I really enjoy all of her books and this one did not disappoint! Jo and Bethie are two sisters that take you on a wonderful journey. Definitely a must read!

Jo and Bethie are two sisters growing up in Detroit, Michigan during the 1950’s. A typical Jewish middle class family living in the suburbs; mom cleans and cooks, dinner on the table at 5 every night. Jello for dessert. The American dream. Jo and Bethie are nothing alike as youngsters and even more different as adults but their sisterly bond is deep and true. Exploring race, sexual identity and the women’s liberation movement throughout the sixties and seventies, best selling author Jennifer Weiner takes us on Bethie and Jo’s journey for equality in the work place, abortion rights and the racial divide in America. The decades pass too quickly and while triumphs are slowly made, many still remain out of reach even today. Though this was a very different tone for Jennifer Weiner - no romantic comedies here - I thoroughly enjoyed her exploration of family dynamics and the consequences of choices we make every day. Emotional at times, Mrs. Everything touches on many tough issues and would be an excellent book club discussion. Highly recommend this solid summer read. Pub date June 11th 2019. #stockupforsummer This one is a winner.

I haven't finished this yet, and I will write a full review on Goodreads when I do. I just want to make sure that my nomination for Library Reads goes through before 5/1. I think this is Weiner's best yet.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This book can be summed up quite simply. It is the story that follows two sisters through their lives and relationships. It is told in alternating chapters each from one sister’s perspective chronologically through their lives. The sisters are interesting characters but their stories lacked drama for me. I felt that just when the events of their lives became interesting, the author would gloss over the details or end the chapter. After a few episodes of this I began to lower my expectations, which is never a good thing.

In the end, I still found myself enjoying the overarching storyline of these two sisters but couldn’t help but feel that it could have been much more.

Spanning from the 1950s to present day, Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner explores two sisters lives as they struggle to reconcile their true selves and desires with what societies expectations of women are. Full of commentary on marriage, sexuality, politics and more as we see cultural realities changing overtime, Mrs. Everything is an ambitious novel.

I appreciated the scope of this novel and the way we saw the sisters get knocked down and grow over time as their worlds constantly change. There were so many relatable moments about what women used to, and still do, face with the pressure to be "Mrs. Everything".

Some of the pacing of the story was a bit slow for me, and the time jumps ended up meaning that the beginning of each new chapter was spent playing "catch up" on the past years which made the flow a bit choppy.

3.5/5 stars

I’m pretty bummed to say it but this one just isn’t working for me. I’ve read and enjoyed many of Ms Weiner’s novels and was highly anticipating this one, but the format of covering many years and MANY issues in the lives of these two sisters started to feel more like a play-by-play rather than a cohesive story. I think it will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy big, epic stories, and the writing is definitely good. I’m sure it will be a hit for lots of readers and many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read.

(As per my review policy, I won’t post a review on my Instagram if I can’t enthusiastically review it.)

I am struggling to understand my reaction to this book and think I can distill it down to two things that prohibited me from truly appreciating Weiner's story:
#1 . . . I am of the same generation as the two sisters featured in the story: perhaps it was too close to home to either feel like a revelation, or to relish the reading experience of reliving my own cultural history:
#2. . . I spent most of my life in the suburban Detroit that Weiner's characters grew up in and her descriptions of the neighborhoods, the clubs, and the life there just didn't feel right to me. They didn't have enough texture to feel life-like.

What I did appreciate about Weiner's novel was the long, slow, development of the two sisters relationships with each other and their extended family. The women really came to life for me and, rather than feeling that they were characters in a book, I did feel that they were people I knew---and, knew well. I fully identified with the ups and downs of the sibling relationship and enjoyed how each character developed in a way that I didn't anticipate.

This was a book that I looked forward to reading; I can't say that I particularly enjoyed the reading experience, but I know that I would enjoy discussing the characters and the story with other women. And, that is a gift in itself. This will be a great book club selection for all kinds of reading groups.

NetGalley provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars The story of two sister, Jo and Bethie- from childhood to adulthood. Really loved the way that Weiner told the sister's stories- I felt like I lived their lives with them. Definitely recommend.

This ambitious family saga begins in 1951 and stretches across more than 60 years, encompassing many if not all of the social issues of that time span. It struck me as almost Forest Gump-like in that regard. I was impressed as one issue after another presented, almost like a roll call of defining moments, but she effortlessly folded them into the batter and baked us a delicious and satisfying cake, I mean book!

The beginning was slow for me as the author tried to set up her two main characters, Jo and Bethie. I felt it was like a heavily loaded airplane, struggling to get off the ground. The pages developing Jo’s relationship with her parents seemed to be in Jo’s eight-year-old voice, didn’t feel like Weiner at all and didn’t read easily, but once I got past the introduction, her voice emerged and it sang all the way to the end.

The place of women in contemporary American society is at the root of this story; it’s not in your face, but it unfurls for you to discover as you read along. As she notes in conclusion, there has been progress but it’s still not there for all women, especially not for a white woman married to a black man and especially not for a gay woman. Book club fodder for sure.

Jennifer Weiner does it again! Little Earthquakes, In Her Shoes, GOOD IN BED...have all been some of my favorite novels of all time. When Who Do You Love came out four years ago, of course I immediately bought it. And now...Mrs. Everything. My heart hurts, there are tears in my eyes, and I wish I could go back to the beginning and read this book all over again. An epic story of family, love, motherhood and the incredible bond between sisters - it’s all here. I wish I could rate this more than five stars. If you’ve never read a JW book - go do that now, and when this book hits the shelves next month, PICK. IT. UP.

*I received an ARC of Mrs. Everything from Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.

