Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book. This is a heartfelt story I keep replaying in my head. Initially, you may think "Here's a story with a plot of how this super-rich couple is unhappy because money doesn't buy happiness." In reality, about the only thing money has to do with the story is the power it buys you to dip the playing field in your favor.

Much of the story is told from Nina's POV and from the outside, it seems her life is pretty fantastic. Nina lets us peek at the underbelly of her life - both current and past- and we see her money is doing nothing hiding the ugly side of things in her life with a glittery blanket.

Another main POV we have is from Tom, single father to a daughter who goes to the same school as Nina's son, but in the money-status-world, they lead completely different lives.

The struggles from both Nina and Tom are ones most parents will relate to (and fear.) The author does a fantastic job of leading the reader through the repercussions of decisions made and how much a parent, and money, can affect the outcome. It's a great story that takes you on many ups and downs along with twists you don't expect and an ending that you'll think about even after you read the last page.

A story of our time. Sad and scary what happens to our children. This was well written and researched. Scared me to the point I hope many young parents read this!

Money doesn't buy happiness. It is the root of all evil. Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail. These are a few things that went through my mind when reading this book. All We Ever Wanted is a timely extremely well written story that can and should be read by a wide age range of people. It addresses one of the many problems that young people can make when engaging with social media.. Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram posts are forever.. Young people and quite frankly, many adults seem to forget that these comments and pictures never go away, even when deleted. Even tattoos can be laser removed, but the internet is FOREVER. It is a parents responsibility as well as society's to instill behavior in their children to respect people regardless of what they have or who they are, but that is not the world we live in. Keyboard bullies, thumb thugs get the most followers as opposed to nice people. I think we all know some of the people in this book, both the extremely wealthy and the "regular" people as well as people from diverse backgrounds. I know I do. It is heartbreaking to see kids raising themselves with credit cards as babysitters and thinking they are better than others due to their money and or ethnicity. If it stinks at the head, it stinks at the tail. I found myself seeing the issues from the point of view of the mom of the son, dad of the daughter and the daughter. The other father and the son (perpetrator of heinous act) were portrayed realistically and maybe that is why I disliked them so much. I kept hoping that the son would both listen and hear his mother, but the allure of money and a father who thought money could make it all go away were too strong a pull at his age. The brain is still developing and instant gratification is the name of their game. The father shamefully will forever be a jerk, but will never care or even realize and truly believes he was right. I like that the ending doesn't tie things all up neatly, but does give a glimpse into the future. I highly recommend this book for all. It is subject matter well worth your time.

I received an early copy of All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin from NetGalley and this is my review.
This was a fantastic book. I loved every minute of reading it! It was about an every day family and their struggles; Mostly the struggles inside themselves. It’s about family and how difficult it can be to reconcile your differences (or not). Mostly it’s about being true to yourself and who you are.I really enjoyed it so much. It reminded me a lot of Jodi Picoult.

This was an amusing light read like many of the author's other books. It deals with current topics such as sexting and covers the rich kid/poor kid scenario. This is a great book if you simply want to spend a few relaxing hours reading. Suspenseful enough to keep the pages turning and fairly light not to keep you awake at night. Would definitely recommend to anyone who likes this type of book.

All We Ever Wanted
Emily Giffin
Available: June 26, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I’ve read all of Emily Giffin’s books since Something Borrowed and Something Blue. Some I’ve really liked; some not at all. I LOVED this book. I could NOT put it down and would have probablt read the entire thing in less than 24 hours if I didn’t have some stupid work function on a Saturday (or as I see it – a perfectly good waste of a reading day). I’m not sure if its because I was really realting to Nina (both have only kids going off to college in the fall – not the super wealthy thing) but I was also realting to Tom with my fears of having a teenage daughter in this digital world.
What I loved: Nina’s mother was my favotire! I live to have no filter once I hit a certain age. Can we please get a spin off book of her? I would also like more from the best friend from home – I think there’s a good story there too.
What I didn’t love: Most of the time, I really just wanted to smack Lyla, but that’s how I feel about the decisions that most teenage girls make today, including my own. I wish there were more motivational speakers for girls/ladies/women who would let them know that high school is NOT the end all be all and he WILL morph into the not hot guy in 20 years…
What I learned: Verdict is still out
Overall Grade: B+

www.FluffSmutandMurder.com

Very interesting book dealing with teenagers and the damaging effects of posting inappropriate images on social media. This issue is quite prevalent today with many kids just not comprehending the negative effects of the click of a button. This book does a fantastic job of portraying the scene through the viewpoints of the parents and the teenagers. It deals with the division between a rich family and a not-so-rich family. There are several twists that keep you guessing, making it a great book that keeps you interested the whole way through. Beautiful plot development and great characters!

My very first book by this author and I wasn’t impressed. I couldn’t connect with the characters and I really didn’t like the development of the story. I guess I was hoping for a more captivating story with more interesting characters. The book was overly descriptive at times and I found myself skimming through a lot of it.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Emily Giffin’s best novel yet, telling the story of Nina, Tom and Lyla. Each has a side in the telling of a story resulting in a he said she said situation. When Nina’s son, Finch is accused of taking a compromising picture of Lyla, sides are taken and allegiances tested. A powerful and timely story with important themes..

