An amazing read. I was offered this book in return for an honest review and honestly wish I had more than 5 stars. This book really pulls the heart strings and plays with your mind. It’s definitely a page turner. This book is so on point with that girls and boys deal with in this day in age of social media and social class.
Nina, Tom, and Lyla will convince you there is good in the world. These three really have all had their own path to where they are now, but even though it seems they shouldn’t have things in common their lives and history really isn’t that too far off.
You will think you hate some characters and love other and that will change from time to time as the book goes on.

The first Goodreads giveaway I ever won was Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin and since, she's firmly cemented on my "must-read" list whenever she has a new book out. Upon hearing from Netgalley I'd been approved for her latest All We Ever Wanted, I did the requisite hooray dance I usually do, and moved her to the top of the to-read list. Emily Giffin doesn't disappoint, once again.

All We Ever Wanted follows the narrative of three distinctly different voices and offers their viewpoint after a scandalous picture of one of the three in a compromising position is forwarded through their small town. Lyla Volpe, the girl in the picture shares her view of the situation as her father Tom Volpe explains his viewpoint. Nina Browning is the mother of the boy who originally sent the picture.

Copy provided by Random House via Netgalley
There are a lot of layers here to this book and isn't exactly what I expected for an easy "chick-lit" read. Nina and enjoy the spoils that come after selling an app. To say they are rich is an understatement. One of the spoils of this wealth is being able to send your only son to the state's prestigious private school. It is here where he meets Lyla.

Lyla is not enjoying the spoils of selling an app. Instead, she's allotted the privilege of this elite education by being smart along with a couple scholarships thrown in. What isn't covered by scholarships, her single father, Tom, makes up for with his carpentry work. After picking up his daughter from a party, he sees that the photo has made its rounds.

So...

Now the groundwork is set... Let's go!

There are many issues in this book. The issue of class, wealth, honor, integrity and a host of other things. I could sit here and try and review which ones resonated most like the me against them mentality that runs amok in our country. That somehow there's a value placed on the rich that isn't on people that aren't. There were many instances that when it came time for Nina's son, Finch, to take responsibility, many in their circles couldn't help but feel bad for him instead of realizing he should have had the character not to send the photo in the first place.

Many, many issues later, we get to the story which was pretty entertaining. There were moments I believed Giffin would go one but opted for the other. She'd already laid the issues out so going back and doing a sappy love story seemed ridiculous and a little far-fetched so I'm glad she didn't dive deeper into that rabbit hole.

What's a good plot with a lackluster cast? Well... most novels really, but that's not the case here. Each character and their narrative is fully developed and fleshed out. I felt every perspective made sense for the one who was narrating. I didn't expect at any point for Tom to be Team-Finch after what he'd done to his daughter and his character didn't allow for him to be easy on Finch. Just the same, Lyla is a young, yet intelligent, teenager who's not going to always make the best decisions. But I loved loved loved her in this book. She's wise beyond her years and I just hope I was as mature as she was at her age. Yes, she made a couple dumb decisions but she didn't go the bratty teen route and learned from those mistakes.

Anyway, All We Ever Wanted was a great read. A little heavy for a beach read but still a light, fast read anyone who loves Giffin should tote with them this summer. Looking forward to what's next from this author.

Copy provided by Random House via Netgalley

The release date is end of June, but many thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance for an ARC. It's been over a year since I rated a book 5 stars, but Emily Giffin's new book "All We Ever Wanted" delivers! It is a difficult subject matter (sexting), but it is fast paced and very well written. It is timely and thought provoking, and she seamlessly switches between 3 different narrators. This is NOT chick lit. This is NOT a love story. Many of the characters are not very likable, but I found myself sympathizing with Nina. It really makes you think about one seemingly small event changing the course of your life. I highly recommend for Emily Giffin fans and for those not familiar with her writing, this is a great place to start. I commend her for writing a book way outside her comfort zone and succeeding!

