-Description-
A novel that follows the lives of two Jewish sisters. It begins in their childhood with their father purchasing their first home and declaring that this is the American Dream. And we follow that America Dream for the rest their lives....with all this trials and all its good times.

-Thoughts-
1. This books is Jennifer Weiner at her finest. Intertwining our real world with the past and present of this family. She goes right to the heart of the matter. It’s not just about attempting to look at life through other’s eyes, but really through their thoughts and decisions.
2. These characters, all of these characters, are so realistic. They are flawed and perfect. No superficial, no stereotypical characters here.
3. It’s going to take me a minute to say goodbye to this family. You know a book is good when you just want to know how the characters are doing today. When they feel so real to you.
4. This book is a great look into the #metoo movement, #youknowme legislation, and #lgbtq histories....but it wasn’t crammed down our throats. It was realistic and true and beautiful.

-Rating-
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-5 Stars!

-Similar Recommended Reads-
Beyond The Point
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Before We Were Yours

Jennifer Weiner takes two sisters born in the 50s and introduces them to the rigors of the world. Together–and separately–they must navigate not just their relationship with each other but their relationships with the world. All along, Jennifer Weiner asks what it means to be a woman in this ever-changing world.

Elder sister Jo is driven. She takes up running, using her proficiency to propel her to college. When she graduates, she has grand plans to tour Europe with her lover. When she needs to come home, she selflessly leaves her dream behind and returns to help her family.

At various times, one of the girls sacrifices and the other takes. Jennifer Weiner uses the eras in which Jo and Bethie live as a barometer of sorts. What happens when you don’t just buy into free love but abandon yourself to it? Does the “Me Decade” apply to women as well as men? When you’re chasing the financial excesses of the 80s, at what point do you risk losing who you are?

Weiner writes Jo and Bethie’s stories with an unflinching, unsentimental eye. When faced with life-altering decisions, these women do what they believe is best for them at the time. What might startle you is how infrequently they consult one another. Their differences, it appears, lie too deep.

You may think you know where life will take Jo and Bethie, but you’re probably going to be wrong. I loved the little surprises Jennifer Weiner delivers as she always kept me on my toes as a reader. She made me ask myself what I would do were I in Jo or Bethie’s shoes. When they suffered, my heart broke for them. When they made dumb decisions, I wanted to shout at them. At one moment, I would be on Jo’s side. At another, I’d be all about Bethie. I enjoyed having those conflicting allegiances because it meant that Jennifer Weiner developed those women with care and detail.

This is one of those books that I dearly wanted to talk about with someone as I read it and certainly when I finished. I wanted to debate how women have changed over the decades–how we have seen our roles and uses and purposes. I wanted to talk about their loves and families, their careers, their wins and their losses.

I’ve read every one of Jennifer Weiner’s books, and each time I learn something new about myself. She always makes me question my own motives, dreams, and desires. What does being ‘everything’ mean to you? Do you need to have it all, or is it more internal? Jo and Bethie may just help you answer that.

I don't have enough words to say how much I love this book. And there could never be too many stars to give it. Jennifer Weiner gives us a complex multi-generational story against the backdrop of a social commentary of America. And she does it deftly and brilliantly.

Mrs. Everything is a family saga focused on mothers and daughters struggling to understand themselves and their relationships with one another as well as the impact that these relationships have on each generation.

It is a story about two sisters beginning in their early childhood through the end of their lives. Bethie, the younger sister, as a child is pretty and obedient. Jo, the older sister, from childhood is smart but also awkward and doesn’t conform. Her mother is less accepting of Jo’s differences than her father who dies suddenly. The father’s death changes the family’s circumstances and dynamics in many unfortunate ways.

The sisters go through many changes over the years including sexual exploration, drug experimentation, sex abuse, marriage, and motherhood. Their lives turn out differently than they expected but along the way they find themselves.
The book addresses many social issues within each decade of their lives from homosexuality to woman’s choices at work and at home to abortion.

The most interesting part of the book for me is the psychological impact that acceptance by ones mother and siblings has on each daughter and how that influences the choices they make and the way some of this impact is passed to the next generation.

Overall, I enjoyed this book although some of the outcomes were predictable.

I love this book. Jennifer Weiner has been labeled "chick lit" for so long. This book is literature. A great story of two sisters over their lives. I cried at the end. This will be the book of the summer. There is a reason that Barnes and Noble chose this for their book club. This work is top notch. I expect it to be made into a movie, if it hasn't been optioned yet.

