Fun For the Whole Family is a beautifully written, emotionally resonant story that captures the joys, tensions, and complexities of modern family life with warmth, wit, and wisdom. From the very first page, I was completely drawn in by Smith’s signature charm and knack for creating characters that feel achingly real.

The novel strikes the perfect balance between humor and heart, offering laugh-out-loud moments alongside deeply moving reflections on love, legacy, and the ties that bind us. Each member of the family is rendered with such nuance that you can’t help but root for them — even when they’re messy or misguided. The dialogue sparkles, the pacing is pitch-perfect, and the themes will stick with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

Whether you’re a longtime fan of Jennifer E. Smith or new to her work, this book is not to be missed. Fun For the Whole Family is exactly that — a richly layered, thoroughly enjoyable novel that speaks to readers of all ages. A total delight from start to finish!

I loved this heartwarming family story. Smith explores the bonds between siblings and the ups-and-downs of those perennial relationships. I loved the characters and I felt like I knew them. Their inner thoughts and dialogue was so realistic and the love they felt for each other was palpable. The story had its predictable moments but there were turns I didn’t expect. The story had a few holes—my book club wanted more information about the parents in particular. The dad was barely mentioned, their mother was a mystery and the dynamics of their parents’ relationship was not explored at all—I suspect Smith did this on purpose to emphasize the importance of the sibling bond. It didn’t keep me from enjoying this funny and moving story. It would make a fantastic movie!

I'm fairly new to my family drama era, but I had a feeling this would be one that worked for me. I'm happy to say, I was right. This follows four adult siblings, Gemma, Connor, Roddy and Jude, and their tumultuous relationship with each other and their complicated childhood. Jude calls them altogether for a weekend away after three years of not talking, forcing them to reconnect and face their past mistakes. Sometimes, four POVs can seem like to many, but these siblings were all so distinctive and unique. I definitely enjoyed reading from the elder two's perspective the most, but all brought something to the table, and all have their own unique struggles, with marriage, careers, parenthood, and when it comes to Jude, a few secrets she plans on confessing. I have to say that I knew at least one of them from pretty early on, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment. If anything, it made the emotional moments hit even harder. I think this is the kind of book that will work for everyone, with all of its heart, humor and tragedy, and I hope to get it for our library. I was really pleasantly surprised by my whole journey with it.

When their mother left to pursue stardom, their family was altered forever. Gemma was pushed into a parental role with her three younger siblings and the others were desperate to gain their elusive mom's attention. Each summer, they would spend time on a road trip with her as she showed them the country. In her absence, the children developed a type of closeness that no one thought would ever break. However, as adults, something has shattered their bonds and isolated them from each other. When the superstar, Jude, reaches out, the siblings must determine whether they are willing to risk love again and reunite in North Dakota. I was hooked right away and eagerly read to see what was going to happen with this family. Five stars!

I loved Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith. This was a five star read for me and will probably be one of my favorite books of 2025. I really enjoy reading about large families and the four main characters in this book were all relatable. This book had me engaged from beginning to end. 100% recommend!

I really enjoyed Jennifer Smith's previous book, The Unsinkable Greta James, and was really excited to receive an advanced copy of this one -- I liked this one even more!

I always love a book with big families and messy dynamics, and this had both. I loved each of the characters and their flaws, and was really rooting for Gemma and Jude especially. I loved Connor's relationship with his kids, as he navigates his new life post-divorce,

This book was very fast paced as it moved between narrators and time periods -- made it very accessible and impossible to put down.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys family sagas and road trip/travel books -- this one was both sweet and sincere, and will make you smile and break your heart. I can't wait to read what Jennifer Smith writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I was expecting Fun for the Whole Family to be a laugh out loud comedy but it’s actually a really heartwarming story about a family of four siblings. They all have unique stories and secrets. There are a few funny moments but mostly it’s the siblings working through past family drama that split them apart years ago. This is beautifully written and the way everything unfolds is executed so well. I had a very hard time putting this down until the end.

Big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to read and review!

Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith is a poignant and heartfelt novel that explores the complexities of sibling relationships, personal ambitions, and the weight of family secrets.

Jennifer E. Smith masterfully crafts a story centered around the four Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude—who were once inseparable, bound together by the absence of their enigmatic mother. Their childhood summers were spent on sprawling road trips across the country, but as adults, they’ve drifted apart. When Jude, now a famous actress, unexpectedly summons them to a small town in North Dakota, they are forced to confront their past and the secrets that have shaped their lives.

Smith’s storytelling shines through her ability to balance multiple perspectives, seamlessly weaving between past and present. Each sibling carries their own emotional baggage: Gemma, who sacrificed her own dreams to care for the others, now questions whether she wants to be a mother herself; Connor, a celebrated novelist, struggles with writer’s block and the fallout of his divorce; Roddy, a professional soccer player nearing retirement, faces a difficult choice between his career and his future husband; and Jude, seemingly the most put-together, harbors three life-altering secrets.

