💫To start, I’d like to extend my thanks to Jennifer E. Smith, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for the privilege of being able to read an advanced copy of Fun for the Whole Family. I’ll be sharing my review on Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble upon the book’s release.

💫Fun for the Whole Family is an emotionally rich story about forgiveness, family, and the unbreakable—if sometimes frayed—bonds between siblings. Jennifer E. Smith has crafted a narrative that is both tender and honest, exploring the complexities of love, regret, and the messy beauty of family dynamics. At its heart are the Endicott siblings: Gemma, Roddy, Connor, and Jude. Each is vividly drawn, with their own struggles, flaws, and redeeming qualities, making it impossible not to feel deeply connected to their journeys.

💫The story begins when Jude, the youngest and most enigmatic sibling, summons her brothers and sister to a remote cabin in North Dakota. What follows is a heartfelt, often humorous, and occasionally painful reckoning with their shared past and individual present. The forced proximity of the cabin—amplified by a snowstorm that traps them together—creates the perfect setting for raw, unfiltered conversations and long-buried secrets to surface. Smith’s standout ability to balance humor with emotional depth is one of the book’s greatest strengths. The banter between the siblings feels really authentic and reminiscent of the way real families tease, argue, and ultimately love one another, even when it’s complicated.

💫The use of multiple perspectives is another standout feature, and it allowed me, as a reader, to see the story through each sibling’s eyes. This narrative choice not only kept the pacing fresh but also deepened my understanding of their individual struggles and growth. As someone with siblings myself, I found the portrayal of their relationships incredibly relatable. Smith captures that unique blend of love, frustration, and loyalty that defines sibling bonds, especially as adults navigating their own lives while tethered to a shared history. What resonated most with me was the novel’s exploration of forgiveness and healing. The Endicotts’ journey is a poignant reminder that family is never perfect, but it’s often worth fighting for. By the end, I was left reflecting on my own relationships and the things that truly matter in the long run.

💫If you’re a fan of character-driven family sagas with a perfect blend of humor and heart, Fun for the Whole Family is a must-read. Fans of authors like Ann Patchett, Ann Napolitano, or Coco Mellors—or anyone who enjoys Jennifer E. Smith’s previous works—will find this book deeply satisfying.

Major Tropes & Themes:

💫siblings reuniting
💫 family secrets
💫 found family
💫 snowstorm/trapped together
💫 multiple perspectives
💫 flashbacks
💫 forgiveness, healing, and growth
💫 family bonds
💫 shared history vs. personal identity

Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars!

While this was not my typical genre, I still enjoyed the read. It has something for everyone in it. The story is told from 4 different POV’s (siblings) and it bounces from past, present and future. Even though the siblings grew up together, they end up taking 4 different walks of life. TWs include parental abandonment and loss as well as sibling estrangement and health issues. I do not want to say any spoilers so I will leave it at that. If you are looking for a book that makes you feel all the feels, this is a good one for you. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Gemma, Connor, and twins Roddy and Jude have parents that aren't interested. Mom, Frankie leaves to pursue and acting career and shows up once a year to take the kids on a road trip. Dad is working a lot so it is mostly up to Gemma, the oldest, to take care and raise the younger kids. Now at 43 she is still on the fence about wanting a baby. The siblings have been estranged when they get a text from Jude to meet up in a small town in North Dakota for a weekend. It's not convenient for any of them but they do it. A snow storm hits, they are stuck in a cabin with no heat and drama ensues.

I think the title and the cover don't do this story justice. It sounds like a fun, laugh out loud romp but there are some serious issues that come to light. Connor is an author with writer's block, Roddy is a star soccer player and Jude has been nominated for an academy award. Bring in Hugh and Rosie, Connor's kids, and Winston, Roddy's fiancé and secrets are revealed and feelings need to be sorted out. I loved all the characters and North Dakota sounded brutal and I loved every minute of the book. I loved how much they all cared for each other regardless of the fact that there has been a distance for a long time. There were some chapters looking back at one of the infamous road trips but I did like that a different font was used so easy to differentiate them from the present time line.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House - Ballantine for providing me with a digital copy.

A family drama steeped in sorrow and pain of their past. The estranged siblings convene at the behest of their sisters request and as they gather memories of their past come to the surface.

