Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith. This is a story about a family of four children. Their mother left their father and their family when they were young, but would come back every summer to take them on a trip that seemed magical. Now the siblings are adults, and they have gotten busy and haven’t seen each other much recently. When Jude, the youngest daughter, and now a famous actress, texts them to all meet in rural North Dakota, it is a surprise. They all go, and learn more about their childhood and each other. I really liked this family story, and the characters. #netgalley #advancedreadercopy #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday

Fun for the Whole Family is a heartfelt and beautifully written story of sibling bonds, long-buried secrets, and the enduring power of family. From the very first page, this novel pulls you in, weaving a tale that’s both sweeping and intimate, taking readers on a journey not just across the country but through the hearts and memories of the four Endicott siblings.
The story centers around Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude, who were once inseparable thanks to the whimsical road trips their mercurial mother would whisk them away on every summer. The author captures the nostalgia of these childhood adventures and the complex dynamics that grew between the siblings as they were raised in their mother’s unpredictable shadow. Now, decades later, the siblings are strangers to each other, each carrying their own burdens and regrets. The invitation from Jude to reunite in North Dakota sparks a reunion that’s both tender and explosive, as secrets are revealed and wounds are reopened.
The author's writing shines in her portrayal of each sibling’s struggles. Gemma, who sacrificed so much for her family, is now questioning her own future. Connor, the novelist, finds himself creatively and personally lost. Roddy, nearing the end of his soccer career, is torn between his passion and his relationship. And Jude, the glamorous movie star, whose life appears perfect, holds the secrets that could either bring them all together or tear them apart. The author's nuanced characterization makes each sibling feel fully realized, and their interactions are filled with raw honesty, love, and humor.
The story is a beautiful meditation on family, forgiveness, and the ways we are shaped by those we love and the secrets we keep. The journey through all fifty states, brought to life through flashbacks and conversations, gives the novel a sweeping sense of adventure, underscoring the theme of rediscovery—not just of each other but of themselves.
Fun for the Whole Family is a moving, bittersweet read that will resonate with anyone who understands the complexities of family ties. The author has crafted a powerful, joy-filled novel that reminds us all of the importance of reconciliation, the beauty of shared history, and the courage it takes to find our way back to each other. This is a novel that will stay with you long after the final page—a true celebration of family, flaws and all.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Ah, what’s with writers writing books about four siblings?

Everyone knows how much I love Blue Sisters, and when I picked up Fun for the Whole Family, I was just expecting a quick fun read, but it broke my heart the way Blue Sisters did.

Don’t get me wrong, the books are not similar in any way aside from the fact both are about four siblings. But both had left me with the same kind of warmth and heartbreak.

I have said this a lot in my reviews, but I will always eat up any book about family. I want to read all about the complicated relationships between a child and their parents or one sibling with another, fiction or non-fiction.

Fun for the Whole Family tells a story about the Endicott siblings who only had each other throughout their childhood; their father was mostly working and their mother had left to continue pursuing her actress career. However, once a year, their mother would take them on a road trip to different states, aiming to visit all of them.

As adults, the siblings started to have their own life. Gemma, the oldest, who seemed the least “special” with her stable job and her good husband; Connor, the second oldest, who became a famous writer for a book he should not have written; the twins, Roddy and Jude, who are both famous and succesful as a soccer player and an actress.

Having been separated for awhile, Jude invited them to a small town in North Dakota, where they have to confront everything that had tore them apart for years.

It’s a solid plot, all the characters are different and special in their own way, and there is really nothing that I could complain about. I love this book and I can’t wait for everyone to read it next year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review! I truly love this one!

A family saga of a really dysfunctional family. So many surprises and secrets, and lots of healing by the end, which made me like the characters more and more.

A beautiful story how family come together even when they’ve drifted apart and still lift each other up.

This was just absolutely perfect. I fell in love with all of these characters. I felt annoyed with them, sad and happy with them and I just can't possibly believe I've already finished the book! It was just so good, I really love Jennifer E Smith's style of writing. She's great at gripping you from the first page and I was so thrilled and honored to be able to read this ARC. Please make sure to read this when it comes out next year, it'll be worth it!! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!! ❤️

I am not a crier, but this book made me cry. It was beautiful and poignant. I feel like the grief representation was well done, and I didn’t want the book to end.

a outstanding story about family drama and how things can change over time. Also how difficult can be fix broken relationships. Thanks for the advanced copy for a honest review.

