This book honestly surprised me. It seemed to be about a dysfunctional family who had siblings that drifted apart before being summoned back together. It was funny, I expected that. It was wacky, I saw that coming. What I didn’t see was it being so touching and heartfelt. I found myself tearing up more than I ever thought and the ending was a damn-near sob-fest. I really loved this book and the characters were perfect in their own quirky ways. So well done!

This is a story of 4 siblings told in the past and the present. Lots of family drama, dysfunctional family, and fun road trips make this a fun book that deals with lots of issues. As someone that had a crappy childhood, I definitely connected with this book. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

This is a wonderfully written family drama for the ages filled with love, disappointment, and hope for the future. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for a copy of this book for an honest review.

This was an entertaining family drama. Although it didn't feel as if this story were breaking any molds, the characters were engaging and I found myself really caring about their stories.

The four Endicott siblings - Gemma, Connor and twins Roddy and Jude were once a close knit group. Unfortunately,
an argument after their father's funeral has ended up with the siblings not speaking for three years. When Jude i
nvites her siblings to a reunion, each one's past and current life are revealed. Will the secrets Jude reveals mend t
he broken ties? Realistic portrayal of family dynamics and a heartwarming read.
#FunfortheWholeFamily #RandonHouse #Ballantine #NetGalley

This book was delightful! It was heartfelt, entertaining, and had me tearing up at the end. Perfect for anyone who likes books about big complicated families.

So much less of downer than much of the adult fiction out there. I loved the characters, who were not perfect.

Based on the cover I thought this was going to be a light hearted fun read, but it was anything but. I loved the premise of the four siblings together but it seemed to fall a little flat for me. I wasn't really connected to the characters and I found myself skimming through parts just to get done. There were some parts that I felt dragged on and on and some parts that didn't flow well with the story. The ending was unexpected for me and I did love how it wrapped up all the relationships at the end.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Family dramas are one of my favorite genres and Jennifer E Smith definitely delivers on just that here. I was hooked from the beginning and finished this in just two days! Estranged siblings receive a text from their eccentric sister to meet them for one more adventure in a new state. The characters are well developed and multidimensional to the point they really feel real. I was obsessed from the beginning.

TFW you loved a book so much that you had to write a review immediately after you finished. Thanks so much to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advance copy of the book!!

The four Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, and twins Roddy and Jude—were an inseparable unit growing up. Their mother, an actress dreaming of her big break, left their family but would return for a few weeks every summer to take the four of them on a road trip. The destinations were never exciting but the trips were always memorable—until the events of one trip changed everything.

Now, as adults, it’s been three years since the siblings have seen one another and have barely communicated. But they get a text message out of the blue from Jude—now an Oscar-nominated actress—asking them to meet her in a small town in North Dakota in a few days.

Jude has called her siblings together because she has three secrets to share with them. Each has the potential to upend everything.

At the same time, each sibling is at a crossroads. Gemma, the oldest, who served as a surrogate mother for the others, wonders if she is pregnant—and if she wants to be. Connor, whose last book fictionalized their childhoods and angered his siblings, is divorced and has writer’s block. Roddy, a professional soccer player ready to retire, has the chance for one more season, but hasn’t discussed it with his future husband.

I love family drama, and this book was just so emotionally rich and compelling. The narration shifts between past and present and among the siblings, and the whole story was just so beautiful.

The book will publish 4/15/2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine Books for the eARC!

Wow. This book is wonderful. I was completely hooked from page one, and every subsequent page was equally as perfect. It is a heartwarming, funny, emotional, hopeful family saga that flips back and forth between present and past. I absolutely adored the format, with each chapter bouncing from state to state - especially as she is recounting the three years the siblings were apart, done through a series of one page chapters from wherever they were thinking about each other. Ugh, just so smart and so sweet.

And speaking of those siblings - I love them all so much. When there are four main characters, I usually find that some are less developed or less involved. Not the case here. Every single Endicott is fully their own, and they equally take center stage. The interactions between the four of them are so natural and realistic, making you desperate to be in their orbit.

This book is equal parts uplifting and heartbreaking, and made me cry like a baby.

The Endicott siblings haven’t seen each other in years, since their big fight. When a random text from Jude, now a famous actress, brings them together they will learn more about their past and family history.

