NetGalley provided me with a copy of this book for review.

Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors and this novel made me love her more. Very timely story of a woman who is in Nashville's social elite. Her son seems to have taken a photo of a girl in an awkward situation and it is the handling of that situation that informs the entire book. It's a brilliant social commentary on the #metoo times in which we live. I highly recommend this novel.

A very insightful and enjoyable read. The characters were well defined. And, it raised consciousness about many current topics -- social media, the "me-too" movement, and the smug, self-centered trap folks who are born with a silver spoon often fall into.

This is only the second book I've read by Emily Giffin, the other being the super popular Something Borrowed. Well this book couldn't be more different than that! This is not the chick lit that I would expect (and love) from this author.
This book could be a story you see on Dateline or maybe even hear about from a friend - it happened at her teenage daughter's school. Or maybe your own teenager's school. It was topical and believable.
Finch is a senior, his parents Nina and Kirk are very wealthy. Lyla, a sophomore, lives with her single Dad Tom who supplements his job as a carpenter driving an Uber when he can. Finch and Lyla both attend the exclusive Windsor Academy together - Lyla on scholarship.
The two of them are brought together because of a photo that's taken without Lyla's knowledge.
The book is written in 3 POV's Nina, Tom, and Lyla. It's really a fascinating journey to hear the thoughts of these 3 at the beginning through to the end. A parents struggle to connect with their teenage children. A wife trying to decide if her husband is still the man she married. And is that a good thing? There is a lot going on here and I loved it. When I thought I had it figured out, I didn't.


I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I was expecting the Something Borrowed Emily Griffin, I got something else. This book was thought provoking and enjoyable. The reader gets the story from 3 different points of view. Nina, who has married into money but still has very strong moral feelings about where she came from and has a hard time when the moral compass wants to move. Tom, who is a carpenter and a single dad, yet he doesn't need to worry about his compass, he knows right from wrong. Lyla, Tom's daughter, and a teenager who is just trying to live in a world she doesn't feel she belongs in.

This was not an Emily Griffin romance. This was a novel about a tough situation and how all involved deal with it and move on past it. Great writing, great story, and I was so happy to see the ending wrap up the way it did. Fantastic.

This is Emily Giffin’s latest, to be released June 26, 2018. I’ve enjoyed several of her novels over the years so I was thrilled to get an eARC from netgalley.

The story follows Nina, living the high society life in Nashville with her uber-wealthy and successful husband and their 18-year-old son Finch. But her perfect life starts to fall apart when her son sends a sexually explicit and racist Snapchat of a 15-year-old girl to his friends—and of course, someone starts spreading it around the school.

The novel is told from multiple points of view (which I love): Nina, Lyla (the subject of the inappropriate picture) and Lyla’s blue-collar single-dad Tom. He was my favorite character right away because he’s so down-to-earth and loves his daughter fiercely. Nina was more difficult to connect with—it’s hard to feel sorry for a woman who lives in a four million dollar house and spends her days planning extravagant charity banquets and showering her son with every advantage. Lyla is also difficult to like because, as a typical teenager, she doesn’t appreciate her father and resents him for refusing to do whatever she wants. But as the story progresses, both Nina and Lyla show a tremendous amount of character growth and that was satisfying.

As you can probably tell, this book is light-years away from Giffin’s earlier “chick lit” reads. The novel brings up issues of social media use, privilege, sexism, consent, materialism, and race, which makes it feel very timely. My one complaint is that many of the supporting characters—namely, Nina’s husband and her super-rich friends—are pretty one-dimensional.

Overall a satisfying read and a solid 4 Star book. I recommend it for readers looking for a thought-provoking novel exploring timely issues. It would make a good book club selection.

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wow! I just finished All We Ever Wanted and it was a fascinating story! It was told in the first person, alternating between three different POV's (Nina, Tom, Lyla).

