In this family saga, we flash between current day and childhood for 4 siblings. After becoming estranged as adults, they meet up in North Dakota at the mysterious request of the youngest sister..

I was looking forward to this one, but it ended up being too many POVs and too predictable. By 25% I had guessed the sad ending and didn’t feel like putting myself through that after other reviews confirmed my suspicions, so I DNF’d.

Many thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining, character driven story. It dragged a bit in the middle, but was really well written. I do wish it had a cover and title that would better suit the story.

I loved Jennifer Smith's first book, so I was beyond thrilled when I was approved for this title. I really enjoyed this book as well. It didn't pack as strong of an emotional punch ending, but I was invested in the characters and their stories. A solid 4-star read!

Four siblings haven’t seen each other in years. They had many reasons for the break, but when Jude summons them all to North Dakota for a weekend, the other three can’t help but say yes. As kids their mom would show up in the summer, whisk them away to visit different states, and then disappear until the next time. Now all four siblings are struggling in their own way, and the weekend away will help? Make it worse? Who knows with the Endicott Family.

Oh man…I true look at family, both siblings and parental relationships. I enjoyed each of the four siblings, and reading through each perspective, though I certainly wanted to shake some sense into each of them at times! I can only imagine one f my siblings bringing us to the middle of nowhere in North Dakota and getting us snowed in without power. I might lose my mind, but I truly loved how the siblings got to the point of being able to open up to each other and be honest about their past, present, and hopes for the future. This was such a heartfelt story and I really liked it!

Thank you to @randomhouse for my gifted copy of this book!

A captivating family saga that had me eagerly turning pages. Four siblings with mostly absent parents raise themselves and each other are reunited after a 3-year break. The dynamic between the siblings is interesting and feels real. They have a lot of the past to rehash and, more importantly, future plans to make. I loved how, despite the differences that had come between them, they found the real love that held them together.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC to read and review.

4 - I really enjoyed The Unsinkable Greta James, so I was super excited to get an early copy of this author's newest release!! For a contemporary fiction novel, this was a really beautiful story about forgiveness, siblings/family, and the power of love.

Fun for the Whole Family follows the Endicott siblings, who are brought back together for a family reunion. Each sibling over the years has gone on completely different life paths and they have been estranged since the death of their father a few years ago. Each sibling has a very different personality, career, and idea of success and family. When they are forced to be with each other again for a reunion at a cabin, they are forced to confront their secrets and deep rooted issues with each other.

This was such an emotional book to read and I found myself tearing up constantly throughout. Anyone who has a family with different dynamics knows how difficult it can be for every person to be happy and feel loved and appreciated by each other. This really was a book focused on the power of forgiveness and working through many realistic family dynamics and issues to come back together. It really was beautiful to see these siblings work through their emotions, issues, and grief and lean on each other again. Overall a very heartfelt book.

Thanks to Random House and Ballantine Books for the free book!!

I always enjoy Jennifer E Smith’s books! Fun for the Whole Family didn’t have many fun moments and jumped back and forth through time too much for my liking, but I was nonetheless caught up in all the feels by the end!

Thank you to @RandomHouse and #NetGalley for the DRC of #FunfortheWholeFamily. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I love a book about siblings and sibling dynamics. Throw in annual family road trips and you've got near perfection in my opinion.

This is the story of the Endicott siblings - Gemma, Connor and twins Roddy & Jude. As children, their mother left them to follow her dream to become an actress. But she returned every summer for a family road trip with the goal of visiting all 50 states. Those trips stopped abruptly after an incident that scarred Jude. Now adults, the siblings are scattered around the country, but they haven't spoken in more than 3 years. When Jude asks everyone to gather in North Dakota, you know there's a lot to unpack (pun intended).

Told by all 4 siblings in alternating time periods, you learn about their childhood and their current lives. The characters feel authentic and relatable even though 3 are "extraordinary" - Jude is an Oscar nominated actress, Roddy is a professional soccer player and Connor is a national book award winning author. While it was pretty easy to guess the secrets that Jude gathered her siblings to confess, I really enjoyed this story and read most of it in one day. Definitely recommend.

A dysfunctional family that's full of love. Family road trips that build happy memories and also disasters. Siblings who love each other deeply but haven't spoken in three years. This book has it all for anyone who loves a family drama that is heartfelt and hopeful.

