Quick read from Giffin that doesn't disappoint. Book clubs & fans of women's fiction will enjoy.

Thanks to Random House/Ballantine for the ARC of this novel via Netgalley. I am a huge Emily Giffin fan and have read all of her books, but this is quite the departure from a "Something Borrowed" type novel that she has written in the past. That being said, this novel is really timely and I loved digging into the subject matter. Finch, a white, extremely upper class senior snaps an inappropriate photo at a party and it goes viral. Finch's mom Nina, who was not raised with a silver spoon, goes through the full range of emotions: from disbelief, to denial, anger and certainly at its core, disillusion about who is this child that she has raised. While examining their parenting skills it also draws attention to Nina's marriage and lifestyle, forcing her to examine just what this life of privilege has bought her and her family. I don't want to give any spoilers by talking much about the other characters, not because they aren't a huge part of the story-because they are, I just felt that the most compelling view in this story was Nina's. I think this will make a great book club selection, sure to bring about thought-provoking discussion.

I really enjoyed this book, told from the POVs of three of the main characters. When an inappropriate picture is shared of Lyla, the daughter of a blue collar single dad who is on scholarship at prestigious Windsor Academy, it sets in motion a chain of events that affect her dad, Tom, Finch (the boy that shared the picture) and his mother, Nina (among others). It remains to be seen throughout the book if Finch's wealth and privilege will get him off the hook or if he is even the one responsible after all.

This book is a little heavier than Giffin's traditional chick lit books, dealing with social media abuse, sexual assault, privilege and what it allows those that have it to get away with, and bullying. It really makes you consider how a lapse of judgement can change so many lives in such devastating ways. Could be a great book club pick!

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I love Emily Giffin and she did not disappoint with All We Ever Wanted. First, I adore Nashville so already the setting won me over. The subject matter - a teenager snaps an inappropriate photo of another teen and it gets around - is so topical and I thought Giffin did a good job with the he said/she said and why it's important to speak up no matter how embarrassing. Although Lyla was super annoying (begging her dad to trust her when every single action to that point had been her lying to her dad), the reader could still sympathize. And you know there are definitely people like Kirk and Finch in this world and I glad Giffin had Nina take a stand. I loved this book! Bonus points for the gorgeous cover.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars -- I am not one of those women who automatically love Emily Giffin books. Sometimes I don't love her writing style, sometimes I don't prefer her plots, but sometimes I do. I definitely like her enough to give her books a chance but based on the description I really had no clue if I would like this book or not. I really surprisingly loved this book a lot. I say surprisingly because it's hard for me to describe WHY I liked this book in words. I'll attempt... I loved Nina. I was rooting for her during the whole book and she had me on her side. This book is VERY relevant with the current #metoo movement without being too in your face. The feminist side of me liked the subtle but strong message. I loved that this book felt so real, like I was watching someone's life instead of a made up story by the author. The decisions that Nina made throughout her life seemed SO real to me. I tend to like multi-POV books because I feel it gives you a more in depth understanding of what the characters are thinking and I think it was done well in this book. This was one of the books by Giffin that I enjoyed her writing style.

Now if you ask me if I think all of my friends would give it 4.5 stars I would tell you probably not. It's not a light story and it may not touch others the way it touched me. Parts can be frustrating or disturbing, which I felt added to the "realness" of the story but others may find it less appealing. However, if you like Giffin books or well written women's lit books I would recommend giving this one a try.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to NETGALLEY and RH/BALLANTINE BOOKS for the ARC!!!! This book was amazing. The subject, story line and characters were so contemporary and so believable. As a parent of two high school teenagers and a sophomore in college, I could absolutely see this entire situation easily happening in my own affluent town where a lot of our life is about who has what rather than character and honesty. I'd like to think that I would be be able to react the same as Nina did in her situation, that my daughters would be like as mature and level-headed as Lyla and my son would never behave like Finch. But I guess I'll never know for sure. Anyways, Nina is mom to Finch who makes a really bad decision in sending a revealing photo with a racist comment to his friends of Lyla, an underclassman at their private prep school--and the photo spreads quickly. The story is told from several points of view including Nina, Finch, Lyla & Lyla's very strong single father Tom. I thought it was going to be about how Nina and her very privileged husband help Finch by getting him released from any punishment that would jeopardize his bright future. But it is NOT. It is about how one mother realizes how her life and family are not based on love, respect, pride, honesty and character but greed and lies. Also covers how parents so want to much to help their kids in any way possible and how their kids in turn do not want to disappoint them. Such an amazing story and lesson here for everyone-I was glued to it from page one. I highly recommend this book!!! This would be an awesome movie and a great book club read! Thanks again for the ARC!!!!!