I received a review copy in return for my honest opinion.

I will start by stating that I love Jennifer Weiner's books. I have read all of them. I like her as a person -- I have been lucky enough to meet her twice at author events. She is authentically herself. She is a strong woman (compliment!!) and she writes strong, believable characters. That being said, I struggled with the first half of this book. I struggled with the character development. The book take place from the '50s to today, and SO much happens to Bethie and Jo in those decades that it becomes Unbelievable. I understand that Weiner's goal was to write a book ABOUT women - about all the crap we have withstood over the years. About how women's roles have (or, really have not) changed over the years - from 50s housewives to liberated feminists. But I think she just tried to cram every little thing in there and every little thing either happened to Bethie and Jo or they were involved in every aspect of all the decades of their lives (without spoiling too much: there is incest/sexual abuse, rape, weight struggles, racial/inequality protests, a black partner, a gay partner, drugs, abortion, marriage, divorce, commune living . . . ). Once the characters were developed, the book had a better flow and the aspect of Mrs. Everything changed. It became the book that Weiner set out to write.

If I hadn't been so lucky to receive an ARC copy from NetGalley, I'd have definitely bought a copy for myself. And I would not have regretted it.

I typically love Jennifer Weiner's novels. Sadly, this was a disappointment. The story often dragged and lacked humor.

Mrs. Everything follows two sisters from the 1950's to present day, and I found it very entertaining. Jennifer Weiner writes a lovely story, and this one is no exception. I really appreciated the complexity of the main characters, not always likable or engaging, but always compelling. I think Ms. Weiner showed both their journeys well, and I commend her for making each one unique and clear voiced. I thought the story itself was well woven, it evoked emotion throughout the read. Well Done!
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Mrs. Everything is a coming of age book about two sisters who navigate many different paths but ultimately continue to come back to each other. I loved this story. The author does a fantastic job of allowing you feel as though you know both of these women while giving us a glimpse into each character through rotating POVs. At times I felt frustrated with decisions or lack of communication but ultimately I felt so drawn to these women and was cheering them on every step of the way. While this is something different from this author, I thought she nailed it.

I had never read a book by Jennifer Weiner before this but knew that she is a pretty popular author so I was pretty excited that the publisher asked me to review this one. The characters of Jo and Bethie felt like they were written in a way to represent all women. Each of them face individual struggles that break your heart as you read them. Jo isn’t your typical teenage girl. She has a secret that she is terrified of it getting out. But she also wants to be able to live the life she wants without people treating her differently. Bethie becomes a victim of abuse from a family member who should have been there to protect her. As both sisters grow up and experience various hardships, their biggest challenge is realizing who they are and figuring out what they want out of life. Are they going to settle for what’s easy or are they going to work for the life they want? Reading their journey, both individually and together as sisters, was really moving. One thing about this book that really impressed me was the whole scope of the book. The author managed to fit in so many issues including race, religion, and sexual assault. The characters participate in everything from the civil rights movement as Jo actively participates in weekly demonstrations for equality, all the way up to the current #metoo movement. The book spans several decades so there were times when it seemed to drag on a little too long but overall I really enjoyed this book. This story will stick with me for awhile.

Mrs. Everything was a good book about 2 sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman coming of age in the 1950's in Detroit. This book takes place over a several decades and in it these sisters face death, trials and other tribulations. The author has developed the characters in this book really well and you come to know and love Jo and Bethie two sisters who love each other dearly but are as different as night and day.. I don't know why but for some reason I was thinking this was going to be a light Chick Lit read but it is far from that it is a deep,thought provoking. and emotionally charged novel. I thank NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Very well researched and well written story that follows two sister along the length of their lives. Fun, heartbreaking and close to home is how I would describe this. I loved it. She writes such interesting stories!

4.75/5 Ms. Weiner never disappoints me and she definitely covered a wide range of issues in this novel. Only she can do the subject matters a good bit of justice. Bethie and Jo are sisters that couldn’t be more different and these differences rear their heads throughout their lives until they each come into their own.

Their lives are very different and yet strikingly very similar.

This is a novel that will resonate with women of many generations.

This book was not quite what I expected going into it. It took me a little bit of time to get into this book. Once I got into the story line though I really started to enjoy it. It was an interesting look at the lives of two women from the time they were children till when they grow up and have children of their own.