The novel is a beautifully written exploration of forgiveness, reconciliation, and the enduring power of family bonds. Smith’s prose is both intimate and expansive, taking readers on a journey through memories, regrets, and second chances. The road trip flashbacks add depth to the narrative, offering insight into the siblings’ shared history and the emotional scars left by their mother’s fleeting presence. With its rich character development and emotional depth, Fun for the Whole Family is a must-read for fans of literary fiction and family dramas.

A family that’s so relatable I just wanted to hug them and I was sad to say good bye. Emotional and I was invested.

⭐⭐⭐✰✰ (3.5 stars)

When I picked up Fun for the Whole Family, I expected a breezy, heartwarming story about quirky siblings reuniting for some chaotic-but-lovable family drama. I blame the cover—it practically screams “rom-com road trip.” What I got instead was a slow-burning, emotionally tangled reunion where nearly everyone is famous, everyone is frustrated, and North Dakota is the punchline a few too many times (especially annoying if, like me, you have family ties there).

The Endicotts are a wildly improbable bunch: a novelist, a pro soccer player, and a movie star, all from the same family. Jude, the actress, calls her siblings together in a remote North Dakota town for a mysterious weekend. It’s the first time they’ve all been in one place in years, and the result is more group therapy than heartwarming reunion.

Smith is clearly leaning into character-driven storytelling here. The emotional layers are there, and the writing is thoughtful. But a few things missed the mark for me: the audiobook narrator felt mismatched, and the drama dragged at times. The subplot involving a same-sex relationship also took up more space than I personally cared for. Add in a few too many Big Secrets™ and some eye-roll-worthy fame levels, and it felt more scripted than sincere.

Still, if you’re in the mood for a story about messy families, complicated histories, and emotional reckonings, this one may be worth the trip. Just don’t expect it to be... fun.

** Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a comp of this title. All opinions are my own.

Yes! This is how you write a family drama! Four perfectly imperfect siblings who have been estranged for three years are reunited suddenly and end up being snowed in and forced to deal with a lot of childhood baggage that they’ve all been carrying. This was awesome. You alternately love and are annoyed by every single one of these siblings. You want to hug them and shake them at the same time!

This was serious and touched on a lot of deep topics but it has a lot of light moments interspersed so it never felt too dark.

This author has crafted complicated characters and a page-turning plot and I was completely absorbed from the first to the last. I highly recommend this.

Thank you @ballantinebooks and @jenniferesmith for my gifted book. Fun for the whole family is out now!

I love a good family drama and estranged siblings called to reunite in North Dakota had me interested from the jump! 4 adult siblings were once very close, but haven’t spoken in years. Gemma is the oldest, Connor is a famous author, Roddy is a professional soccer player, and Jude grew up to be a famous actress. Their mother left them when they were just young kids leaving Gemma to care for them, but she would come back each summer and take them on a road trip to a new state on each trip.

Several years later, the other siblings receive a text from Jude asking them to come on a trip to a small town in North Dakota. She gives them no other information, but knows they will come when she calls. Each of them is dealing with major issues in their personal life, but they still drop everything to see what their sister needs. Connor is dealing with the divorce that his children’s needs. He’s also trying to follow up his hit book with a second novel. Roddy has an aging soccer player who’s getting married, but is still trying to get one more year of playing. And Gemma took care of everyone for many years but now is trying to be a mother herself. But why North Dakota?

I loved all the family secrets and the inside jokes they have once they reunite with Jude. I think this book definitely benefits with different points of view. I loved the way the ending wrapped up.

I was all set to read this on my kindle, but then I heard @laurengraham is the narrator and made a pivot to the audiobook. She was wonderful!!

4.5 stars

I adored Jennifer E. Smith’s young adult books Field Notes on Love and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, so I snatched up her adult novel, The Unsinkable Greta James, a few years back. It did not disappoint (except that of course since it’s for adults, the author then, like most others switching from YA to adult fiction, felt free/compelled? to add in strong profanity). So when I saw there was a new one coming out, I snagged it too.

Fun for the Whole Family chronicles the relationships among four siblings, the Endicotts. Gemma, the oldest, essentially served as a second mother to the younger ones and at 43 is still deciding if she actually wants to have a baby of her own with her husband of 10 years. Connor is a divorced dad of two who wrote an award-winning, bestselling novel and is now struggling to figure out what to write next. Twins Jude and Roddy are both accomplished; Jude is a famous actress who’s just been nominated for an Oscar, and Roddy is a soccer phenom who is looking at the end of his career, thanks to age and injuries. But he has one last chance to be on a team for another year; it’s just causing a rift between him and his soon-to-be husband.

The siblings’ mom left them early on to pursue her own acting dreams, returning to spend time with them only once a year for a big road trip. They checked off a lot of states and planned to see them all. They were always close and supported each other. But three years ago, a fight led to them not connecting, and Jude has decided it’s time to gather again.