Love this author, and I enjoyed the book immensely. I enjoyed seeing how all of the characters were interconnected as the story unfolded. Very entertaining.

Nina thought she had everything she ever wanted but did she really? When her son uses bad judgment by sending an inappropriate picture to his friends of a girl passed out at a party that goes viral, causing problems for Finch, as well as the Lyla, the girl in the picture, she finds that she and her husband do not agree on how to deal with it. She also begins to question her relationship with her husband and her own life, wondering "where she went". A timely story told in multiple voices that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. highly recommend.

Another stunning novel from Emily Giffin! A story about values, morals and what to do when these come into question. Nina questions her own value system when she realises her husband’s values have changed and these changes have influenced her their son. The conclusion was amazing, unexpected and I never saw it coming! A winner!

Parents want to believe their kids are telling them the truth. Kids don't want to disappoint their parents. Teenagers, however, want to fit in, they want friends, and sometimes teenagers don't always make the best decisions.
Emily Griffin's, "All We Ever Wanted," begins with a posted photo on social media of a sophomore girl of a private high school, passed-out on a bed in a male student's bedroom at a party, along with a racist comment. From this point we are taken on an adventure of mystery and moral discovery. The need to reveal culprits, and the truth is the first priority, but to what extent will parents try to protect their kids from consequences.
Three POVs narrate this book, the mother of the accused boy who took the picture, the father of the girl in the picture, and the girl herself. This is by far Ms. Griffin's best book to date. Expertly written, relevant topic, and page-turner appeal. Highly recommend. Book Clubs will devour this title.

I loved this book. Check out my non-spoilery review here:

There is so much I loved about this book. It reminds me so much of why I love Emily Giffin's books so much. This story takes big scope subjects and places them in real life situations. The cause and effects of relevant topics and what as a society, we choose to and choose not to address due to societal pressures, wayward internal compasses, or even changes within us. All We Ever Wanted is a shining example of lives touched in different ways by one event and how the characters choose to handle it.

Choices are made without regard to consequences. There are winners and losers and sometimes losers who win. The overwhelming theme to me is that we need to follow our individual hearts to the good of the whole. Our instincts may be to protect, but maybe what we're trying so hard to protect needs to be exposed.

I loved how Giffin caught this moment in time in the lives of so many characters and their flaws and kind deeds are driving us forward through the story. Lovely connections are made as well as some that are heartbreaking.

Through these desperate days, I fell in love with the characters and how they represented the greater population encapsulated in the world of the well to do. There aren't easy answers to their problems, but bravery is found among the ruins. The twists and turns the story took had me holding my breath and then smiling the next. My heart broke and then Giffin healed me in the end.

