"Deb Caletti's ""The Epic Story of Every Living Thing"" embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, blending the intrigue of familial connections with the allure of underwater exploration. While the premise holds promise, the novel's execution left me with mixed feelings.

Harper Proulx's quest to uncover her sperm donor father's identity and the subsequent discovery of a network of half-siblings sets the stage for a compelling narrative. However, the handling of the sperm donation issue by Harper's mother felt unrealistic and, at times, strained the authenticity of the story.

The dual plotlines—one focusing on Harper's newfound family connections and the other on her deep-sea diving adventures—seemed to operate in parallel rather than converging seamlessly. This disjointedness impacted the overall pacing and left me yearning for a more harmonious integration of the two narrative threads.

Despite these challenges, one shining aspect of the novel was the inclusion of interspersed journal entries from the female captain of the ship. These entries provided a unique and historical perspective, offering a bridge between the seemingly disparate storylines and enriching the overall reading experience.

In conclusion, ""The Epic Story of Every Living Thing"" delivers a tale of self-discovery and adventure, but the execution falls short in terms of plot cohesion. While the dual narratives may not have seamlessly converged, the interspersed journal entries added a layer of depth that showcased Deb Caletti's storytelling prowess. If you're drawn to stories of family, identity, and underwater exploration, this novel may still offer moments of intrigue and introspection."

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC!
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Unfortunately I DNFed this, it just didn’t catch my attention and maybe I’ll get into it again when I’m in the perfect headspace to give this another try! But I would buy and recommend this to others definitely!

Figuring out who you are is a struggle every teen grapples with. But if your father is an anonymous sperm donor? That's Harper's life. Thanks to some strong visible genetics and Instagram, she connects with a half-sibling. This connection ultimately leads to many more, and then, using their pooled connections, uncovering their biological father. This group of half-siblings, strangers as much as family, decide to visit Hawaii together to meet the man they've all wondered about for years. In Hawaii, their meeting with each other and their dad pushes Harper to more deeply examine her self and how she has constructed her own identity. Caletti is a master of the feminist coming of age story, and delivers again with this book.

"Fear is a shutting out; living is a letting in."

Harper is a teenager who is obsessed with appearances. She's got quite an Instagram following and she works hard to make each moment she posts seem special. The problem is that she's so focused on making things look perfect that life is passing her by. But now she's being confronting by a startling new reality: as the child of a sperm donor she's got siblings, and lots of them. An epic journey to Hawaii with a new-found family may open Harper up to the possibility of more than she could have ever imagined.

An insightful coming-of-age story that reflects on anxiety, COVID-19, and social media in an engaging narrative.

This book was so unique and interesting and I really enjoyed reading it. A story never told before, I found the plot so refreshing. Emotional and captivating, I just couldn't put it down!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. The Epic Story of Every Living Thing follows Harper as she discovers she has more family than she thinks and attempts to connect with them. Caletti also has Harper use social media as a coping mechanism for the disconnect teens felt during the pandemic and how hard it is to make physical connections now. I think this was one of the strongest parts of the novel and truest to teen experiences.

Thank you to NetGalley and Labyrinth Road for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled to really get into this. The portrayal of Harper's obvious Instagram/phone obsession was obnoxious for most of the book. Also, this story reiterated for me that I do not enjoy reading about books that feature COVID. Masking/vaccines/"the virus" were mentioned frequently...but then the characters weren't actually wearing masks around each other, so it was confusing and just felt unnecessary to mention. I found the inserted storyline about life on the 1800s ship distracting too, considering this didn't tie in to the rest of the story until 3/4 of the way through.

Thankfully, Harper does some self-discovering at the end of the novel and ends up growing along the way, discovering what her true interests are outside of social media.

Not my favorite Deb Caletti book, but I can definitely see other readers enjoying it and will still recommend it at my library! It follows Harper, a girl born via sperm donation, who sets out to find her biological siblings and the sperm donor who fathered them.

I really appreciated the scenes between Harper and her siblings and how those relationships were explored. However, I didn't feel like Harper was a very likeable character, so that did affect my reading experience. But I think a lot of teens will enjoy the influencer aspect of Harper's personality.

As someone who grew up in Hawaii, I am always apprehensive about books set there. Unfortunately this one was definitely a miss for me in that regard. There were little to no Native Hawaiian characters and no acknowledgement of Hawaiian culture. The subplot of Harper & her siblings trying to save the shipwreck also felt very white-saviory since there was no mention of Native Hawaiian activists working on similar projects.

Overall, not my favorite but it still had some good qualities! I'll still recommend it at my library, especially to fans of Far From the Tree.

The plot of this novel revolves around a teenager named Harper who, through the power of social media, learns that she has over 40 half-sibling because her father was a frequently chosen sperm donor. In an attempt to learn more about who she is and where she came from, Harper and a few of her siblings set out to find their biological father.