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Talk about a book for the times. I believe majority of parents and teens have experienced this kind of hurt, confusion and discrimination. Emily did a wonderful job weaving this story and showing it from everyone's perspective. Very enjoyable.

This book is a very fast read. This book clearly sends an important message about the difference between the elite, entitled and the working class.

Emily Giffin creates characters so three-dimensional that reading her novels is like watching a play compared to watching a movie. I don't know how she does it, but I always truly <i>believe</i> when I read her novels. As always, Emily Giffin delivers very real, believable characters in this novel. But, unlike many of her previous books, the subject she tackles in this novel is fairly dark and very socially relevant.

<i>All We Ever Wanted</i> opens with a sexually and xenophobically charged screenshot that gets circulated around a private high school. We hear from three narrators who all see the event from different angles: the mother (Nina) of the boy (Finch) who apparently took the photo; the father (Tom) of the girl whose photo was taken; and finally, the high-school student (Lyla) herself. Each voice is distinct and believable. I finished high school long before shared screenshots were a thing, and I was impressed with how well Emily Giffin helped me see what my own opinions would likely have been if I were a teenager now. All three of the narrators were simultaneously aggravatingly flawed and eminently sympathetic.

Most of this novel was riveting for me. It tackled a fuzzy issue with nuance, and the characters had personal motivations for their decisions. And the screenshot didn't exist in a vacuum, of course; all of the characters have other realistic things going on in their lives. Finch has just been accepted to Princeton; Finch's family is wealthy enough to have its name on buildings at the school; Lyla's mother is an immigrant and also an alcoholic. Also, what actually happened the night of the photo is unclear, so the story kept me guessing and fretting throughout.

Until the last chapter, I would have given the novel five flashing, strobe-light stars. But the epilogue frustrated me. It felt to me like the author or publisher had missed a deadline and there was no time to flesh out the end of the novel. If you are willing to enjoy the novel for the fantastic character study it is and you can handle a mediocre ending, this novel is still extremely gratifying. I'm very happy I read it and am planning to reread Emily Giffin's earlier novels just to enjoy her incredible ability to tell a story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Ballantine Books, for a pre-release copy of this novel.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed. I am a big fan of Emily Giffin. I have read all her novels, I think this is the best one!!

My head is still swirling after reading this book. It is almost as if it were an episode of Law& Order SVU. One one hand you are thinking there is no way the things that happened in this book could ever happen in real life but on the other you know they could and do every day. This book is told from the different main characters point of view. Each chapter is titled with the character's name and you see the events from their eyes. One family is from the elite Belle Meade section of Nashville with wealth and privilege. The other family comes from "the other side of the river". These two families have one thing in common the prestigious private school, Windsor Academy. One night sets about changes that both of these families never imagined. My favorite part of the book was the Epilogue. It allows you to see that in the end everyone turned out okay and with the life they were suppose to have. I would recommend that mothers read this book with their daughters and even their sons to open a dialogue to keep the events from this night happening to them.

I enjoyed All We Ever Wanted, the writing is wonderful and the characters are very realistic. However, I must say that I had hoped for a different ending. (What can I say, I love a Happily Ever After). Not to say these characters didn't have an HEA, it just wasn't the HEA I wanted them to have. lol Good book though, I do enjoy her writing.

Giffin tackles social media, coming of age, and sexual assault with perception and depth in ALL WE EVER WANTED. I enjoyed the three pronged narrative approach, which added extra layers to the topics at hand. Thinking about it after I’ve put it down - always the mark of a great book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and it's very on-point with the current #MeToo movement. I love books told through different character's perspectives, when done well, and this one certainly was. As a teacher, parent, and woman, it was very easy for me to connect with all the characters and see multiple sides to the story. It was different that what I was expecting, but in a good way. If you are an Emily Giffin fan already, you will certainly enjoy this book too! Added bonus was the setting in Nashville. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the first book by Emily Giffin that I've read. It was fast paced read and had multiple points of view that I sometimes found confusing. Overall it was a good book. I didn't like the ending, It was so obvious. I received this copy from NetGalley in an exchange for a honest review.

Ugh one of my favorite books is something borrowed - and Giffin manages to make me fall in love with her main characters everytime. Definitely a must read!

I received this book through Netgalley and the book’s publisher, Penguin Random House.

This is a story of a common man and woman, Kirk and Nina Browning, who fall in love, get married, have a child, Finch, and strike it rich with the sell of the software business. Life seems picture perfect until Finch allegedly misused social media. The story evolves around this social media event. In the event the realization that one’s spouse isn’t who you thought they were and the impact excessive wealth may have on a family is apparent.

At times the story seems very predictable. Several times I got the feeling of “really?” (as in this wouldn’t really happen!). Because of this I didn’t rate the book higher. It is a readable book but not always believable.