If you like family drama stories, this is a good one. The family are all so different, yet three out of four of the siblings are somewhat famous, which was the only unrealistic piece to me. There were a lot of secrets being held, but the family heals together as they relearn the past.

“You put out story into the world like it was the truth, and you didn’t even get it right.”

Fun for the Whole Family comes out 4/15.

This is a first time author for me. I really enjoyed this story book. It is about 4 siblings who were close. Gemma, Roddy , Connor and Jude . After there mother's disappearance from their life and some secrets that were shared in a book written by Connor they hadn't seen each other for a while.Jude decided to arrange a reunion in the last place she and their mother went before she died. Portree, North Dakota. They all agreed to come.
Roddy, Jude's twin is at the end of his professional soccer career and his fiance' Winston , Gemma comes by herself and finds out her IVF worked this time while she is there , Connor, the writer , is having writer's block he brings his children Rosie and Hugh and Jude , is an actress. I don't do spoilers so I am going to let you, the reader follow them to find out what this journey is about, the secrets held back for years. A VERY GOOD READ
This story made you stop and think just how sad things can be and they can never get back the wasted time.

Fun for the whole family is the story of the four Endicott siblings, told in alternating points of view and also switching from present day to past timelines . We have Gemma, the oldest, who had to grow up fast and be mother to her siblings with a mother who virtually disappeared except for the yearly summer road trips she took them on and a father that was barely present, Connor, the brother who became famous writing a thinly veiled story about their family, and twins Roddy, a famous soccer player who is now at then end of his career, and Jude, an Oscar nominated actress. When their father died 3 years ago the siblings had a falling out, and they have had very little communication until they all receive a text from Jude, asking them to meet her in a tiny town in North Dakota for the weekend, and they all drop their plans and head out.

What follows turns into a tale of secrets revealed, the unbreakable bonds of siblings, forgiveness and family, and I loved all the characters in this messed up family. Although none of them is perfect and they have all made their mistakes, the ultimate bonds are unshakable and I found this a very heartwarming and heartbreaking tale. I loved this authors adult debut, the Unsinkable Greta James, and her second adult novel is another winner.

Thank you to net galley and Random house for an e galley in exchange for an honest review..

This was a fun and humorous read that kind of took me by surprise. I love a book exploring family dynamics and this one had a lot of conflict, twists and turns. I did feel like the first 30% or so really dragged, but then it picked up for me and I became invested in the characters. I wasn't crazy about the ending, but I appreciate the journey that each of the Endicott siblings went through over the course of the story.

I would have actually liked more of a focus on the mother and her story- the flashback chapters were some of my favorite despite how short they were.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy for my honest review!

In this book we meet four estranged siblings. We get the back and forth timelines to fill in the who, what, where and why!

It has been years since these four were in the same room, so when Jude sends everybody a cryptic text to meet her in North Dakota for the weekend their curiosity gets the better of them and they all attend.

Each one has secrets, each one is on the cusp of life changing decisions.

I absolutely loved this book, I wanted more!!!
This is my first book by this author, and it won’t be my last!!

It’s hard for me to choose what rating to give this one. The mystery of the premise captured my attention early on, but the follow through wasn’t as fully fledged as I’d expected from the set up.

The siblings work so well together as characters, but I would have liked to see a stronger connection between the flashbacks and current day. It felt like this story was often just shy of becoming a deeply profound narrative.

I’m still chewing on this one- hopefully will have a more complete thought on it soon! For now, three stars.

This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! Definitely worth the read!

Fun for the Whole Family equals fun for me. Ok, well not exactly fun but definitely an enjoyable, engaging book. I didn't expect to like this, or possibly even finish! Four siblings, famous siblings, road trips. Maybe too cliche? Nope. The way the author connected each character with each other was so easy to follow and become invested in. And the periphery characters were just right. And this was perfect reading for my January snowed in days. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Fun for the Whole Family had a lot of potential, but it ran into many of the same plot holes as other novels with a Big Traumatic Event (TM) that forces a group into years of silence. The cross country road trips were a surprising element, and I liked the structure that seeing all 50 states provided the story. I also appreciated the queer representation in Roddy. Overall, though, I thought some parts were underdeveloped (the mom, her leaving their family, the dad's role in it all) and others overdeveloped (the siblings roles in their family, everyone's distaste for Jude, Gemma's chronic oldest sibling woes).