Overall: I loved this book so much! I can't even begin to describe how this book made me feel. It will stay with me for a very long time. The story follows two sisters, Jo and Bethie, through their entire life – from growing up in Detroit in the 1950’s through to adulthood, with every moment of tragedy and happiness in between. It’s the first book I’ve read that does this, and it really made me reflect on my own life, and those around me. The important message within Jennifer’s Mrs Everything, for me, is around a woman’s struggle between the pressures of expectations placed on them (be it from their family/friends or society) and self-fulfilment. Life is too short – we must live it. Chase dreams, not conform to the ‘norm’ – unless we want to. We can do anything – we are Mrs Everything, she’s everything and every woman.

I was invited to read this book but I should have done more research before downloading. Based on the synopsis and blurbs, I thought this would be right up my alley but it wasn’t a good fit for me.

Thanks for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I enjoyed this newest book by Weiner. I liked how the book covered most of Jo and Bethie’s lives.

I’ve read all of Jennifer Weiner’s books and I really loved the early ones but the last few just haven’t been my favorite. This one was a slow read for me, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

As being my first book read by Jennifer Weiner, I was extremely impressed with Mrs. Everything. At first I struggled. I had a hard time getting into it, but I'll chalk that up from being sick. Once I was able to enjoy reading, this book really took off for me. It follows two sisters, Jo and Beth, through their childhood and adulthood. It tells of the hardships of being a woman in 1950s. The traumas that each one went through. It covers a whole range of issues. Molestation, addictions, rape, sexuality, racism, betrayals, and separations.
Mrs. Everything is a woman empowering novel. There was multiple times that I could really connect with Jo and Beth, and the pain and defeat that they felt at times. Life is hard being a woman, even more at that time. Mrs. Everything will definitely be a book that will be remembered and will read by many people!

Thank you to Atria books and Netgalley for the advanced copy for my honest opinion.

I was very excited to be able to read an advanced copy of Jennifer Weiner’s new book but I gave up a little less than half way through. I did not feel engaged with the characters and the writing style. She writes about important topics with just a little too much description for my taste. I enjoyed her previous novels but this one is just not for me.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Part of what made interesting is that I lived in the Detroit area for a number of years and my husband was born and raised there so local flavor was fun. It seemed to me that there were too many unusual characters with too much happening to them to allow me to fully appreciate what i think is the crux of the book and that is, that everyone lives their life with missteps and forward steps but in the end most of us come to a place that is good for us and the world. I was fascinated with the journey the characters took to reach their level of peace and fulfillment.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

This book is a bit of a departure from the Jennifer Weiner I know and love but not in a bad way! She has created a family saga centered around 2 sisters and spanning over 50 years and many generations. She touches on many topics that may be difficult to talk about but be talked about (gender equality, discrimination, race relations and more). The central theme is family and how it may not always look the same from family to family but its these differences that make the world the amazing place that it is.

I highly recommend this book for a thought provoking read.

A good summer read - an engaging and entertaining tale of two sisters who navigate being girls and then women in the second half of the twentieth century, their fortunes rising and falling. I liked the format (each chapter is a different year) and I liked dipping in and out of the characters' lives. Weiner had a lot to cover, both in terms of years and in terms of plot points/issues/themes and I think she pulls it off.

I finished this book on Mother’s Day, which made me start wondering more about how the mother in the story must have felt throughout the years of raising her two daughters and on into their adulthood. I believe the daughters checked just about every box under the heading “things that make your mother worry.”

It seems as if the author did not avoid any subject in telling the story. Drugs, rape, racial tensions, unplanned pregnancy, alternative lifestyles…it’s pretty much all included. If one sister didn’t do it, the other one did. In spite of their bad behavior, they were likable girls—good girls.

It was interesting to see how their roles switched and evolved as they passed through the various stages of life. Just when I would think Jo was my favorite character, Bethie would come to the forefront and take the spotlight. By the end of the book the sisters had made their peace with the past and with how they failed each other at various times of their life. They were close and supportive—just what family is all about.

I liked this story and the author kept me engaged throughout. As far as women’s issues go, readers will either see the glass as half full or half empty. I guess it’s all in your perspective.

Thanks go to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

MRS EVERYTHING is a fantastic generation-spanning book about two sisters, Jo and Bethie Kaufman, growing up and coming of age in the 50s and 60s. On its face, it’s a book about history in practice, about the counterculture movement, women’s liberation, consciousness-raising, and more. But underneath that, it’s a beautifully-written story of how we never stop discovering ourselves, and how we can never expect the directions that our lives will go. Life happens, and we have to continue to be resilient around it.

Jo was always the sporty tomboy, the rebel who her mother tried to force into dresses and girls’ activities. She knew from a young age that she wasn’t interested in boys - but she also knew that actively choosing a life of being this kind of different would be a constant uphill battle, a life mired by exclusion and prejudice. Jo was an avid reader, dreamt of being a writer, wanted to travel the world. Her younger sister Bethie was everything Jo was not - an outgoing, confident girly girl who knew she wanted to be a star. She was the apple of her mother’s eye. But Bethie’s life was hardened by keystone events that ate away at her, slowly.