As a parent of teenagers, I thought it was a very relevant and thought-provoking story. The book touched on many issues teens face in today's world. The use of smartphones and social media, underage drinking, sexual abuse, racism, privilege. The character development was excellent. Overall this was a quick and easy read!

**I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

This is a truly powerful, wonderful novel. It’s been many years since I’ve read an Emily Giffin novel, but I enjoyed those books and was excited to read this one. My previous experience with her work did not prepare me for the complex, layered, serious manner of this excellent book.
For most of the first chapter, I thought this was going to be a book about a couple that went from well-off to obscenely wealthy having marital woes. Boo hoo. But when I learned what it was really about, it took a dark turn.
It was important that the story was told from multiple points of view of the mother of the boy accused of taking the comprising photograph of a passed-out girl at a party, the father of the girl, and Lyle herself because you can’t quite figure out who is telling the truth about that night. Also, it’s about the way teenagers don’t want to disappoint their parents, and parents want to do their best for their kids.
There were pleasing twists in the story, and I cried my guts out at the end. Highly recommend.

This is a great book about the things we do for our children and how we enable people to treat us certain ways! I really enjoyed this read!

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it. The opinions expressed are my own.

Having grown up middle class, Nina Browning is now living a privileged life with her husband Kirk and teenage son Finch. Huge mansion, elite schools and their share of top-tier charity events to balance things out. Nina tries to donate her time and money in a more meaningful way, but her husband doesn't see the point.

Working class, single dad Tom Volpe is trying hard to make ends meet while devoting every minute of free time to his daughter Lyla. She's always been a good kid; winning a scholarship to the most prestigious high school in the area. Father and daughter have always been close but as is the case with most teens, Lyla is starting to rebel.

One wild night finds both Finch and Lyla at a party where things quickly get out of hand. In this day and age, cell phones spread the news quickly. And just as fast, the town takes sides pitting the haves against the have nots. The gossips against those seeking privacy.

Thus begins Nina's soul searching. She loves her husband and son dearly but questions their actions in seeking Finch's redemption. She sees herself in Lyla and can't help to want to provide support for the motherless child. Fingers are pointed, accusations slung and he narrative becomes twisted to the point that you're not really quite sure who the victims are.

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin is the first book I have ever read by this author. If the rest of her catalog is anything like this one, I'm thrilled to have found a new author to read.

A story set in high school dealing with social media and the behavior of teenagers in todays fast society. A mother struggles to teach her son right from wrong while her husband thinks money is all that matters and it can fix anything. A interesting insight in todays social morals. The characters are believable and the story moves along.

Not my usual genre, but so glad I gave it a chance! I definitely will be reading the rest of hers. I thought this book had a very good choice of subject matter. An important one, that is very common in today's society. This book definitely had me turning pages quickly to see what was going to happen and the character development was amazing!

Emily Giffin doesn't disappoint with this new book, All We Ever Wanted. In this quick read, Giffin introduces us to a situation involving an inappropriate picture taken at a teen party and shared on social media, a picture that could have devastating impacts on the "photographer" and the subject in two very different ways. As the parents of both students scurry to support their teens, the haves vs. the have-nots becomes an issue. The story unfolds and what happened morphs, and pulls others into the mix, as often happen in real life. The reader thinks they know what is the truth, then something new is introduced to complicate things, pulling you along to learn the truth. An easy 3 to 4 hour read about a subject that is very much a current issue with teenagers today.

I received an advanced copy of this through NetGalley in exchange for and honest review.

Wow. This is not a thriller novel by any means but I was on the edge of my seat for the entire 3 hours it took me to read it. I couldn't put it down. Everyone should read this. Every parent. Every teenager. Every man or young boy. Every woman or young girl. I felt so many emotions and at one point I was in tears. I loved it.

Great and interesting read about true life issues facing teens today. The story was wrapped into a wealthy enclave and how parents deal differently with struggles. I liked this book from beginning to end. I am glad there was an afterthought after getting so involved with the characters. Really was thought provoking.