I have been a fan of Emily Giffin from the very start of her career, so I was excited to get an advanced copy of her new book. Unfortunately, for me, this just didn't live up to her other books. I think the biggest problem for me is that the characters just did not come to life the way her characters usually do - they just felt a little flat and not fully developed, and therefore didn't engage my sympathy the way they should have - and that's the POV characters, the surrounding characters were mostly cardboard stereotypes. This book is about the aftermath of an inappropriate photo of a teenage girl being spread around a fancy private school community - the POV characters are Nina, the mother of the boy accused of doing it; Tom, the father of the girl in the photo; and with many fewer chapters, Lyla, the girl in the photo. A timely topic, but the way the book handled it annoyed me. Nonetheless, I read the book very quickly and somewhat enjoyed it, I just found it disappointing compared to Giffin's other books. I'll nonetheless continue to read everything she writes.

I’m not sure what I expected from this book but it was so much better than I imagined. It was a great story about the struggles of women and the horrible things that can happen to them. Nina and Lyla were such strong characters and I loved following them along on this twisting journey. Tom embodies everything a good dad should be and I was so engaged in his struggles. I highly recommend this book!

I flew through this book. I loved the different characters' points of view and appreciated the delicate handling of some tough issues - rape, sexual assault, suicide, divorce, single dads, parenting teens. Even though all of those issues are heavy, it didn't feel like a heavy read at all, which is a tough task for an author. Great new addition from Emily Giffin.

This novel was spot on, given the contemporary climate of today's social media atmosphere. The story of how two families react to a snapshot picture taken by an 18 year old boy of a 15 year old girl and then passes it around to his friends is more true than fiction. We have the rich entitled family, that of a family from the other side of the tracks, all of which show the divide among the classes. It cannot be easy to take on a subject such as this and bring it out into a fictional work of art. However, Ms. Griffin does it exceedingly well. Thought provoking and engaging, I couldn't put this book down. My thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I enjoy Emily Giffin, this specific storyline was very difficult to read. As a parent I think most mothers can relate to always worrying how their child will turn out but Giffin takes it deeper in exploring how ones choice in marrying a man who she realizes is not the person she can relate to over the years. The story tries to make you believe something but then changes. The tone and mood is very somber. It is a difficult subject matter to read about and I felt depressed after I read this.

What a page turner! I think this was Emily Giffin's best yet! The story was timely with all the social media and I could relate to both the parents and the teenage students. I loved the family drama. It was a great read and a book that I could not put down.

Giffin takes on the divide between parents and teenagers in a very current and engaging way. Issues of morality vs. comfort and the role of social media are played out very well here. By using multiple narrators, she gets inside different perspectives. It all wrapped up a little too neatly at the end but this would be a very satisfying beach read that is suspenseful enough to keep the pages turning as well as thought-provoking enough to keep interest and raise the larger questions of what you would do under the same circumstances.

Emily Giffin is back! I've adored her work since the early days, but have been somewhat disappointed by her most recent efforts. But I can safely say with this most recent book that she is back in the game. I loved this one.

As a mom, you want to believe that your child is a good person. Even faced with evidence to the contrary, you don't want to believe that the boy you raised is a little shit who treats people like disposable objects. How do you separate the child you love from the mounting evidence? This book deals with the issues of how to be a good parent while still being a good person. I loved the alternating viewpoints, especially Nina's. I liked getting Lyla's point of view as well. I would definitely recommend this book.

I’ve enjoyed most of Emily Giffin’s books, so I requested this from Netgalley as soon as it popped up, but when I started reading it I worried it would be a DNF (did not finish) after the first page because I instantly disliked the narrator so much. I considered setting the book aside quite a few times during the first 1/3 or so because everyone was so unlikeable and I wasn’t that into the plot, but it got better about halfway through and I liked the last 10% or so quite a bit.

The book switches between three different narrators, offering both adult and teen points of view, and this is one of few books I’ve read that actually handles multiple narrators well. They’re distinct enough that you don’t get confused about whose chapter you’re reading, and it’s interesting to watch the story unfold from different angles.

This novel is VERY 2018, covering things like how smartphones have changed teenage culture so much, current politics, the definition of rape (as in “well, I said yes to kissing” not making anything else that happened okay by defaut), etc. Can’t decide if it being so full of current hot topics is a good or bad thing, but I do have a feeling that means it won’t age as well as books set in a less specific time frame.

Overall, I’m kind of “meh” on this one, if you average out my dislike of the first section and enjoyment of the latter part. Okay, but not up to the level of the author’s first few books by far. (This book will be published in June – I received an advance review copy via NetGalley.)