Thank you to @netgalley and @RandomHousePub for this ARC. While growing up, their mom Frankie would take them on a week long roadtrip to a different state each summer...That is until the fire. Now the 4 kids haven't spoken to each other in 3 years until Jude sends them each a message to meet her in North Dakota that weekend. She has been keeping a couple of secrets from them and it is time to tell the truth. This is a sweet story of family, sibling love and forgiveness. It is true that you live your daily life with small reminders of your family but you just don't take the time to reach out. Do you truly know what is going on with your siblings? You don't know until you ask. #FunForTheWholeFamily #JenniferESmith #RandomHouseBallatine #April2025

Family is hard...and great, and this book really gets both realities across in a very visceral way. The Endicotts certainly seem like a fictional family in their extraordinariness--an actress, an author, a professional soccer player, ...and Gemma. As kids, following their parents' separation, their mom would show up every summer and whisk them away on a roadtrip. Her bohemian attitude and semi-abandonment had a permanent impact on the kids' psyches. Gemma stepped in as the substitute mom, and that also had a permanent impact on their relationship. Now as adults, they are all trying to deal with the fall out in their own partnerships as well as in their interactions with each other. Drawn together for an emotional roadtrip after not speaking for three years, they all have to work through their past and present to set up a positive path for the future. There were many poignant moments, and the combination of sibling rivalry and love were easy to identify with. I was sucked in from start to finish.

As an only child I have a little bit of a fascination about the different relationships and dynamics that go on between big families and siblings. Fun for the Whole Family showed me a glimpse of what it's like to grow up with four siblings who have gone down different paths as time goes on. There is two different timelines, the past where all four siblings are younger and fully in each others lives and the future where after a big blow up fight they haven't spoken to each other in years. Until the siblings get a text from the baby in the group, Jude asking them to meet her in North Dakota and she has a few secrets she's been hiding.

I read Greta James and loved Smith's work and the same goes for this book. I enjoyed how different chapters focused on each of the siblings, their successes and also the ugly/dark parts of their personality. It was heart warming and really touched on what's important in life.

I absolutely loved this book. The Endicott siblings are such complex, relatable, and authentic characters, and I couldn't put this book down. It isn't easy to switch between points of view and still make each character stand out with a unique voice, but Smith manages this excellently. The suspense throughout the story, although it felt melodramatic at times, was ultimately a good addition that kept me glued to the page. The ending was so full of hope and love, despite its heaviness. Highly recommend this read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy to honestly review.

"Fun for the Whole Family" by Jennifer E. Smith is a poignant and beautifully written exploration of sibling relationships, shared history, and the power of forgiveness. The Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude—were once inseparable, bound together by their absent mother’s whirlwind summer road trips. But decades later, they’ve drifted apart—until Jude, now a famous actress, unexpectedly summons them to North Dakota. Each sibling is at a crossroads, struggling with personal and professional dilemmas, and as the weekend unfolds, long-buried tensions and family secrets come to light.

Smith skillfully alternates between past and present, adding depth to the characters’ relationships and highlighting the lasting impact of their unconventional childhood. The novel has been praised for its emotional authenticity, sharp character development, and heartfelt exploration of family dynamics. While some readers felt that the multiple perspectives occasionally blurred individual voices, the story’s themes of reconciliation, identity, and resilience resonate strongly.

A touching and immersive read, **"Fun for the Whole Family"** captures the complexities of familial love and the enduring bonds that shape our lives.

“There’s only people who try and people who don’t. And I promise you the first one is better.”

I sorta loved this book in spite of itself.

For something I'm giving 4 stars, this seems like I'm damning with faint praise, but hear me out. There is absolutely nothing original in this book. If you've ever read a book about a group of estranged siblings coming together and hashing out the old fights, you've read this book. "The Royal Tennenbaums" is funnier. "The Book of Joe" does a better job of the "writer writes about real people and comes home" trope. "This Is Where I Leave You" is a funnier and sweeter take on the family reunion. (Not that I'm comparing, mind...even if I cite two Jonathan Tropper novels - again...I LIKED THIS!) I saw absolutely every plot point coming from miles away - there were no shocks or suprises here. Moreover, the "magnificent" nature of the siblings seriously strained credulity - I have read/watched things where one sibling is famous, but it is ridiculous to think that in a family of 4, one would be an Oscar nominated actress, one a successful pro athlete and one a National Book Award winner. That just doesn't happen in real life. The real "lesson" of the book, exemplared in that statement by Connor towards the end, is that trying is important. And better. And that isn't particularly an original statement either.

And yet.

