Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner speaks to the heart!

This novel is truly full of emotions and love. Women who are sisters, heroes, mothers, wives, daughters, friends, and a whole bunch more!

Jo and Bethie are quite the pair of sisters that envelops this beautiful story. This story spans over their lives and the different struggles one another faces as they continue to grow. As a reader, you feel the pain that these sisters go through and you feel the joy that they go through.

I think this story will resonate with many and the lesson behind this beautiful novel was quite breathtaking. I do have to say that it was a tad longer than I had hoped which is more of a slow build but the message was truly so beautiful.

This was my first novel by Jennifer Weiner but can see why she has so many fans. This is a wonderful novel to pack in your beach bag for the summer.

Overall, 4 stars!

Thank you so much to Atria and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 6/11/19
Published to Goodreads: 5/27/19

If, after reading the blurb for this book, you think you are going to throw this one into your beach bag for a light hearted read about sisters, stop right here. That is not this book. This is a very ambitious book, spanning decades of two sisters’ lives. Tragic things happen and people make bad choices. At about the 60% mark, I realized I didn’t care enough about the characters to continue. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

This story follows the lives of two sisters from the 1950s to present day. Each sister navigates their way through issues in America, while also trying to find themselves and what type of woman they are "meant to be." This story touches on family drama, gender norms and feminism. Mrs. Everything keeps the reader wondering where each woman will head next on their life path and makes you question how one finds their place in the world and what is it that truly makes you feel fulfilled and accepted. This is a great read -- run out and grab it!

Thanks to Netgalley, I read this pre-publication. Jennifer Weiner decided to tackle historical women's fiction, covering the years from the 1950's until current. She followed two sisters, Bethie and Jo, throughout the decades. (I did wonder why the names are the same as "Little Women".) She succeeded in creating a realistic, engaging story of two women growing up in the Midwest whose lives were impacted by the societal norms of the times. The story felt both interesting and honest. As someone who has lived in the locations described, at the times described, it rang true. Weiner took the best part of her prior history of writing "chick lit"--the driving story and explored the difficult choices women make, and the impact on their families and loved ones. As the current generation was born before "women's liberation", gay marriage and Roe vs. Wade, the book is both timely and entertaining. A pleasure to read.

I received Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner as an ARC from NetGalley. I'm a fan of Jennifer Weiner and this is the best book I've read by her. Her novels are typically chick lit but this was a departure from her usual style. Mrs. Everything tells the story of two sisters, Jo & Bethie Kaufman, growing up in Detroit during the 50's. Jo & Bethie are complete opposites and their lives take very different paths but the sisters are always there for each other. I loved this story and the characters and I couldn't wait to see how their story unfolded. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of Mrs. Everything in exchange for an honest review.

I have read books by Jennifer Weiner before but none like this. I really enjoyed the novel which was of the lives of two Jewish sisters from Detroit, Jo and Bethie. I especially enjoyed the interwoven historical pieces that showed how both of these women grew up in a 50s mentality and the changes that came about in the country allowing them both to be their true selves. There were a few parts that went slow but overall I would recommend.

Over the years I have read several Jennifer Weiner books, they were all fun, girly, and total chick-lit. But this book was completely different from any that I have read. Mrs. Everything is a socially relevant book and such a great read. This book had me gasping at the real life situations, crying at the heartfelt sad moments, and cheering at the triumphs. I really enjoyed reading about Jo and Bethie through out the years and found myself wishing for more of their stories! Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for for the ARC of Mrs. Everything!

This story spans several decades, starting in 1951 and going into the future to 2022. It follows two sisters, Jo and Bethie, as they grow up experiencing a multitude of events. While their journeys are different and the sisters don’t always get along, they are there for each other when it matters.

I love Jennifer Weiner’s books and was thrilled to receive an advanced reading copy. This book is published on June 11th. This story discusses so many events in our history such as racism, sexuality, drugs, societal pressures for what a ‘normal’ woman should want, and many others. It does not take on any of these issues and try to tell you what is right. Rather it indicates how these issues were perceived at a time in history. It shows how the perceptions changed over time for some issues and remain the same for others. Jo and Bethie give insights into these times and express feelings many people faced. I think this is a book for everyone to read to help understand our past, especially as women. It is a story of the strength of women!