Despite the Oscars looming, Jude sets up a weekend for them all in North Dakota, and none of them can turn down her request. It’s awkward, and old hurts still linger, but at the same time, they fall back into being the close siblings they always were. It all starts to go pretty well, until Jude begins to reveal three big secrets.

I’ve found in the previous Smith books that she is really skilled at writing about families. Greta James is thoughtful and real, focusing on grief, loss, and healing; Field Notes is a teen romance, but the main characters’ families are charmingly loving, supportive and delightful. First Sight is a romance as well, but is just as much a story about a young woman making a fresh start with her father.

Fun for the Whole Family really is all about family. These siblings have unusual lives as adults, with three of them being famous and extraordinarily accomplished (on the surface). They also had a bit of a tough upbringing with an absent, erratic mother and a father often physically absent because of his work. They leaned on each other and especially Gemma. Now, they have to come to terms with loss and grief, with hurt, and find ways to forgive and heal. It’s another lovely exploration of familial love from a strong writer.

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. I've been exploring this kind of family drama story for a while now and I thought this would be a good way to continue that journey, but I didn't connect with it. I can see why so many people love it, though, it's well written, the characters have distinct personalities, and it has a good setting with the road trip memories and stuff, so I do think it's a book worth checking out. It just wasn't for me.

This was cute! Not a very memorable read for me overall. I wanted a little more from it, but would try another book by this author another time I think!

What a wonderful novel about love, loss, and everything it takes to be a family. I loved all the characters and their unique voices and stories and how they intertwined during the whole novel. They were all fun to read about and I loved how they all grew over the course of that weekend in North Dakota.

This novel was so heartwarming, funny, sad, & complicated all at the same time which made it such a fun time. Really, really enjoyed this one!

The Endicott children didn’t have the best childhood. An absentee mother, a tragic accident, and a younger sibling that lost her own childhood while being a stand-in parent. Despite these challenges three of them become successful celebrities. Jude the Hollywood star; Jude’s twin Roddy the successful athlete; Connor a National Book Award winner. Gemma, who leads a quite life struggles with the notion of having her own children, even though the man she married is would be a wonderful perfect father and desperately wants them.

When the siblings realize Connor’s book is based on their family’s tragedy that will now be world news, a fight turns into estrangement, and three years pass before Jude calls for a reunion. In an isolated North Dakota cabin, the siblings are trapped in a snowstorm and forced to work out their differences.

This book is an interesting take on family dynamics and how forgiveness comes about despite years of neglect.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group—Ballantine and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

The four Endicott siblings had a tight bond growing up and surviving the crazy summer road trips their whimsical and unpredictable mom took them on. When a near tragedy ended these trips the siblings began to grow apart. Over time secrets and oversharing both have created a rift they are unsure they can get over. Until, Jude texts her siblings asking for them to meet her in North Dakota this weekend. Each sibling wrestles with whether or not to go, why she is asking, why North Dakota, and all eventually know they will inevitably say, “Yes” in the end. As each sibling arrives and learns about their weekend plans, they will have to face each other and the secrets they’ve kept these many years.

This was one of those books that I just connected with, and I’m not sure if I can fully flesh out why. It was a very character driven story, with real issues of siblings who’d grown apart from life and circumstances, trying to lay it all out there and connect once again. It was full of family connection, love, and fun, but also honesty, real issues, and struggles. One of the saddest parts was a small recap of many times through the years when each of the siblings had a moment where their instinct was to text/call/connect to one of the other siblings and then they didn’t. It reminded me how important it is to connect to friends and family when we get those little reminders of them!

This book was published earlier this year, so definitely go check it out!
Thank you to @netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for my review.
#NetGalley #FunForTheWholeFamily

Overall, I enjoyed my time reading this book! I love a messy family story and this one definitely delivered on that front. I didn't connect with any of the characters as much as I wanted to and I don't think this story will particularly stick with me, but it was a good read if you're looking for complicated sibling dynamics.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy!*

I initially thought that this book had the potential to be sappy but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it! Four adult siblings come together in some rural town in North Dakota after being estranged for several years, at the request of one of the younger siblings, Jude who is now a famous actress. In fact three of the four siblings are famous in their chosen careers and all of them are quite successful in spite of their chaotic upbringing. They were abandoned by their mother except for her yearly summer road trips with the goal to visit all fifty states. As the siblings become stranded in a secluded cabin in a snowstorm with no electricity or phone service, they alternate between remembering the trips with their mother, getting to know one another again and sharing secrets and disagreements. A couple of significant others, some new friends and the young children of one of the brothers add interest and complications as the four main characters try to find what is important to each of them.
I found this story to be fast paced but very engaging. The characters were well developed and although they all had annoying quirks, they were mostly likable to me. As some secrets unfolded and they each faced major life events, they discovered that no one knew and understood them like each other. The story has some tragedy but is overall heartwarming and definitely entertaining. Very well written!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.