I've long been a fan of Jennifer E. Smith's books for youth and YA, and absolutely loved her adult debut, The Unsinkable Greta James. Given that I went into this with high expectations, that probably skews my perspective a bit -- the family dynamics and goal to travel to all the states were a big draw, along with it being another Smith novel. I appreciated the peeling back of layers to understand how the family struggles reached the boiling point of the timeline that most of the novel is told (North Dakota) and the peek into all the siblings to show their unique perspectives. Despite being advertised as a "joy-filled" novel, I found this to be a more emotional and drama-oriented story, dealing with the complexities of family trauma and less on the "fun for the whole family," a title which was clearly chosen ironically!

An amazing story of family dynamics and how they can change over the years. Also of how hard it is to fix broken relationships

This was an interesting look at four siblings. They had a mother who wanted to see every state so that led to an interesting upbringing. The novel is actually set in North Dakota as the siblings reunite for the first time in four years. Each one of them has drifted apart. Three of the siblings have had incredible success, one a popular soccer player, another an Oscar nominated actress, and another a best selling author. The fourth and oldest however is trying to get pregnant but not sure if that is what she really wants. She did not achieve the great success that the other siblings have but feels more like their mother. The book alternates from present day to each sibling's past.

The book had a lot of great parts to it. Each time a chapter flashed to the past, it takes place in a different state. This book was filled with lots of drama and family dynamics. I felt engaged with the characters and their different point of views. There were definitely parts of their family I could relate to yet I was entertained at the same time. Overall, I thought it was a great reminder of what is important in life. After reading this book, I do feel the need to call both of my brothers that I haven't talked to in a while. If you enjoy family drama novels you will really enjoy this book.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

An emotionally distant father who disappears into his work. A mother who abandons her children to chase her dream of being an actress. An elder daughter who at the age of twelve becomes the surrogate mother to her siblings. What could possibly go wrong?

We meet the “Extraordinary Endicotts” as adults when they gather in North Dakota in the middle of nowhere. Three have achieved extraordinary success – one an actress nominated for an Oscar; one an author of a successful novel; and one who is at the end of his career as a professional soccer player. One, the eldest daughter, is living an ordinary life and is ambivalently pursuing fertility treatments. All have significant issues with intimacy and trust in varying degrees.

The chapters alternate between the present and the past as the back story supports the revelation of three secrets and what led to the estrangement between the siblings. After a slow start, the story picks up momentum and delves deeply into the personalities and values of each character. The emotional tone of the novel is heavy with unresolved feelings of grief, anger, resentment, and guilt. It concludes with a sobering but hope-filled note revealing the growth in the maturity of the characters. In many ways, the message is one of redemption and the power of forgiveness when the light of truth is shone on past perceptions.

Overall, this is a noteworthy read for its character development and its sensitive exploration of family dynamics.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

This book follows 4 siblings as they meet up in North Dakota.

The author really brought to life each character. They each had their flaws and their strengths.
Each character had their own secrets also.

The main character that I really liked was Gemma. She wasn't a famous anything, but she was the rockstar of the family and the glue.

Even though each of the siblings had their secrets and reasons for the secrets, Jude's was the worst. It tore the siblings apart for a bit.

At the end I wept for the present and the estrangement that the siblings endured, yet I was happy that they were coming together.

Overall this is a heartfelt book that really showed the dynamics of trauma on a family, that every sibling has a life that might not be known to others, and how emotional families can be.

✨ Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith is an absolute gem that left me breathless. This novel dives deep into sibling bonds and the complexities of family dynamics, taking readers on an emotional journey filled with love, secrets, and self-discovery.

The Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude—were once inseparable, shaped by their enigmatic mother’s fleeting presence. Fast forward to years of silence, and an unexpected text from Jude, now a successful actress, pulls them back together for a pivotal weekend in North Dakota. Each sibling faces their own crossroads: Gemma grappling with motherhood, Connor wrestling with writer’s block post-divorce, and Roddy on the brink of losing his partner for the sake of his fading soccer career.