I give this book 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher Atria Books for a free digital version of this book to review!

I was unable to put this book down!

Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 5
Pace: 5
Plot development: 5
Characters: 5
Enjoyability: 5
Ease of Reading: 5

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

4.5/5 This book tells the story of two sisters from childhood until old age. I would compare the plot to one of those cartoon snowballs that grows bigger and bigger as it rolls- first it starts out slow, but as it moves on, it picks up speed and depth. These are also some of the most realistically written characters that I have read in some time. They are so flawed, their emotions so raw. There are several times when you think, oh, this will happen, then everything will turn out fine and they'll live happily ever after. But this book is more realistic; there are no happy endings here. What we get is depth and emotion, true pain and sorrow, jealousy and anger, happiness in spurts- much like real life. These are fully formed characters who, in a way, represent all of the real women out there. The women who have to fight for everything they have, make mistakes along the way, and in the end, accept that they have done all they could with what they had. In a way, the moral of this book is, despite your flaws, you are enough.

4.25 Stars

“Mrs. Everything” by Jennifer Weiner speaks to the masses. In this day and age, it is both timely and full of heart! It’s a story about connections. Women who are mothers, sisters, wives, lovers, friends, supporters, heroes and oh so much more.

Jo and Bethie are sisters and “Mrs. Everything” is their story. It takes place over the course of decades. There are trials and tribulations as each woman struggles and tries to be everything to everyone, including each other. As sisters, the relationship between Jo and Bethie is real and true. When experiencing hardship, the pain Jo and Bethie feel is palpable, as is their joy. There were times when I raised my fist in a “yes, you go girl” moment and times when my eyes were filling with tears and I just cried my little heart out.

As someone whose only sibling is a sister, this story resonated with me. My sister and I are four years apart and are very different, thus we were treated very differently by our parents, just like Jo and Bethie. Though I am the younger sister, I resonated with certain parts of Jo, the tomboy, the girl who loves jeans and who is hard working, no nonsense and serious. I am equally sure that my sister would relate to Bethie, beautiful, popular and successful. I will be sure to send my sister a copy of this book upon its release to find out for sure!

That’s the thing: “Mrs. Everything” is relatable to everyone, especially here and now - with what is going on these days. This is a story that will make you feel intensely and is one that makes you think - about what others are going through and how you can help.

I very much enjoyed reading this novel as I loved the story of Jo and Bethie. “Mrs Everything” is on the longer side and is therefore a slower read, thus it is one to be savored. This is now the third book that I’ve read by Jennifer Weiner and it is my favorite by far.!

Thank you to Ariele Friedman at Atria Books for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 5.26.19.
Will be published on Amazon and Twitter on 6.11.19
Excerpt to be published on Insta.

Fantastic sweeping novel of the lives of two sisters growing up in the 1950’s Detroit area. Bethie is the apple of of her moms eye growing up, and Jo never quite gets her moms approval as a tomboy. But things change as the girls navigate growing up in the turbulent time of protests, drugs, and their own sexuality. Beautiful novel that spans decades and makes you feel as if Jo and Bethie are your own sisters. I laughed and cried during this book and felt like I lost a friend when it was over. I have read all of Ms. Weiner’s books, and this one is my favorite by far.

This book was so good I didn't want it to end! I got attached to the characters and family story and really was sad when it was over. I also loved the history and of course the underlying message that this book portrayed. Buy this book when it comes out you will not be disappointed!

I loved Jennifer Weiner’s book, Good In Bed, and I loved this even more! Beautifully written, eloquent, and fun, it brought me back to my roots living in Long Island during the 1950’s. Ms. Weiner has a wonderfully descriptive writing talent, and everything in Mrs. Everything was so very clear in my mind’s eye. I fell in love with Jo, and Sarah, tended to remind me, with her unsatisfactoriousness, of my own mother and my own upbringing. I fell in love with Bethie, , who could have been me. What a book! I loved it from beginning to end. More please, Ms. Weiner! You are an incredible story teller. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the egalley in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of the book. This was the first Jennifer Weiner book that I’ve ever read. I really enjoyed it and I want to go back and check out her earlier books. Oh wow!! This book broke my heart in so many ways. Jo and Bethie both took my heart and ran with it. I love how the author took their lives and took us on a journey. The sisters were so different and so much a like. They just wanted to be loved. Don’t we all just want to be loved? Sometimes I had to put down this book, and walk away. There were triggering moments, but I would come back to jump back into the lives of Jo and Bethie. I loved this book so much. It will be on my mind for a while.

