In Want, I got to around the 11% mark and thought to myself, "Goodness, what is this dreadful monotony, and how long will it go on?" I flipped a few pages to see that the chapter had no end in immediate sight and decided to leave alone. While I understand that Strong was likely trying to make a point about the monotony, it didn't hit the mark. People have their own monotonous lives to lead and we didn't need hers, particular wrapped so tightly in her whiteness which, in today's climate particularly, was also off-putting and annoying in a narrator.

This one just wasn’t for me. There was very little dialogue so it felt more like observations of Elizabeth’s life which I had a hard time engaging with. The time line was also a bit fluid which threw me off a few times. It was an interesting and timely view of privilege, marriage, motherhood and friendship but I prefer a more uplifting story and this one was heavy and dark for my liking. I found the style similar to that found in "Writers & Lovers" by Lily King so if you enjoyed that book you will probably love this one as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for allowing me to read a pre-release of this novel in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

At its best, Want is a slow, yearning book about desires and the failure of reality to live up to what it is we truly want. At its worst, it's page upon page of ruminations from a privileged white lady who can't seem to understand why things haven't been easier for her.

I'm well familiar with the higher education job market/proliferation of adjunct positions, as well as NYC sticker shock - I expected to really love this book. And I did feel for the narrator, several times. But sometimes that feeling was less, "the rent is too damn high," and more, "So, DO SOMETHING already."

Ultimately, I think I just didn't quite appreciate being trapped in the narrator's head (especially after 4 months of social isolation - the world in which I'm living is different than the world described in this book, it's hard for me to even imagine browsing a bookstore or stopping for a drink). I suspect Want will work better for readers who particularly like character studies or tales of the American Dream unrealized.

CW for reference to someone who died by suicide, illegal drug use, another person's suicide attempt, unintentional pregnancy, struggles with infertility, bankruptcy, domestic abuse of a child, sexual harassment, disordered eating (anorexia), threatening to take one's children away, depression

There are parts of this book where I related SO much to the main character that I had to catch my breath. There are intimate moments and amazing storytelling. It is gripping, and I hope to read more from this author. As a busy working mom, I can recommend this!

Want is the perfect title for this book about a young mom who seems to be wanting in all areas of her life including her family relationships, career, and an ongoing obsession with a childhood friend. It’s written in a sort of stream of consciousness and I kept waiting for something big to happen and then as I got closer to the end I didn’t much care. I felt sad for Elizabeth, but I also wanted to shake her and to tell her to get help and make some changes in her life! It’s a quick read and I’m glad to have read it, but like the main character I am left feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt & Co for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Dnf at 55%. Intimate and honest this was just not the right book at the right time. I don’t think this book will be for everyone but it certainly provides insight into privilege, depression and desires.

First of all thanks Netgalley and the publishers for give me the opportunity to read this book.

This book was just wow! I felt like Lynn was writing about me, even though i am not a mom yet, and going through her exact struggles. But we are all going through some type of struggle right?

I felt like I could relate to Elizabeth, in so many ways, she has two kids an amazing husband, 2 jobs, amazing degrees, and still she wants more. It gets a little confusing when you add her parents in the mix, because they seem to be horrible parents at times, but you can see that they are all trying.

When it comes to Sasha? I felt like the main character was lost within her best friend Sasha, she wanted not to be like her but to be around her at all times, but then she realizes when Sasha comes back into the picture that she is also struggling with day to day life.

This book is soo personal, I felt drained at the end of it, and it’s not a bad thing it’s just how real day to day life can be for a woman like her for a woman in general going through similar things.

Great read.

Want is a novel that explores one woman's wants and needs. Lynn Steger Strong writes conversationally, so this book reads like a journal. The main character is not always likable, however I did find her relatable. I appreciated the opportunity to play unbiased observer in the heroine's life, to put myself in her shoes was easy. The pacing was even, and the story seemed complete and balanced. I definitely found myself wanting to talk about this story while reading and after. For that reason, I would make Want a book discussion selection. I would most certainly read more from Ms Steger Strong.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Want was like reading someone’s journal. The writing style, tone, and rhythm all flow like a casual conversation overheard by someone you don’t really know, but the more she talks, the more you want to hear about her and her life. She lives a life with the absence of some materialistic tokens, but is blessed with the presence of others. She talks about her life at home with her husband and children, her job, her childhood friend, and her innermost thoughts, dreams, and fears. She wants to do the right thing all the time, but her pride, her pain, her persistence all prevent her from sometimes giving in to do what it is that she is struggling with. It is a captivating read and one that lures you into reading page after page.

