. Sometimes in life, situations arise that aren’t anticipated, and there are no ready answers. Circumstances, poor choices, bad luck, and mistakes can be made. Hannah is the mother of two young children and now widowed, is struggling to do the best that she can. A confusing and disastrous mistake has Hannah in jail, and her daughter’s in foster care. Hannah is estranged from her mother, a high-powered attorney, now a widow, who had no time for Hannah, when she was growing up. Hannah’s mother Eleanor is looking at a “forced retirement” in her career. Julie is a single woman who has dreams of being a mother, but hasn’t met the right man. Julie does try artificial insemination, that doesn’t work. The lives of these three women and the two young children collide. Each feels they would make the best guardian for the children.

I appreciate how discusses the importance of communication, seeking and asking for help, forgiveness, second chances, the importance of family, friends, community, honest, love and hope. The author also discusses the importance of physical and mental health, individual growth and goals. I highly recommend this memorable novel.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinion are completely my own.

I would not recommend this book to students, but would absolutely recommend to friends.

Although the book did get slow at times, everything written had a purpose which was nice

I wanted to take Ivy and Wren home myself and give them a love without ulterior motives. Every character was extremely well written and I did feel like I knew them. I may not like them, but knew them.

I don't think I have read anything like this before that I'm very glad I did.