The story was really interesting and something very different. I read the book in one day and was hooked the whole time. I loved each of the characters and getting to know them.

However…. I felt like the author took a really good story and then went back and changed it to add “lessons” for the younger audience this book is geared toward. There also seemed to be a message that social media is all bad. Are there pitfalls and dangers? Of course – but these teens are so happy to be without social media for months – really?? I also thought all of the characters were TOO good, which is far from reality.

Overall, I think that this book has a LOT of potential but I felt like it was missing something.. Or added a little too many lessons. However, I think this is a great book for the younger reader – who it is intended for. I also think it would be a really fun movie.

I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

In “The Epic Story of Every Living Thing” we follow our main character Harper who wants to know more about her past. She soon figures out that not everything is as it seems.

The story starts in an interesting way and the intrigue is very promising. She has 40 (!) Halfsiblings and wants to get to know her biological father, the donor.

I found the journey of the few siblings that are on their way to meet said donor really interesting to read. However and this is one thing that makes me a bit sad is that I didn’t like the story as much I wanted to.

One thing I didn’t like was the fact that the author tried to tackle way too many important topics in the book. Personally I think that the author should have focused on simply one problematic topic instead of wanting to cover them all in one book. It’s something I definitely did not like BUT that’s my personal opinion.

Overall, I think that this book has its potential but unfortunately, it didn’t meet the expectations I had. It was a wonderful story about people and their voyage of getting some answers about their life. I also particularly enjoyed the character growth of our MC and how she changed for the better.

This book had some many small, important message and details, it's almost hard to describe as a whole. I really enjoyed it!

The story is about Harper, who has survived the CoVID-19 pandemic quietly with her anxious mother, primarily by living her life loudly on social media despite experiencing major anxiety in real life. When Harper makes a connection on Instagram who looks just like her, she discovers an unknown half-brother from the sperm donor father that she knows about, but has never known. Her new half-brother, Dario, has been researching their father for a while, and drop the major news that Harper has 40+ additional half-brothers and half-sisters around the world. As she begins to ponder this rattling news, one of her half-siblings puts the pieces together and identifies their father, a middle-aged man living in Hawaii. Harper and three of her half-siblings fly to Hawaii over the summer to confront their father and connect with each other. In the process, they discover not only new family connections, but a love of scuba diving and a mysterious shipwreck that has the potential to cause great damage to the people and sea near them.

This is such an incredible book of self-discovery! I loved the evolution of Harper's character as she moves from constant connection and anxiety, to a changed identity as a sibling and daughter, to a person who stays present in each moment and doesn't feel compelled to communicate through posts. Though the premise has an exciting hook, this is definitely a character-driven novel, and each character really has a lot to offer. I love this one and will recommend it to my students!

Deb Caletti was such a staple for me in middle school and high school and I was so excited to see a new book release from her. She truly lines up with Colleen Hoover and Sarah Dessen for me with writing a beautiful story that includes real life situations and issues addressed. This story was lyrical and I can't recommend it enough for a young adult audience.

thank you #netgalley for an early read of #theepicstoryofeverylivingthing in exchange for an honest reivew

The plot of this novel revolves around a teenager named Harper who, through the power of social media, learns that she has over 40 half-siblings. Why? Because her father was a frequently chosen sperm donor. In an attempt to learn more about who she is and where she came from, Harper and a few of her siblings set out to Hawaii to find their biological father.

From the start of this book, it was very clear to me that the author had very specific lessons she wanted to teach her readers. There are several themes that are prevalent throughout the story such as social media addiction, protecting local wildlife, and getting vaccinated during a pandemic. Because this story was attempting to tackle so many issues, the way these lessons was delivered was often too heavy handed in my opinion. The over emphasis of how “bad” social media is and how “good” being without your phone is was a very clear sign to me that the author is much older than the intended audience. There were many times throughout the book that I felt like I was reading the type of book that older adults believe kids need to be reading in school.

That being said I didn’t necessarily disagree with what the author was trying to say. Some points, in particular, that I agree with are as follows:
- As technology develops, we have—as a population—grown desensitized to the outside world. We are exposed to so much information (and disinformation) on a daily basis that there’s no possible way we can truly internalize everything without destroying our own mental health.
- The obsession with obtaining and keeping large social media followings is likely very detrimental to our well being
- Government entities will often commit actions that are severely damaging to the surrounding population without listening to community input
- People should get vaccinated, especially during a pandemic

Another biproduct of trying to tackle too many things at once was the author needing to ignore certain truths throughout the book in order to advance the plot. There are frequent references to the fact that the characters are currently in a pandemic (Covid isn’t explicitly named, but it most certainly is Covid) but the rest of the plot occurs almost as if they aren’t. Masks and social distancing are minor mentions as if they are a thing of the past. It seemed as if the author was having the characters live in a world where one you are vaccinated, the virus no longer exists for you. I thought it was a strange choice considering how Covid-19 is still very much present in society, infecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated people everyday.