I very much enjoyed this book. it is a very sensitive look at women's sexual orientation in the 1960s - 1980s through the eyes of Jo Kaufman, her sister Bethie and friends and family. As usual, Ms. Weiner's book is a page turner as well as providing a tender, insightful look at women's sexual awakening and changing societal mores.

Author Jennifer Weiner has written a book about women in the 20th Century with all of their struggles and successes, on political, personal and social levels. Mostly, this is a tale of Baby Boom girls/women and their lives. It is a huge canvas for a writer best known for her skill at finding the intimate details in any setting that almost any reader can immediately identify with and share. She doesn’t always succeed in creating a viable story around both of the sisters serving as protagonists in MRS. EVERYTHING but she does very well with one of them, the eldest, Jo. The younger sister, Bethie, is too often an afterthought and used as a filler for all of the Baby Boom activities that Jo has not experienced. I’m a big fan of the author but this book wasn’t my favorite, although I struggle to identify why. There are many unlikable characters that don’t grow better over time. Changes that do occur over time seem useful for the plot but unlikely. I kept reading the book hoping I would like it more because it seemed so perfect for me. I keep thinking my age and having experienced some part of the Baby Boom years is causing me to struggle with this book. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

What an enjoyable story. Jo and Bethie Kauffman are my age and I could relate to this story very easily. The girls are so different that their mother, Sarah is sometimes baffled and in the dark. The book is narrated in alternating chapters by the girls and the views of their family life is very different. Jo does what is expected of her, marries and has children. Bethie is a wild child and explores the world. As time progresses and they all grow older many modern issues are introduced into their lives including race, sexual identity, religion and the role of women in society. Good read. I never read many of Jennifer Weiner's previous books, but I'm glad I was able to read this one. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! A family saga, this novel explores so many different themes about sisterhood, womanhood and feminism, raising important and interesting questions while keeping the reader engaged with the memorable characters and gorgeous writing. My favorite Weiner book ever- it was magnificent!

I am really enjoying what a breath of fresh air this book really is. I haven't seen a contemporary novel like this in a while, and I find myself drawn to the main character.

Jo and Bethie are sisters, who care for each other, despite being very different from each other. The story spans over decades with both having their ups and downs in life. The story covers so many hot topics, but not in an in your face kind of way. It is what one would expect from Jennifer Weiner and more. You will not want to miss this book.

Mrs. Everything follows the story of Jo's life from the 50s up until about the present day. Following along with Jo's life and the women who are in it you find yourself relating to their struggles, identity crises, challenges and drive as they work to find their own way in the world.

Jennifer Weiner created complex characters who need to come to terms with the women they want to be and the compromises they must make on that path. I really enjoyed this book, it has a timely message and relatable characters that were a pleasure to get to know.

Jennifer Weiner’s look at women’s lives becomes more sophisticated and sharp with each book she writes. I’d rank this one as her best and my second favorite after “In Her Shoes.”

Jo Kaufman and her family made the move from Detroit to the suburbs in 1951. Jo, her sister Bethie and her parents Ken and Sarah were one of the few Jewish families in their town but did their best to assimilate. Jo was the “tomboy” and Bethie was sweet feminine little girl who seemed to be her mother’s favorite. Their lives all changed dramatically when Ken died at 48 and left the family struggling. Sarah had to find work and the girls were often left alone after school.

Bethie had been offered a job by her Uncle but he used it as an opportunity to sexually harass her. Fortunately Jo was able threaten the uncle and extract money from him to keep quiet about the harassment. The experience had an effect on both girls.

Jo had never been interested in boys even though her friend fixed her up with dates all through high school. Eventually the girls became lovers but her friend was set on marrying a wealthy boyfriend. Then Jo went off to the U of Michigan where she fell in love with another girl with whom she had planned to travel the world after graduation. Once again her lover left her to marry a man.

Bethie visited Jo at Michigan and got caught up in the radical campus life of the 60s. She hooked up with a drug dealer and spent two years living with him. However he left her after she had taken some bad drugs at a concert and ended up being raped. Jo was traveling abroad alone when her mother asked her to return home to help her sister. Bethie was pregnant and had a sexually transmitted disease. She did not want to keep the child and so Jo spent the rest of her travel funds on an illegal abortion for Bethie.

By now Jo was tired of trying to find a woman to love her. So when she met a man at a friend’s wedding and started dating, she drifted into a marriage to someone she liked but did not love. Her husband was a charmer who moved from job to job but allowed her to stay home and raise their daughters.

Bethie had adopted a nomadic lifestyle and ended up in a commune of women in Georgia.

The story traced the different lives the sisters were living through the 70s and 80s. After many disappointments the sisters were finally able to find happiness.

This story spans the years from 1951 to 2016. The final chapter is set in 2022 when Bethie takes Jo’s grandchildren back to to the home the family moved to in 1951. The book examines the changes that women underwent as opportunities opened for them and their daughters. It also touched on the social changes that occurred in the US in that period.

It is told in chapters narrated alternately by Jo and Bethie. Each of them had their own struggles and conflicts with their mother, a traditional Jewish woman. The author mentioned that her own mother was a lesbian, eventually divorced her husband and met a woman with whom she was able to share her love.

This is not a classic “chick lit” book but will appeal to women. It will force to reader to compare the lives of American woman in the 50s to the lives of women today.

I loved this book! It’s a epic tale that follows two sisters throughout their lives from adolescence to old age. We’re there for heartbreak, triumph, love, loss, and so much more. It’s a story about finding yourself, being yourself, and what it means to be a woman in this world (and how that has changed—and hasn’t changed—over the years). It’s funny, sweet, sad, and moving. And I couldn’t put it down! I truly grew to love these women and to cheer for them. When I finally closed the book, it felt like I was saying goodbye to two dear friends. And I miss them already.