This was a good family drama unlayering the history of this family. It kept me connected to their stories and concern for their wellbeing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the gifted e-ARC of this book.

Fun for the Whole Family is a perfect family drama. I really enjoyed reading about the different siblings lives and all of the flashbacks throughout the book of what the summer's with their mom looked like. Then being able to see what is going on currently in their lives and how their childhood affected each of them. I loved that we got each of their POV's as well. It helped move the story along and made it easier to connect with each sibling. The ending was very emotional but so good! Overall a great read if you like family drama!
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC!

I didn't care for any of these characters. I do think the ending was well done, but the journey to get there let little to be desired.

i love books about siblings, and this was a good one. i thought these four and their complex relationships with each other felt so full and real! this book had so much going on, but my favorite parts were when it was just the four of them.

Fun For The Whole Family by Jennifer E Smith is an entertaining story of a family, unusual, but loving. They were adults now, with different lives, but once they had looked forward to summers when their mother, Frankie, would return and take them road trips. Mom had run away early in their lives and these were the only times they saw her. Gemma was the oldest and had become the mother. She also had the most ordinary life. Her husband was a sixth grade science teacher. They were trying to have a baby. It was not as simple as it seems. Then she got the text from Jude, imploring her to come to a small town in North Dakota. She didn’t want to go, but she did. As did her siblings,: Roddy and his almost husband, Winston; Connor a novelist with one book under his belt, and ex-wife, and two kids who came to North Dakota with him; and Jude, up for an Academy Award and the instigator of this meeting. It was in the middle of nowhere, but Jude had a reason. They needed to become a family again.

Interesting saga of a family who had grown apart. All had reasons, but they missed their childhood and their mother. She had died of cancer and no one except Jude had known she was ill. That hurt. The rest all had problems within their own families, but somehow coming together clarified them and helped them heal. Different personalities, well delineated, came together as on when it became necessary. It was an interesting journey, for them and for the reader. Well done slice-of-life with a purpose. An odd but entertaining place for it all to happen and these very ordinary but interesting people. Not exactly entertaining, but consuming.

I was invited to read Fun For The Whole Family by Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine #JenniferESmith #FunForTheWholeFamily

I love books about family dynamics and Fun for the Whole Family really did this genre right.

The book had alternating POV between the 4 siblings as well as little flashbacks into their past. This combined with short chapters made the book fly by. I honestly was so absorbed in it that I wasn’t even tempted to scroll while reading. I became incredibly attached to all 4 of the siblings and enjoyed all of their POV.

This book is just really heartwarming. Im not a big crier but this one made me cry 😭. I adored it and can’t wait to see what the author writes next!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for arc.

After loving The Unsinkable Great James a few years ago, I was excited to dive into Jennifer E. Smith's latest. This one is a family drama about the relationship between four siblings. Set in the present with short flashbacks between chapters, this is primarily a character driven story with each chapter from a different sibling's POV - though there's plot to keep it moving along, too. There's secrets and a bit of mystery that get revealed as the story unfolds, but mostly it's an emotional story about the messiness of family and how no one knows you better than your siblings. I could have used a bit more character development for each beyond their sibling relationship, but I did really enjoy this and definitely recommend.

I listened to the first half on audio and Lauren Graham did a great job narrating with the one exception that she really cannot do a British accent, but I'm sure it won't generally bother people as much as it bothered this former theatre major who took many a dialect class. I switched to physical because I was traveling, not because of her accent, to be clear. ;)

Thank you @ballantinebooks for the physical copy and @prhaudio for the ALC.

I adore Jennifer E. Smith & her writing style. This. was an interesting look into the complex relationships of these siblings. While I struggled diving in at the start, I’m glad I stuck with it and continued reading.

Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Family stories, especially about sibling relationships, are often a favorite of mine. This moved a little slowly for me, but I ultimately enjoyed it.

What I liked:
•the focus was on four adult siblings who were brought together by one, after years of estrangement.
•the individual stories of each sibling, their successes and challenges and the new dynamic as adults trying to find out if they can renew their relationships.
•it ended in a satisfying way
•my first grandchild was born while I read this book!