And yet I found myself propelled along. The characters are all loveable in their own ways, which was enough to propel me through the story all the way to its inevitable (and telegraphed) ending. There's nothing original here...but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Think of it like watching a season of an old comedy or drama that you still love - it makes you feel things, even if you already know what's coming. Do I still get teary when, on "The Office," Pam asks the interviewer "What was the question?" with the look of joy on her face - even though I've seen it a billion times? Absolutely. Same deal here. You want this family to exist in the real world. You root for them. And that's a quality of the prose and the writing of the characters. Even knowing early on how this book would end...I still got teary.

There's a skill in writing a book like that. And it is definitely on display here. So I sorta loved it...in spite of it being what it was. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for a chance to read an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own and are uncompensated. Fun for the Whole Family is out April 8th and you can preorder it in all the usual places!

At first glance the cover and title of this book appears to be a light-hearted family story - but, in reality, it's a deep, emotional, and character driven novel with only a touch of humor.

The Endicott siblings - Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude - were once inseparable, but years of distance and personal struggles have pulled them apart. When Jude, now a famous actress, suddenly invites them to a small town in North Dakota, they're forced to confront their past and the secrets she's been keeping.

Each sibling is at a crossroads - Gemma is unsure about motherhood, Connor is struggling after his divorce, and Roddy risks his relationship for one last soccer season. Over the course of one intense weekend, long buried family tensions surface, and their relationships are tested in ways they never expected.

This novel is beautifully written and full of raw emotion, capturing the messy, complicated bonds of family. While it's heavier than it first appears, it's a powerful and heartfelt read that will bring you to tears.

Story of four siblings who grew up traveling the country and marking off the states they went through on a giant map. Years later as adults they are mostly estranged from each other until a get together reunites them. Each sibling is successful in their own way and with multiple time jumps we learn about each including their successes, losses, secrets and family drama

Despite the premise the book fell flat for me. The multiple time jumps made it confusing at times and I never connected to or got emotionally involved with any of the characters.. I did not find a lot of character growth or overall story development.

Thanks for the ARC -opinions are my own

"Fun For The Whole Family" is a family-focused tale with themes of love, forgiveness, empathy, and how we cope when we find ourselves at a crossroads. The characterization of the siblings and their family dynamic feels real and grounded in reality and is the novel's greatest strength, in my opinion. As an eldest sibling, I quite related to the dynamic between siblings.

This book has a timeline that jumps back and forth. Sometimes, I find this structure frustrating but here, I found it serving the story quite well--propelling us through the weekend trip to North Dakota and ultimately, the reveal of Jude's three "secrets." I think it made the story more engaging than a typical chronological structure.

What holds this book back from five stars for me is two fold.

-Three out of the four siblings being "extraordinary Endicotts" (an Oscar-nominated actress, a professional athlete, and an award-winning author) is both improbable and at odds with the relatability of the characters. I kept thinking "there's no way this family could exist," which disrupted my reading experience.
- Unfortunately, the plot was predictable at points. About 10-20 pages before a plot development, I would have a moment of clarity of "Oh, that's what is coming next."

All in all, I really enjoyed this novel. I think it would make a fantastic television series, where there is ample time to dive into the family dynamic.

I am grateful for the free ARC ebook copy that was provided to me by NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballatine Books. All opinions are my own.

This title releases on April 8, 2025.

Let me start by saying I LOVED this book! It was a true emotional rollercoaster. That being said “Fun for the Whole Family” by Jennifer E. Smith may be a bit of a misleading title. Yes the whole family has fun on their yearly roadtrips across the USA with their mercurial mom, Frankie, but deep down this family has problems like every other. Plus life recently hasn’t been so fun for the 4 grown-up Endicott siblings. After 3 years of not seeing each other and barely keeping tabs on each other, the siblings meet up in North Dakota at the request of youngest sibling, Jude. Jude has some secrets she must share that will either tear her family apart more or bring them back together.

I sobbed last night when I finished this book. The book flashes from the siblings in the present day to past road trips with their mom. We learn each siblings perspective on their childhood and how it affects them today. I really enjoyed this format. I was so invested in each character after their respective first chapters. If you love a family drama, I truly think you will love this book. I can’t wait to recommend it to friends and patrons.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine books for this eARC!

Family drama tied together with a road trip toward closure. Compelling and hopeful blended with uncertainty, but bounded together with answers. Involves rethinking many previous decisions, which is realistic to all readers. Plus, it makes readers consider their own list of states traveled...