I came across an ad for this book on goodreads that piqued my interest, so when I found it on netgalley, I knew I wanted to read it. It didn't disappoint and really spoke to me, as a mother. While not plot driven in any way, it was a fairly quick read and kept me interested the entire way through. It reads as a stream of consciousness novel, exploring the main character's journey through motherhood, friendships, marriage, and just life in general. I found it honest and raw and very much related to it, even though it wasn't MY story.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review through netgalley.

Amazing, painful, beautiful and awkward are all words that come to mind in reading Lynn Steger Strong’s new novel WANT. I anticipated feeling a wide range of emotions with this tale of a well-educated, 30-something, under-employed, mother struggling to feel she’s meeting her potential; or at least the potential she imagined she had all those years while preparing to be an adult. I just had no idea how well Strong would depict them in her book. The protagonist and her husband are life graduates of 9-11 and the Crash of 2008 and bear the resultant scars in their lifestyle and hopes for their combined futures. A must-read for anyone wondering how Millenials are coping as they raise their own children. But admittedly, this author is exceptionally gifted in describing the journey. I received my copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

I requested this book because the description sounded interesting and I had heard about it on a book blog I listen to. This book was a lot darker than I realized it would be, but, with that said, I really enjoyed it. This story is about one woman’s life - her job, her family, and how she deals every day with feeling like each person just takes something from her until she feels like she has nothing left to give. It explores relationships with friends, her parents, and her husband and kids. It also deals with mental illness. Even though this book wasn’t plot driven and really wasn’t about much other than her day to day life, I found myself wanting to keep reading. As a mom myself, some parts of this book were definitely relatable. I really think people are going to love this book if they give it a try.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of #want

HAPPY PUB DAY to WANT by Lynn Stegner Strong

This was a beautiful, searing portrait of motherhood, friendship, ambition, empathy, and class. I couldn’t put it down, and found myself thinking about its brutally sharp characters and lingering questions weeks later. Lynn’s sentences sing right off the page, in one of those subtle, quiet ways you can’t quite pin down.

Elizabeth comes from a privileged background, has a doctoral Ivy League education, and is trying to support her family while her husband aims to have his dream career. She’s working two jobs—at a charter high school in the Bronx and then as a professor in the evenings— to still come home and be a mother to two small children. It’s about the struggle to be female right now, relatable and real.

Told from Elizabeth’s point of view, it read like she was divulging her deepest desires: the want of financial security, the want for a partner to mutually support and understand, the want of feeling fulfilled professionally and the want of friendship as she lays out her history with her oldest friend Sasha.

Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt & Co for an ARC of this book in an exchange for an honest review xo

Author #Lynn Steger Strong has written a beautiful novel that many women and men are going to be able to relate to.It will draw you in by the cover to start.A story of marriage,sacrifice,and longing.Its the
Story of want: that is, the unending desire to live a good, true life.Its worth a look. It has funny,honest
and thought profound moments.
Thank you,
#Netgalley,#Lynn Steger Strong and #Henry Holt Company

This book was somewhat of a roller coaster ride for me. As I first began to read it and was introduced to Elizabeth, the protagonist, my eyes rolled so hard I thought I was going to injure myself. My knee jerk reaction was “here is this spoiled whiny princess who can’t just get her sh*t together”. That really was just a knee jerk reaction. The more I read of the book, and it really does suck you into her life, the more you realize there is much more nuance to her character. As you watch her unravel and try to hold herself together through running, through stolen afternoons reading in a coffee shops, or going to a movie, the layers to her story shine through and you realize. “Hey, I know this person or even perhaps I’ve been this person.”

When we meet Elizabeth, she and her husband and are gathering the paperwork to file for bankruptcy due to hundreds of thousands in medical debt mainly from the births of their children. Elizabeth is a Phd in Literature, who teaches kids in a charter school. The dream of full professorship at a University is a ship that has long since sailed in this era of Adjunct Professors. Her husband’s job crashed and burned in the Lehman Bros. take down and he is building his own contracting business, but that is touch and go.

Through this whole financial and legal mess, Elizabeth, keeps tabs on her best friend from her idyllic childhood, a time she acknowledges of embarrassing wealth and privilege. The information she sees is of the carefully curated Insta- variety and when Elizabeth finally reaches out to her almost on an impulse, obviously real life does not match. The novel tracks Elizabeth and her relationship with her husband, her friends, her co-workers, and her parents as she struggles to hold on to a life that resembles something she wants.