This book tackles some tough subjects and shows how the world and its view towards women have changed as well. This is a powerful book that will stay with you long after you finish it. This is a longer book so do not expect to fly through it. It deals with problem each generation faced and poses some interesting questions. I think that this is one people will carry with them long once they are done reading it.

I LOVED Mrs. Everything. @jenniferweinerwrites did an exceptional job at making Jo and Bethie each feel like individuals with their own voice, and I grew to love each of them. I especially loved that her characters weren’t perfect, which leant another level of realism to the book. Mrs. Everything showed both the glamour and the hardships of growing up as young women in the 1950’s-1980’s, and it was SO lovely.

I really wanted to like this book. It was my timeframe - growing up in the 50's and 60's so I expected to be able to identify with the characters. I didn't. I guess I saw some people who would have fit these personas, but they weren't me.

I felt like the author had a check list of all the subjects she wanted to cover - -
Strict 1950's mother - check
"funny" uncle - check
Lesbian daughter - check
Hippie/druggie daughter - check
It was all just so predictable to me and felt stiff and unnatural.

I'm not saying this is a bad book - it isn't - it just wasn't for me and I was disappointed by that.

Mrs. Everything is a tale of two sisters, how circumstances fray their bond, and how they come together again. While Jennifer Weiner calls this her most ambitious work, I call it her best.

Sisters Bethie and Jo could not be more different. Bethie is pretty and popular. Jo doesn’t care about clothes or fashion, loves sports, and never seems to earn her mother’s approval. A childhood spent in 1950’s suburban Detroit leads to college in the 60’s and a time of civil rights, protests and experimentation. Their lives take dramatically different paths and their choices shape their lives in unexpected ways.

I was completely captivated by this story. Weiner breathed life into these characters and I felt as if I were experiencing every heartache, every joy, and every turn in the road with Bethie and Jo. From complicated family dynamics, to disordered eating, drug use, sex and marriage, these women struggled to find their way, both separately and apart. I sympathized with Jo who struggled for her mother’s approval and acceptance and who spent years hiding her true self. And my heart ached for Bethie who spent years running from her past.

They lived through times of tremendous upheaval – the Viet Nam war, civil rights, women’s rights – and the roles of women changed over the years. They were redefining what it meant to be a woman in a changing world, while still being constrained by societal expectations, and with the knowledge that change comes slowly and there were still barriers to overcome. Their choices were so often colored by, and limited to, the options available at that time. They were alternately each other’s strongest supporter and harshest critic, proving that the author understands the complicated relationship shared by sisters.

Spanning more than six decades, Weiner has delivered a powerful story of sisterhood – both familial and that of all women. She strikes the perfect balance of telling Jo and Bethie’s stories while shining a light on the limitations, expectations, tragedies and triumphs of women over the past 60-70 years. Never preachy or political, but instead intensely readable, Mrs. Everything has skyrocketed to one of my favorite reads of 2019.

Beyond a doubt one of the best books of 2019. The first sentence in this book story grabs you right away, the character development is superb, the detail in the writing, the imagery is excellent. The plot weaves in and out . and Jo and Bethie's lives move in so many unexpected directions. It was a great journey!

Validating on so many levels. This sweeping novel spans three generations in the lifetime of sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman. It begins in the fifties and follows the lives of the two very different girls down two very different paths. This is a story about women. Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends and lovers - how we build each other up and tear each other down and how we ALL struggle with finding our place and discovering who we are.

I was very surprised to see several reviewers saying that they felt like the novel went on a bit too long and that parts 6-8 were unnecessary. I adored every page and parts 6-8 were probably my favorite and definitely pushed this book over the top into the 5 star category which is not something I dole out lightly.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unputdownable-ness: High
Ugly Cry Potential: High
LOL: Low
Character Development: Amazing
Originality: High
Quality of Writing: Great
Intellectual Depth: Medium-High
Emotionally Trying/Hard to Read: Medium

Mrs. Everything is a very good read. Written about a time when so many paths were just opening for women, the relationship and lives of Jo and Bethie made for interesting reading.

Like so many people, Jo and Bethie dealt with ups and downs, times when one would sacrifice for the other and times when they really pushed against social mores. The give and take between the characters and their relationship with their mother added an extra layer of angst to this story that was already filled with struggle.

I believe the author captured society during the years of the book very well. So much was open to women ~ at first ~ but then the pressure of the times contributed to it seeming like an illusion at times.

If you have enjoyed Jennifer Weiner in this past, you will definitely enjoy this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC at my request. My thoughts in this review are my own and freely given.