This book focuses on a very relevant issue of today. A single post or photo can instantaneously spread like wildfire causing lasting repercussions and unintended consequences. We just had a Cyber Safety session at my kid's school and this book instantly made me think about all the things I learned that night. As the story unfolds, elitism, classism, strength of character, honesty, and varying relationships are also explored. Overall, this was a very fast, engaging read and I highly recommend it.

I was very excited to read the All We Ever Wanted from Emily Giffin who is a must read author for me.

When an inappropriate picture is shared on social media after a typical teenage party in Nashville, it intertwines the lives of privileged upper class Finch who has just been accepted to Princeton, scholarship student Lyla and their parents Nina and Tom in ways that will significantly change their lives and the lives of those around them forever.

All We Ever Wanted struck a cord with me as a mother of an almost teenage son. It is scary how much one lapse of bad judgement could have such a major impact. I found myself wondering if I would have the moral character Nina did and take the road less traveled so to speak.

I also think Giffin did an excellent job of showing the mindset of young girls today - they are entrenched in the world of social media and put so much of themselves out there, that even the "victim" Lyla did not think what happened was such a big deal.

Although the character of Finch is not a narrator in the book, I spent much of the novel trying to determine whether or not he was telling the truth, which lent an air of mystery.

And every girl deserves a Dad who has her back as much as Tom had Lyla's!

Emily Griffin has a new must read for those, like me, who eagerly look forward to her next new story.

Nina is married to a man who was rich and who got much richer in the not too distant past, allowing her and her family to have a life full of good things. That is, until her teenage son commits an act that spreads like wildfire among first his friends, then classmates and keeps spreading until Nina's friends make her aware of the situation. But.. did he really? Kirk, her husband, treats it more as a boys will be boys thing and not a big deal, in fact it's just one more thing his money can get him out of, but not so fast with Nina, who identifies more with Lyla, the girl at the center of the story. What a dilemma, since she wants to believe her son.

It's hard to know who is telling the truth, so the reader really doesn't know what to believe as more facts come to the surface. That not knowing, makes for a book that you want to keep reading due to torn loyalties; in other words a great story.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Emily Giffin has provided a pleasurable, realistic and engaging read with All We Ever Wanted. Nina Browning lives the good life with her handsome (and rich) husband, Kirk and her successful teenage son, Finch, who has just been accepted to Princeton. At a social function, Nina is shown an inappropriate picture of an unconscious female with a racist comment, supposedly from her son to some of his friends. This is the start of her quickly crumbling perfect world, and as it crumbles, Nina’s vision of those around her begins to clear.
The girl in the photo, Lyla, lives with her single dad, Tom Volpe, who has worked hard to raise Lyla with no help from her mom. She’s an attractive young teenager now, and life just got a whole lot tougher for Tom.
Ms. Giffin brings these characters to life so clearly. As I read I was reminded of students I had gone to school with years ago who had these same character traits. There doesn’t seem to be a good answer for how all of these hard feelings will end, and Ms. Giffin is very realistic in the manner she chose to end it. I really appreciate that about this book. I didn’t feel slighted at the end like I do with some “fairy-tale ending” books. I found her style of writing to be smooth, a pleasure to read, and very relatable.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley for making it available.)

All We Ever Wanted is a change from Emily Giffin’s previous work, and I expect some of her die-hard fans will at first be disappointed with this offering. However, I hope they persist and give this book a chance. It deals with teen issues of our day – privilege, sex, social media, drinking – and presents them in an even- handed way so that you’re neither preached to nor talked down to. The main three characters were well drawn, but many of the others felt like stereotypes. An odd “side trip” home for one of the characters felt out of place in the narrative especially with her pushy mother and her “ex” – neither seemed to fit with the rest of the plot. I did keep turning the pages to find out what would happen and wished for a slightly different ending, but it fit within the framework of the story. This would be a good book for a family with teen aged children to share as the issues it covers should spark some discussion about how a single poor choice can change your life direction.

Thanks to NetGallery, the author and the publisher for allowing me to have this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.