A large part of the plot also takes place in Hawaii, which as someone from Hawaii, I feel like I should speak on a few things. One of the sibling characters is well-off and has a vacation home in Hawaii. For a book that pushed several “political” agendas, I was disappointed that the colonization and gentrification of Hawaii (in which this character is actively participating in) was not addressed. Minor things that people not from Hawaii probably wont catch were: calling aloha shirts “Hawaiian shirts”, the audiobook mispronunciation of ukulele, and calling a shaka the “hang loose sign”. A random pet peeve of mine is how whenever authors use Hawaii as a plot device, they almost always randomly throw in humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa in there. I’m basically never satisfied with how audiobook narrators pronounce this. Someone please help them lol. These things didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book, but they were noticeable enough for me to mention.

All in all, this felt like a book that would be better enjoyed by adults than teenagers. I could imagine a lot of English teachers seeing this as an educational and impactful read for the younger generation; I’m just not sure if I would agree.

The Epic Story of Every Living Thing introduces Harper Proulx, who is pressured by her single mother to be an academic achiever who is always thinking about the future. She is addicted to Instagram and is constantly creating posts that are tweaked to perfection. Her boyfriend Ezra is so tired of being an extra in her Instagram life, that he breaks up with her. Harper has always wondered about her sperm donor dad and when a chance comment online connects her with four half-siblings, she steps out of her comfort zone and embarks with them on a journey to find their biological dad. Beau Zane is a deep-sea diver who lives in Hawaii and is obsessed with solving the mystery of a sunken shipwreck. At the beginning of each present-day chapter there are excerpts from 19th century letters, journals and newspapers about a seafaring expedition related to the shipwreck. Beau teaches the kids to dive and enlists their help with his project. As Harper puts down her phone and begins to connect with the real world, she is amazed at the beauty of everything living thing.

Interesting storyline. In search of finding your sperm donor dad leads to connecting with his forty one 'other' kids! I have not read a book with this theme so that was a first. As if that is not enough of a story path, add in the pandemic and the anxiety that is caused by staying healthy. I have read several recent stories where that is part of the theme and I am not sure I have thought about how well that theme has fit. As a result of these two items merging, you have one very interesting storyline!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Harper came a long way from beginning to end and I loved her seeing how the social media was impacting her anxiety. The friendships she developed were heartwarming and she had some pretty amazing adventures that really opened up her eyes to the beautiful world. Perhaps because I'm no longer a teenager, I found her whining and obsessive thoughts annoying, and her anxiety actually made me anxious so beware that trigger warning. Her mom also was the worst and I wanted to scream at her! Hazard of being a mom myself I think! I would definitely recommend this book for teens, or even adults wanting a fresh story with some important life lessons.

This book reminds us that every single person, place, and object in our world has a story. Stories matter and we need to give them our time and attention. We need to pay attention to our own stories, and especially, to the stories around us. Harper begins focused on crafting a story that isn’t reality. She lives through her phone screen and spends a lot of time disconnected from the people around her…including herself. That changes when she and a group of her half-siblings go on a journey together to find the man who is their biological father. Learning who she really is, and who she wants to be, is exactly what Harper needs to put down her phone and start listening and loving her life.

In each and every book, Deb Caletti manages to break me down to the most basic of levels AND builds me back up to become a person filled with a greater sense of female empowerment, better insight, and a more positive outlook towards humanity. With The Epic Story of Every Living Thing, this feels especially true. Some of it is because it is a pandemic novel, and Harper stirs up all those same emotions that we all felt creeping out of our homes after lockdown, confused about the rules of wearing a mask, wondering what is safe and what is not. Part of it is the fact that Harper has anxiety, and Ms. Caletti is exceptionally good at portraying what it feels like to live with anxiety. For me, what struck me hardest of all is the domineering nature of Harper's mother and the overbearing, highly regulated relationship they have. Harper's story stirred up so many emotions that I had to take reading breaks to ease my own anxiety and turmoil.

What makes Ms. Caletti a stellar author though is not just her ability to allow readers to share in her character's emotions but rather how she builds both her characters and her readers back up after dragging them down to the lowest of lows. As Harper learns to break the ties that bind, you simultaneously discover your own strengths. While Harper releases her fears, you relinquish yours. What once felt impossible now feels possible. It is a feat very few authors can accomplish, yet Ms. Caletti does it time and again. The Epic Story of Every Living Thing is simply the latest example of her greatness.

This book has gotten rave reviews, but it was a bit of a slog for me and it felt heavy-handed and didactic at times. I was disappointed.