As the weekend unfolds, layers of their shared past are peeled back, revealing Jude’s three life-altering secrets that could reshape their futures. This breathtaking, joy-filled novel is a testament to the enduring power of family and the importance of forgiveness.

Spoiler alert: I cried at the end! 😭 This book resonates long after the final page, reminding us of the intricate tapestry of love and connection.

🌟 Highly recommend to anyone who cherishes heartwarming stories about family!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an e-ARC, scheduled for release next Spring.

Growing up, the Endicott siblings knew that the only people they could count on was each other. Their workaholic father is largely absent from their lives, while their mother weaves in and out, choosing to chase her dreams of stardom instead. Their visits with her are limited to an annual road trip, taking place over a few weeks in the summer. It's during one of these trips that the unthinkable nearly happens, costing the four of them their relationship with their mother and eventually, each other. Decades later, three of the four are living out their mother's dream and the fourth, comfortably happy off-camera. As the saying goes, it's time to put the band back together. Jude, arguably the most well-known of the bunch as a result of her acting career, invites her siblings to a weekend-long trip to North Dakota to serve as a reunion of sorts. What's a get together if the host doesn't have a few secrets up her sleeve? Before the weekend is out, all her secrets will be laid bare, leaving everyone to decide how they want to move forward.

This novel threw me into emotional turmoil and made me ugly cry, so I did end up liking it a lot. I thought the writing was pretty good, especially once we got to the blow-outs. Gemma was my favorite character -- hello, eldest daughters of the world. I can't say I cared about all the siblings; Connor's subplot was just SO boring. Jude's third secret was easy to predict, so it would have been nice if there was a different epilogue just to surprise us somewhere.

Honestly, this needs to be optioned as a movie. I laughed, I cried and I longed to have siblings. I saw some people were upset by the "F Bomb" but as a subscriber to that being my favorite word, I felt like it added realism to the story honestly.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Jennifer E. Smith for this ARC copy of Fun for the Whole Family. This book made me laugh, cry (A LOT!), gasp in shock, and made me so grateful for my siblings.

There's nothing in life quite like the love of siblings and this book explores all the ways siblings love and drive each other crazy. After not talking for three years, Jude summons the family to North Dakota for a reunion. Each sibling comes but they all bring their own grudges and baggage.

Told in two timelines (the present and the past) you begin to understand the rift between the Endicott siblings and why they need to hash things out to become a stronger family. This book also has multiple POVs from each sibling; Gemma, Connor, Jude, and Roddy.

I loved all the characters in this book and could relate to each sibling when it was told from their POV. You can begin to understand how birth order affected their lives and how their absent parents affected their mindsets in different ways.

Fun for the Whole Family is a family drama novel with a little suspense, wondering what exactly happened to cause such a rift between the siblings and what secrets Jude is hiding. You'll realize that every family has its grudges and resentments. All we need to do is to listen to our siblings and see their POV to help create stronger bonds.

Warning: You will cry but it'll be worth it!

I grew up as one of four siblings, so this book was right up my alley! Fun for the Whole Family tells the story of four adult siblings reuniting one weekend in North Dakota after a period of estrangement after the death of their father. The story is told from each sibling's perspective and jumps back in time to their childhoods. It's really a story of a family and all its ups and downs, successes and traumas, and how each person experienced their unusual upbringing with their flighty, part time mother. It's full of heart, and I just really enjoyed the whole thing. I liked this book better than the author's last book, The Unsinkable Greta James, and I look forward to seeing what Jennifer E. Smith writes next!

A good family drama will make you appreciate your family. “Fun for the Whole Family” is definitely not all fun - I laughed, cried (a lot), and felt deeply for each sibling and their own experience of being in the Endicott family, from birth order to selfishness to parental expectations and averageness, Smith covers a lot of ground (but not too much).

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for this advanced copy in exchange for a review!

As a longtime fan of Jennifer E Smith, I was so excited about the description of this! I loved each character, their flaws, and their true devotion for each other as siblings who continue to show up even when it’s hard. I love a family history exploration, and this didn’t disappoint. Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read an ARC!