This book was a well-developed story of family dynamics as shown from the varying perspectives of all members of a nuclear family. We see the patriarch of the family trying to be there for his adult children, even as he struggles with his own health issues. We flash back to incidents in the life of the mother, long deceased, as she struggled to balance her role as a mother with her aspirations as a writer. Each of the siblings is shown with all the complexity of human nature, both strengths and weaknesses. The inevitable sniping and outright battles among the sisters and brother are a continuation of the roles they assume in the family as children -- care giver, rebel, disappointment. The verbal battles grow tiresome but create a mood that is clearly the author's intention. Can these siblings ever break the bonds that imprison them and value each other as fully functioning adults? It is the slow reveal of the secrets of the long-dead mother and brother that bring the story to a head. The ending surprised me by its abruptness, but in thinking about it, I realize the author had said all she wanted and left at just the right time.

secrets, family bonds and drama.. what more could you want? the characters were relatable and well developed. i liked the whole cookbook and the mother's notes. this was a very realistic, well written and enjoyable book.

i also received this book from first to read and had already read it when received from netgalley, hence the quick turn around.

Go Ask Fannie is an exceptionally well written book dealing with the complexities of family. Loved it and will definitely be looking for other books by this author.

This is a quirky little book that has a great concept that is never fully developed and had so much potential—a family cookbook with a mom's handwritten and cryptic notes in the margin that the grown children later try to decipher to better understand her. It's a multilayered story about family dynamics, the trade-offs we make in our personal and professional lives, the complexities of declining health and planning/caregiving, secrets and regrets. An enjoyable read -- maybe 3-1/2 stars.

I thought this was a well written and very realistic book. The topic of siblings and family dynamics will hit home with a lot of readers. Great pace and character development.
4 solid stars.

Elisabeth Hyde's new novel features the Blaire family, Murray and Lillian and their four children, who live in New England in the early 1980s. The events of 1984 in particular have long-reaching effects that are still felt in present day as the now adult children worry about their father as he ages. Murray's political ambitions and Lillian 's needs for greater creative fulfillment feel real and familiar, as do the demands of four young children. And the sibling rivalry that still exists among the siblings as adults feels equally real. Fears about parents aging and whether we truly know our loved ones, regrets and old wounds...Hyde captures so much of real life while presenting a dynamic family. Enjoyable and thought provoking. Thanks to NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting and well written description of sibling rivalries , a father with secrets and a deceased mother who had dreams and ambitions. I especially liked the association with the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

I was excited to see Elisabeth Hyde had a new book out because I LOVED The Abortionist's Daughter and In the Heart of the Canyon. Go Ask Fannie didn't disappoint and I became completely immersed in it. I felt like I was in New Hampshire with the Blaire family.

Murray's three adult children are heading home for the weekend. Murray wants his oldest daughter, Ruth, to talk to Lizzie about breaking up with her much older boyfriend. Naturally, things do not go as planned. A beloved ruined cookbook sets up the weekend. There's talk of jail, visits by police, many hospital visits and fighting among siblings. There's also revelations of what happened that fatal day in November.

I enjoyed reading about the Blaire family and Murray's run for political office. The book revolved around family and the love they had for each other. I loved the characters, story and writing style. I definitely recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and the author, Elisabeth Hyde, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.

Great book about a family of siblings coming together to discuss their father's future. Will appeal to many in similar circumstances! Back stories are revealed along with a gentle humor. I really enjoyed it!

A truly delightful book about the Blair family & their coming to terms with their mother & brother’s death 32 years ago & dealing with an aging father who holds the key to all the family’s secrets.

Go Ask Fannie was a fantastic read! I really enjoy novels centering around the complexities of family and Elisabeth Hyde’s, Go Ask Fannie, is the perfect example of why.

As the novel begins we meet the Blaire family, an aging father and his three grown children. Throughout the novel we time hop between current day to 30(ish) years prior and peal back the layers to expose their raw truth. As their past is remembered in bits and pieces, the totality sheds light on how one tragic event ultimately shaped their current lives as well as their relationships with one another.

I devoured this book in a day and a half! I felt the a fly on the wall as the Blaire’s connected the dots between their past and present selves. The characters were very realistic and relatable which is what initially drew me into the storyline. The flow was perfect and their weren’t any parts that lagged. Even after finishing, I found myself daydreaming about this family! Go Ask Fannie is a 5 star novel and even though this is the first novel I have read from Elisabeth Hyde, it most certainly won’t be the last!

Thank you Negalley!!!!I enjoyed this despite it being a very basic ho hum kind of story. We have three siblings(who were once 4) who come to spend the weekend with their aging father. The book is basically about the characters. There wasn't a big plot or anything surprising but I like that kind of reading. I enjoy interesting characters who live realistic lives. Ruth is the oldest and is in an unhappy but wealthy marriage. She works as a lawyer and has 2 children and the same number of homes. She's a control freak bossy woman who really wants dad to be put in a home. George is the middle kid. He's a nurse and a marathoner who can't stop eating and his love life is blah because he's afraid to commit and have children. Lizzy is the baby and she's having an affair with a writer who is almost twice her age. But they broke up and she went to get a cookbook- a book their mother used for all their staple meals and dubbed it, Go Ask Fanny- from the writer he had damaged it beyond repair and she got upset and poured scalding water on his laptop and also on his hand.
But looming over everything is the memory of their mother who died when Lizzy was just six. She got into an accident killing their 4th sibling, Daniel. (not a spoiler alert).
We get to spend a good amount of time with their mother who was by far the most interesting character, a writer too of short stories and co-pilot to their father's campaign when he was running for office.
I recommend this as an easy read for people not looking for anything crazy or spectacular. If you like straight domestic fiction this is for you.

An excellent view into a family shaped by its past and by its secrets. I enjoyed each of the characters, and the story they each had a part in weaving.

GO ASK FANNIE is the kind of book that envelops the reader in a small, beautifully wrought family moment, while skillfully interweaving its sad history. Hyde focuses on these feelings during a few days in the life of a family, deeper in crisis than they know.

It is the “drowning “ of the Fannie Farmer cookbook and its’ perpetrator that serve as both the catalyst and comic relief. The loss of the book, full of a mothers’ musings, helps unite the very disparate children of the Blaire family. The lives of these adult children are well developed by the author, using few words, none wasted.

The children have come together to help transition their father and remove youngest sister, Lizzie, from an unhealthy relationship. While the reader expects a slow pace within the bucolic setting of New Hampshire. Hyde moves the plot along quickly, never wasting words or introducing extraneous characters or subplots. .

I loved the book and the very skilled writing. I am an impatient reader who hates to be spun around in circles, so this really worked for me. I recommend this for book clubs and reading groups since it is so full of issues that will gives readers fodder for rich discussions and debate.