The book has an interesting premise, and it’s certainly topical, with #MeToo being so relevant, however the book just felt...creepy? Parents referring to their son “taking a dick pic” a dad seeing a photo and saying his daughter’s ass was hanging out...it just felt weird. The book went back and forth between the view of the two teenagers, Finch and Lyla, and then their respective parents, Nina and Tom. The most sexually explicit scene in the book was between two teenagers and it just felt creepy reading it (and I’m not a prude.) I enjoyed her earlier books like Something Borrowed however after this and the last book she wrote (about a girl falling in love with her friend’s father who essentially was a father figure to her) I don’t know if I’ll be reading another one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This book touches on the use and abuse of personal privacy breaches and how it affects the lives of the victim(s). It is not a deep tome, and does not really address the devastation that this can and does to people, friends and families, in a true light. It is light reading for this subject. A good read.

4.5/5!!! I love all of Emily Giffin's books... when I first found her, I read all of her books in a week! I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of her new one out later this year! It did not disappoint!!! I immediately fell in love with the characters and their stories. I could not put it down and read it in a day! The only negative I have to say was that the ending felt a little abrupt. The conflict was not really resolved, with the exception of the epilogue essentially saying nothing else happened. I was a little disappointed in this, as I thought the story could have continued and the ending could have had an impact on many young women reading this novel. Overall, I adored the characters and did not want their story to end!!

I received a sneak-peak of ALL WE EVER WANTED on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

Five stars and here's why:

I cried. I laughed. I almost threw my phone against the wall. Be prepared to lose track of time reading this book. Emily Griffin knocked this story out of the park with its brutal honesty and grittiness. It’s a departure from her earlier books, but so relevant to the times.

One second and your life can change forever. One photo and your life can change forever. When a teenage girl become immersed in a social media scandal, chaos ensues, and no one remains unscathed. The heart wrenching story is told in multiple POVs, and it totally sucks the reader right into the brutal world of today’s technology and instant headlines. It’s a must read for anyone with teenagers. Highly recommend.

I have loved every book I have ever read by Emily Giffin and All We Ever Wanted did not disappoint. Once I picked it up I had a hard time putting it down, I read it in under two days. Good thing I was on vacation! This story is very current and feels like it could have been ripped from today's headlines. As the mother of a teenager I often think of how hard it is growing up in the age where everything is at their fingertips and at the same time, the fingertips of others. This is a story of a young girl caught up in the problems that today's technology can bring. The story also deals with how a mother's love may influence how she perceives the actions of her loved ones. Two very different families deal with events that take place at a party. As a parent I was left wondering how I would have dealt with the situation. Ms. Giffin did a wonderful job in including us on the emotional roller coaster the characters ride as they try to deal with a very poignant situation.

I wasn't really sure what to expect this story but I loved it. I was immediately immersed into the plot and connected with the characters. The two families from this story lived very different lives but found themselves wrapped up in a scandal. I loved Nina, she was brave, strong and put others first when she knew it was the right thing to do. She loved her son, but she would not stand by let him get away with something horrible. She was great mother but she was an even better friend to Tom and Lyla when the time came. I really loved Tom. He was a good dad that worked hard to take care of his daughter on his own. One of my favorite things about All We Ever Wanted was Tom and Nina's friendship. It was honest, real and beautiful. What a wonderful story about mistakes, friendship and finding yourself.

I couldn’t decide how I felt about this book at first. As you read it, you have several different emotions (at least I did). As a mother, this book broke my heart. I have a baby boy (toddler), and by the end of this, there were many tears shed and just hope for my son and myself as a mother that he will make wise choices and that I can help lead him to make the right decisions in life.

Literally could not stop reading this great story. All We Ever Wanted is primarily about a teenager and an adult woman who are pulled together by a horrific scandal at the local high school. The main character is Nina, in her late forties, who was born into a plain middle-class life and married into extreme wealth. Nina rationalizes her acceptance of the dark side of her privileged life---until she can't anymore. For Lyla, the teen, this is a coming-of-age story. Lyla's father, Tom, also undergoes a character arc. The story encompasses numerous themes including: living an ethical life, how to raise good kids in a super-wealthy environment, family loyalties, class and race. With a rich cast of characters, great pacing, and deep emotion, this author's skill makes me want to check out the rest of her work. Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read this fantastic book.