The novel is told in alternating perspective, and you get to really “walk two moons” in both sisters’ shoes. You feel their failures, their faults, their triumphs, their loves, their losses. It’s a challenge to make predictions about where you think their lives will go and read on to realize just how wrong you are - and that’s part of the beauty of this expansive story. Little events trigger big changes in their lives, and neither of them is the epitome of a generational girl - a shining civil rights protester involved in the big marches and movements, a bra-burning feminist, a champion for marriage equality.

Unlike many other books that span these tumultuous decades, Weiner doesn’t attempt to make them poster women for any certain cause. History is a backdrop to their individual stories, and often, macro-historical events don’t influence their micro-lives in the way you think they would. Sure, homosexual relationships became slowly less stigmatized over the course of the 60s, 70s, and beyond, but that doesn’t make Jo the character you expect. Neither does Weiner try to make some grandiose statement about oppression, discrimination, or anything else. She is simply telling two intricate stories, as intricate as each of our lives and the events and decisions that constitute us are. There are drugs, hippies, music festivals, civil rights demonstrations and protests, communes, consciousness-raising, marriages, divorces, affairs, cancers, death, abuse, and children. But when you think about it, any two random people on earth have so many of these elements in their lives, yet they don’t define us.

I’ve never read any books by Jennifer Weiner before, although I did recognize her name and several titles she’s written. I was stunned at the beauty and depth of her prose, the way she’s able to construct such detailed, imperfect, and lovable characters as Jo and Bethie. I loved going on this journey with them. This was one of my favorites of the year, and I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in history, women's history, and feminism.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for providing me with an ARC of Mrs. Everything in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. At first I didn’t think there was much of a plot going on but the lives of the two main characters certainly had ups and downs. I always like books that span long time periods and this book encompassed an entire lifetime. It was crazy how each of the sisters lives went on such a roller coaster. There were some parts that were extremely emotional and I love books that make you cry.

4.75 Stars from me! I fell in love with Good In Bed waaaay back in 2001 and I've never read anything from Jennifer Weiner that I haven't liked. Mrs. Everything is a new fave. Taking place over the lifetimes of the main female characters, this one calls into question whether you have to MISS everything to become MRS. Everything. Highly recommend.

Mrs Everything
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Jennifer Weiner is one of my favorite writers, I have read all her books, so I was excited to get this advanced copy. I was not disappointed. The book covers over 60 years of the life of two sisters Jo and Beth. They grew up exactly the same time as I did, and dealt with the same issues, growing up in the 50’s and 60’s , becoming adults, wives and mothers in the 70’s and 80’s. The novel addresses all the important issues of the time through the life of these two sisters: civil rights, Vietnam war, flower children, drug abuse, sexual revolution, gay rights, feminism, just to name a few. It is through trials and tribulations that these sisters find themselves able to overcome prejudices. The fact that Jo was living in Avondale, Connecticut was an extra treat for me, as I lived in Connecticut for 27 years and was familiar with many of the Connecticut sites, publications, etc. discussed. Overall, definitely 5 stars, just one comment that one other reviewer mentioned, the last third of the book was a little rushed compared to the rest.
Thanks NetGalley, Atria Books and Jennifer Weiner for the opportunity to preview this novel.

Mrs Everything is about how life is for two steps Jo and Bethie. How America changes from the 50s to today for women. Very interesting and heartfelt book. I love Jennifer Weiner’s Boos and this is of no exception.

With all the hype surrounding this one I expected more. It was dull and never really gained any steam. I didn’t connect with the characters. It wasn’t a BAD book, it just didn’t keep me super interested. It’ll sell well and get good reviews, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to review.

Thank you to Netgalley & Atria for an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I am a huge fan of Jennifer Wieners so when I was offered the ARC I had high expectations. This book did not disappoint although it did make me cry at certain times.

The book is set in Detroit Michigan and as a Michigander I can tell you She really did her research. Many of the places she referenced are real places/businesses that are still thriving today. The fact that she kept the setting so true to the real Detroit lent this book a more memoir feel instead of fiction.

In addition to a strong setting Wiener has built these incredible female characters, Jo and Bethie, for us to follow. What I loved about these characters is that Wiener designed them to be relatable to virtually every woman regardless of motherhood status/career status/sexual orientation/whatever.

The story line in this book is also very strong. It’s billed as a coming of age story but to me it was more of a social commentary on how far women have come and how far we still have to go.

This book will easily satisfy most readers. I think this would be a great Book Club pick since there is a little bit of everything in it but really this is just a book you have to put on your TBR because it really was an incredible read.

Jennifer Weiner ventures into some social awareness with her new book “Mrs. Everything”. Not only does she explore career woman versus stay at home mom ideals, but also inserts divorce, gender roles, inter-racial relationships, sexual identity without sacrificing her characters’ inherent attempts at social norms. This book is delving deeper into Weiner’s character minds than ever before. A book that provides readers with no lines of clarity as to the right or wrong of a decision, but the continual changes one’s life undergoes.

An interesting story about multi generations of women. The ups and downs, the drama and forgiveness we're very well written.

Bethie and Jo, sisters from Detroit, learn to navigate their lives as individuals and as a family across the span of 60+ years. As the sisters grow up, they continuously grow apart and back together, learning to give each other space and lean on each other when necessary. Weiner explores how the world changes around these sisters and how each one reacts to the changes they see. From protests for civil rights, to Woodstock, living on a commune, and becoming a suburban housewife, the sisters develop a sense of self as they learn from their mistakes and find the life they were both meant to live