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I have loved Emily Giffen since “Something Borrowed” and “Something Blue,” two of my favorite books. Her writing has changed a bit along the way with the female main characters becoming strong women overcoming an obstacle in their lives.
This book is about a mom whose son got caught up in social media and whether or not he committed an act against a young woman. Nina, the mom, is also married to a successful, but arrogant man who seems to brush off their son’s actions as “boys will be boys.” At this point, Nina starts to question how her family got to this point.
I love that the teen’s subject matter is timely with what is happening in our society. I love that Nina is mindful and not giving in to her husband’s attitude and all that comes with it, good and bad. However, I did feel that the book was wrapped up rather neatly. While we also hear the POV of the victim in this mess, I don’t like how she was portrayed. Was she too naïve to figure out things out?
I do think this book could spark some polarizing discussion and it saddens me that that there are so many people that think like Nina’s husband and son. I doubt those people will read this book.
I give this book a solid 3.5 rating. Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is Emily Giffin’s latest, to be released June 26, 2018. Emily Giffin has always been A MUST READ author to me.
Timely, provocative, and endlessly thought-provoking. Truly a beautiful novel.

I have read several of Emily Giffin's novels over the years, but none as poignant as All We Ever Wanted. The characters were developed in a manner that made the reader feel as though they were someone you have come across in your own lifetime. Both those that you have liked and disliked from childhood all the way through to adulthood. In addition, the socioeconomic struggle that drives the novel is one that most people can relate to. All We Ever Wanted is a page-turning must read!

I couldn't get into this--the writing style was so poor.

Great story! Well written, easy to read, this book shows the difference between right and wrong and how we teach our kids to become better people. A caring and compassionate woman, trying to raise her son along with his father who is all about trying to make things go away with money and lies. I would highly recommend this book.

Emily Giffin steps out of her comfort zone (she is best known for romantic novels like Love the One You're With and Something Borrowed) to tackle a timely and sensitive topic-sexually inappropriate behavior and abuse like the highly publicized cases that led to the #MeToo movement. That she switches genres so smoothly speaks to her skill as a writer-All We Ever Wanted has the same comfortable prose and flowing dialogue that define Emily Giffin novels-not an easy task considering the subject matter. All We Ever Wanted also takes a hard look at how society (and often the law) takes a "boys will be boys" attitude when the alleged abuser is a white, educated male from an upper income family. When Nina Browning's son Finch is accused of posting a photo of a classmate in a "compromising position" she is forced to consider how much of Finch's entitled upbringing may have contributed to his behavior. That some of Nina's friends (and even her own husband) seem to minimize the incident because the victim comes from the "wrong side of the tracks" only adds to Nina's concern and unease. When conflicting theories of who took and posted the photo start to circulate, battlelines are drawn among the residents of the Nashville suburb where the story takes place. All We Ever Wanted is told in alternating chapters by Nina, Finch, victim Lyla, and Lyla's father Tom, and not surprisingly they have differing interpretations of the seriousness of the situation and what the consequences should be. All We Ever Wanted is a cautionary tale about the dangers of social media and how young people rarely consider the ramifications of the things they post-it should be required reading for all high school students and their parents. I wasn't sure how Emily Giffin would handle such a difficult and sensitive topic-but she does with her usual insight, level headedness, and compassion.

This book was AWESOME. The subject matter was very current. The characters were so well defined. The story kept you guessing. I could barely stand to put this down.

A photograph is taken of a girl at a party and sent around. Finch is being held responsible. Is he? He really likes Lyla. But, Polly is jealous. Lyla's dad is a single parent, navigating the waters at her elite private school where she has a scholarship. He is so great in how he doesn't back down. I admire him. Nina wants justice, even if it changes the course of her son's life.

Favorite quote "Justice isn't only about what a person deserves, but also about what a person needs. "

All We Ever Wanted in an incredible read! The characters are well-developed and ring true. The plot is current, exploring the consequence of teenage drinking and social media pictures, and it also deals with the importance of truth and values. All We Ever Wanted would make a great book discussion selection.

I haven't read a novel by Emily Giffin in a long time, but that is changing after this absorbing tale! I have actually been a long time reader of the authors and can't quite figure out why I haven't picked up her recent novels. But again, that is changing. This book is WONDERFUL. It's scandalous, powerful, and complex. It's the type of book you can't help but keep your eyes glued to the pages because you become so enchanted with the narrative. I loved it so much!

4.5 stars