What I didn’t like:
•Generally I liked this book, but there were enough issues that it distracted me:
•it took two starts to get into this book ~ all the characters were introduced so quickly I needed to take notes to keep them all straight. After a few chapters it was fine.
•the flashbacks and forwards were often so choppy and disconnected it took me away from the depth of the story.
•I’m not sure I actually liked any of the characters?

Book 16 of 2025
Read April 1-10

A multiple POV family drama that explores the complicated relationships between siblings. A solid read.

This is the kind of book that breaks your heart and then gently stitches it back together. It leaves you with the feeling that comes from remembering something wonderful. You’ll close the book feeling reflective and just a little more open to love in all its messy forms! I loved the sibling dynamic so much.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House | Ballantine Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Jennifer E. Smith, author of another book I loved, The Unsinkable Greta James. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

The four Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude—were once inseparable, a bond created by the absence of their mother and their always working father. Their mom would return to them every summer, taking them on mad road trips around the country. Decades later, there's been an unimaginable break and the siblings haven't spoken in years, each now dealing with their own personal crises. Jude summons them all together for a weekend in North Dakota, and they can't refuse.

I was always anxious to return to reading this book and to get back to these siblings. Anyone who has siblings or raised siblings will understand these bonds and fractures, but they apply to all relationships with those we love and sometimes don't like. The book is told from the POV of each of the siblings, both in the present and looking back on the events of the past, from all over the country. It's about reconciling with the past and forgiving others and ourselves. It made me laugh and cry and want to call my brothers. Highly recommended!

A heartfelt story about sibling bonds, messy dynamics and the ups and downs of being a family. Beautiful writing, tender moments. Growing up is part of life, and even if you grow apart, you can always grow back together.

Multiple POV
Family drama
Second chances

Thank you Random House, Ballantine and Netgalley for this arc!

I was not expecting this book to hit me as hard as it did, but what a nice surprise! I found myself loving all four siblings and really enjoying seeing their different POVs in the present and past timelines. I related to all of them in different ways, but I think Connor was my favorite. The sibling banter was done so well and I loved every second of it. I cried several times and the few twists it had, I did not see coming. This was such a love letter to family trips and sibling relationships, especially dealing with childhood trauma. I would LOVE to see this as a limited series and also I definitely want to read this author’s other books!
CW: cancer, fire, miscarriage, death, animal death, homophobia

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the digital reader’s copy!

This is an absolutely wonderful story!
The secrets of the four Endicott kids are revealed slowly and shockingly throughout the past and present days.
They were once inseparable as children and then things changed as tragedy unfolded. Thus creating anger, chaos and sadness within these sibs.
Life was definitely not all love and light.

Now--- with the chance to see each other again and perhaps right the wrongs,
the question becomes, Will They meet? Will things be shared? Will love and family come back together?
It is emotional, happy, sad and definitely brought me back to my own young days.
I know anyone who opens this story will truly enjoy the Endicotts and their journey.

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Random house Ballantine for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

a wonderful family drama. I loved the siblings and how they interacted. This was a great drama with well written characters

When I started this book, I thought, cool, these characters seems real and relatable in different ways, and I'm looking forward to the reunion of the siblings and the secrets that are being kept.

And then when I ended the book I went, how did I end up caring about these characters so much? How did so much happen emotionally in such a short amount of time? And finally, dangit, I'm crying.

Four siblings haven't spoken in 3 years, and are all harboring some resentment toward each other. Jude, the movie-star sibling, has just been nominated for an Oscar, and texts her siblings out of the blue to get together for a weekend. Turns out, all the other siblings are at a crux in their lives too, and despite lingering harsh feelings, they all decide to go on Jude's last-minute trip to North Dakota. The story alternates between siblings perspectives as well as present-day and flashbacks. I thought that might get overwhelming, but the flashbacks were always very short, which kept it flowing well.

It's a very character-driven novel, and I was impressed at how real everyone felt. These people were selfish and somewhat poor communicators, but not in a contrived way. And not in such a way that you can't also root for them. I really enjoyed this story, and its emotional impact.

In conclusion, loved. It made me get teary, so, it had my heart!

Thanks to Ballantine and Netgalley for the e-ARC!