Jennifer Weiner has written an amazing, intriguing, riveting, page-turning, emotional, intense, and thought-provoking novel. The Genres for this Novel are Women’s Fiction, Fiction, and Domestic Fiction. The timeline for this novel starts in the 1950s to the present in Detroit. I love the way the author describes her characters, events, and landscape in the story. The author describes her dramatic characters as complex, complicated and dysfunctional.

Several questions and themes can be seen in this novel. What exactly is a woman’s role in society? As the timeline progresses, do women have more choices and decisions to make? Can one be a better mother than their mother was to them? Will women ever be considered equal to men, in education, salary, the workplace, and the family?

I appreciate that Jennifer Weiner discusses the relationships between mothers and daughters, sisters, and domestic partnerships. Also discussed are the importance of family, love, emotional support, forgiveness, acceptance, second chances, and hope.

Jo and Beth Kaufman are brought up in the 1950s and are very different. One is considered “different” and acting too “boyish” for a girl, and the other feels that being pretty is about power. One challenges the fairness in the world, and the other is more concerned with what other people think of her. Their mother shows her disappointment and favoritism. This is a traditional time when father’s work, mother’s stay at home, and everything seems to be in black and white, with little room for areas of gray.

As the years pass, and things seem to get “more” modern, there are more confusing choices and decisions for women. That area that was black and white, has expanded with more gray. Do women have to get married and have children if they don’t want to? Can women work and have a family? I highly recommend and reflect on this amazing book. I still have a book-hangover and am deep in thought!! Kudos, Jennifer Weiner for such a well-written and descriptive book!




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PUBLISHED BY LINDASBOOKOBSESSION

Rating: 4.0/5.0

"We lose ourselves, but we find our way back"

Mrs. Everything is the story of two sisters from their childhood until their old age. We follow Josette (Jo) & Elizabeth (Bethie) through their lives, their happiness, hardships, and sadness. The time frame ranges from the 1950s until 2022.

Pros:
- The book tackles many important issues concerning minorities like race, religion and sexual orientation. How family should stand with & support sexual harassment victims. Be warned there is also rape & drug use.
- I loved the relationship between the two sisters and how they were there for each other. The two girls/women were always in a balance situation. When one of them was down the other was up and ready to pull her out from the slump.
- The tale spans over a long period & the author did a great job in showing how the characters matured over time. There is no good or bad here, no hero or villain, just normal people who screw up their own lives and then try to fix things up themselves or by the help of others.

Cons:
- I felt that there was not much balance between the narration and dialogue. The narration was a lot longer and even when there is a dialogue you will find a big narration paragraph between two lines of dialogue, that takes your mind out of it. I feel this was excessive a bit. It made me focus less when there was an important dialogue between the different characters.

Final Thought:
Mrs. Everything is an excellent book that has both enjoyment and substance as well. I give it a solid four stars out of five. Grab it when it is out on June 11th 2019.
Many thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an ARC copy of the book and this is my honest unbiased review.

The times, they were a changing…
Author Jennifer Weiner takes her readers through the tumultuous changes in the 1950s through the 1970s and beyond. Many reviewers are touting this book as every woman's book; by including just about every injustice and situation any woman could have experienced, it makes women want to rally. In addition to covering a myriad of women’s issues, it is a detailed work of {recent} historical fiction that your history class didn't cover.

Even though I didn’t feel overly connected to any of the characters, I was engaged with the story and felt the characters sacrifices and losses. Much of Jo and Bethie’s young lives are constrained by social mores. As Bethie and Jo mature, they get involved in various social issues of their times, but hypocritically, they hold their mother in disdain without a thought of the socio-political challenges she faced and how they influenced her. The lives of the next generation of sisters-- Kim, Melissa and Lila—are defined more by their choices. Each of the next-generation-sisters' lives reflects a different path—having it all, choosing career over family, and wanting only to be a mother. Just as Bethie and Jo didn't appreciate the prior generation's challenges, Kim, Melissa, and Lila do not appreciate the challenges of the prior generation or how they benefit from the many advances their mother's generation.