This novel turns out to be so relatable and realistic. Many people, who were raised even solidly middle class, now find themselves in a position where even a cup of coffee with a friend is a stretch to the budget. As the title of the novel implies, there is this state of constant want because you can’t have even simple pleasures, there is never enough money or time or energy. And that is juxtaposed with a feed of Insta-culture letting you know that others are managing to have it all, in perfectly curated lives. Great Read!

The book Want by Lynn Steger Strong follows a woman who is worn down from what life has thrown at her. The main character’s almost robotic routine is very obvious from the beginning. She’s simply existing, not living. She’s not satisfied with her job, her children are needy, and she has distanced herself from most of the people in her life. This is especially evident in her not calling people by name.

The novel flips between the main characters monotonous routine and flashbacks from her past that shaped her. The author’s writing style was honest and to the point. It took a little getting used to, especially when a flashback would begin without much preamble. Nonetheless, the voice of the main character really pulled me in, as if I was living and struggling alongside her. This novel really demonstrates how dreams do not always align with reality.

Elizabeth is a 30-something mother of 2 young girls who is overeducated and underemployed as a teacher in Brooklyn. As she and her husband navigate bankruptcy and a life that hasn't gone the way they planned, she thinks about her childhood best friend who she has drifted apart from and she reconnects with her.

I'm not sure if everyone would agree with this, but this book reminded me of My Year of Rest and Relaxation if the main character were 10 years older and life had gone a different way. The writing is intimate and you see every aspect of Elizabeth's day to day life, yet not a lot happens overall. This book won't be for everyone, but as a 30-something educated woman with 2 small children the same age as Elizabeth's, there was a lot that I could relate to and understand and appreciate about this book.

Want is an appropriate title for the story of Elizabeth, a 34 year old married mother of two who lives in New York City. Author Lynn Steger Strong takes the reader inside the mind of this floundering woman, adrift in her own misery.

It’s all about viewpoint. To an onlooker, Elizabeth is a well educated woman with a Ph.D. who is a high school teacher. She has parents who are still married and love her. Her husband is a carpenter and builder of custom furniture. In fact, he’s created some of the built in furniture in their apartment. She has two healthy daughters, four and two years old, who her husband helps take care of while she works. That’s one perspective, that of an optimist. Elizabeth, however, is not one. She is deeply depressed. As she sees her life, she’s overeducated for a mind numbing job in a crowded school a long commute away. Her parents have refused to help her financially even though calamities have pushed her family to bankruptcy. Her husband walked away from a career on Wall Street Street. And she’s not sure how she feels about motherhood. She often thinks of her childhood with her best friend Sasha when life was simpler. They haven’t stayed in touch so she tries to reconnect to rekindle the friendship. I’ll go no further because I don’t like spoilers.

Want is true literary fiction. Lynn Steger Strong is a writer of descriptive, evocative prose. Marriage, family relationships, careers, friendship and motherhood are all themes here. However, Elizabeth’s unhappiness shrouds the book in a gray fog. This is a beautiful read but a little too depressing for me. 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Co. and Lynn Steger Strong for this ARC.

This book ( and the writing) is so real and raw it felt like it was coming from my own head. I don't share much in common with the story's protagonist, Elizabeth but her story felt so achingly familiar that I could not put it down. This story keeps you engaged with a story that almost reads like a memoir in its honesty and the depth to which the characters are introduced and we get to know them through the eyes of Elizabeth. So many moments stand out to me. I really enjoyed every aspect of this book. This is one of the books where I know I will find even more nuances and truths on a re-read. Truly excellent writing and a story.

After looking at reviews, it's clear many readers find this novel to only be the story of a white woman who is well aware of her privilege yet is complaining about her life anyway. This is accurate, yet the story is so much more. This is a deeply personal novel. It reads like a confessional journal or a letter of venting from a close friend. Our narrator Elizabeth is burnt out. Her life feels like a hamster wheel. She's aware of her privilege (comparing her life to those of her black colleagues and students) yet acknowledges life is hard anyway. This is what resonated most with me about this book ---> it's ultimately about how being a human is hard sometimes no matter how you might try to make the "right" choices, particularly for women.

Elizabeth spends a lot of time ruminating on her relationship with her lifelong best friend. They've grown apart and Elizabeth has regrets. This is a shockingly accurate look at female friendship. The author also does an excellent job of realistic views at marriage, relationships, and mental health. The writing feels frenzied at times. Elizabeth's narration is fast paced with a constant sense of urgency.

I highly recommend this one for readers of literary fiction and women's issues.