In general, the writing is good and the attention to detail regarding everything from products and clothes to attitudes and language is perfect. Ms. Wiener fairly portrays the social and political turmoil of the decades as well. I appreciated the detailed research and Ms. Weiner’s inclusion of so much pop culture—from Prell shampoo to Jane Fonda’s workout videos; however, I felt the author tried too hard to include everything in her latest novel. Granted that period of time was chock full of events and fads, but Bethie and Jo experiencing every possible woman’s issue during the decades covered in this novel was too much for me. If some of it could have happened to friends not just the sisters, it might have been more palatable.

Readers who love to be immersed in a period and/or who like socio-political novels will love Mrs. Everything. Ms. Weiner covers corporal punishment, unwanted sexual advances toward a child, closet homosexuality, drug use and peddling, rape, the rebirthing phenomenon, interracial relationships, equal rights protests, women’s liberation, abortion, and even #metoo. I’ve probably left some issues out, and all of that is on top of all the iconic pop culture included.

Mrs. Everything is a fantastically detailed and well-written book of history and women’s history over several decades, and it is well worth the read for young women. They might appreciate how much has changed and how much they benefit from the women who pushed for those changes. More mature women will appreciate the trip down memory lane, perhaps seeing with fresh eyes all that they and their mothers lived through.

Genre: Literary Fiction/Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Atria Book (Simon & Schuster)
Pub. Date: June 11, 2019

This multigenerational novel spans the 1940s to the present. The weight of the novel is devoted to how women’s roles in society have changed and yet remained the same over the decades. The author states in her prologue that after the 2016 election she wanted to write about a woman like her mother. A woman, who married, had children, divorced, fell in love with another woman and married her. This reviewer applauds Weiner for her honesty and ambitious effort. The novel takes on many issues: ethnicity, race, bias, class, religion, sexual assault. Most of all, the relationships between mothers, daughters, and sisters—shades of “Little Women.” The reader will go through the civil rights movement to the #MeToo movement. Fittingly, Weiner tries to work everything into “Mrs. Everything,” but the result often feels bloated with detail and explanation. Overkill.

The novel is narrated by two sisters, Jo and Bethie. The reader will follow them from their childhoods until they are senior citizens. Jo is a tomboy. She prefers playing sports rather than with dolls. Her choice of clothing is masculine. Bethie is content with being pretty, loving all things girlie, and being her mother’s favorite. The family is Jewish, and the parents’ immigration, due to persecution in Europe, plays a large role in the novel. The religious and cultural parts of their lives did not read like overkill. Weiner manages to ‘show’ their heritage, rather than ‘telling’ it. Meaning it doesn’t feel jammed in. If all 500 pages were written in this manner, the book may have become a classic as well as a (probable) bestseller.

Sometimes Weiner seems to struggle with making her characters' arcs believable, or how the story's developments can feel forced, at times, by the author's desire to subvert expectations. (Spoiler: In the early 1970s, Beth will find drugs in college, drops out, and worst of all, for her mother, Beth gets fat.) Since Joe marries and has children she now becomes the apple of her mother’s eye. This is hard to swallow because the mother is cringe-worthy cruel towards Jo as she was growing up. The mom always guessed Jo’s sexuality and couldn’t make peace with it.

Oddly, with so much packed into the story, it is still a fast read. The novel is marketed as Literary Fiction/Women’s Fiction. It is really more Women’s Fiction—good women’s fiction, well researched. If you enjoy the genre you may feel this critique is too hard on the author. Indeed, there are parts in this sweeping saga where Weiner nails women’s personal struggles spot on. She especially shines when writing about sexual assault or how hard it can be for females to like their bodies or simply like themselves for who they are. Her book has a very important message. If you can get through the information overload, it is worth the read.

loved this book. so fast and an easy read! loved it as much as all her other books. loved the characters. the dynamics of the sisters. ow their characters seem to switch roles. hope she writes many more!!!