The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits is a compelling story of sisterhood, music, identity and fame. As someone who was a teenager in the 2000s, I really loved the way the music scene was portrayed in this book, especially with how female musicians were treated and handled. I enjoyed the different timelines layered throughout and of course, I’m a sucker for multiple POVs. The story itself kept me very intrigued and it was so interesting to see Zoe and Cassie as teenagers and how they evolved as adults. There were a few things that I wasn’t a fan of, Cherry being the top of the list. She was incredibly selfish and self involved, even for a young girl. I really didn’t care for how she viewed her dreams of stardom as the most important thing, especially at the expense of her mom and aunt given all their history. Also, there were a few plot points that were incredibly interesting, but had no closure or explanation at the end and that was disappointing. However, I still really enjoyed the heart of the story and think fans of books like The Daydreams or Daisy Jones and the Six would enjoy it!
CW: fatphobia, death, sexual assault, drug use

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced reader’s copy!

I’m a longtime Jennifer Weiner reader and a big fan of books about sister dynamics so I was excited to receive a copy of this book from the publisher.
This is a book about two sisters, Cassie and Zoe who were once a famous music duo who parted ways after a tragedy and are now in their 40s. Cassie is a musical prodigy and seems to have some severe social anxiety. Zoe is the “pretty” sister with the more outgoing personality but not talented like her sister.
When Zoe’s daughter, Cherry, sets off to find fame in the music industry, she find her long lost aunt after Cassie goes viral.

What I liked:
🎸 I like books and movies that are about celebrity life, particularly in the music industry (Almost Famous, Beyond The Lights,etc)

🎸 I liked the way Weiner writes about women, especially mother/daughter and sister relationships.

What I didn’t like:
🎸 The beginning of the book was a little hard to get through as I didn’t care for the disdain that Cassie’s mother had for her, even as a little girl. I tried not to past judgment but it was heartbreaking to read.

🎸 I am over ugly/pretty sister books. I know this is a thing but it’s an overused trope in books. I’d love it if the pretty one was also the fat one, for a change.

Overall, this was a pretty good read with characters I enjoyed.

Oh my this book was GOOD! I already love books about disgraced or former rock stars and I love books about sisters. This book swept me up in the best way possible. Jennifer Weiner always tells an excellant story and this one was fabulous.

Zoe Grasberg wants nothing more than to be a star singer - and she sings anywhere and everywhere she can. But when her younger sister Cassie appears to be a child prodigy at the age of 3, Zoe becomes overshadowed. She can provide the normalcy and balance Cassie desperately needs, but cannot come close to competing with her musically.

They are snapped up by an agent, and the music industry machine takes over. Zoe thrives on this as she is pretty and loves clothes. However, Cassie is overweight and doubts herself, and just wants to blend into the background and write music. But when their band’s popularity explodes, the sisters aren’t ready for the love triangle that presents itself, and the feeling of self-doubts from each sister. It all builds into a fateful night with secrets kept and lies told which will rip apart any bond the sisters had.

Close to 20 years later, Zoe’s daughter Cherry is determined to make it in the music industry and enters a talent contest. She knew nothing of her aunt, and little about her mother’s band, as Zoe has firmly rooted herself in suburbia mom-hood and refuses to talk about it. Cherry is relentless in her quest for being a musician, and maybe healing a long-ago wound between the sisters in the process.

I enjoyed this one - it was fun remembering the songs and trends of the 2000’s (Pat Benatar all day long - yes please!), and I liked the characters’ growth. Out 4/8/25, so pick it up for a great read and relive some musical tunes of our past! Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this one; all opinions are my own.

I loved this book. My heart was torn out of my chest. I felt for Cassie, Cherry, Zoe and Russell. Such a touching story about two sisters, each dependent on the other, but in such different ways. One was beautiful, but not very talented. She wanted stardom so badly that she was willing to do just about anything. The other sister, unattractive, socially awkward and a gifted musical prodigy. She could play instruments, write songs, and oh, could she sing. Together, they were on their way to the big time.

But scheming and backstabbing broke up the band and tore them apart. Two decades pass and the sisters haven't spoken or seen each other. Until a daughter and niece, with her own ambitions uncovers their story, their hurts, and their secrets.

The story is told from several points of view and different time frames. It's not difficult to keep them identifiable and separate. The story grabbed me from the beginning and although there were some slowdowns in the story, I couldn't wait to find out more. I was tearing up at the end. This story definitely touched my emotions and I'll be thinking about it for a while.

I highly recommend this book.

Jennifer Weiner is an author that I always make a point to read when a new book comes out, as I am never disappointed. This book was no different. This was a truly nostalgic read that made me deeply care for the sisters that grew apart over the years after their wild success in their younger years. This was a heartfelt read,

I’m a huge fan of 2000 pop and I thought this was a great set up for a book. The relationship between the two sisters was so good and I thought it rang really true to a sister relationship. I liked the illusions to 2000s pop culture and I wanted to keep hanging out in the world of the book.

Be still my millennial heart! This took me back in time to my teenage years!
We begin with a dual timeline and the story unfolds. In the past, Zoe is pretty and is just talented enough to join a high school band, she begins dreaming of something greater. Her sister Cassie on the other hand, is different in her appearance but she possesses a musical talent that demands attention. Zoe manipulates Cassie's to depend on her, and convinces her to sing together in front of a potential music industry connection. They get discovered that very night, and thus begins the rise and the epic fall of the Griffin Sisters.
In the present timeline, Cherry is Zoe’s daughter and she feels as though something has always been missing from her life. With the possibility of being a musical prodigy, any chance she brings up to her mother about trying out , Zoe shuts down her aspirations at every turn. Now that she’s 18, Cherry is bound and determined to audition for the next big musical reality show. The only challenge is that she needs a mentor, and she think of her Aunt Cassie, who has completely withdrawn from the world and doesn’t want to be found. Can Cherry find her aunt in time for her audition? Can she fix the broken relationship between her aunt and her mother to reunite her family and she can uncover what happened in the past and let to their band ending and never wanting to see each-other again? I enjoyed this book I remember the early 2000’s and the toxic relationships we had with our bodies, One of the things that I loved about this book was that Cassie was a plus size woman. Jennifer Weiner gets it!!

The Griffin Sisters is a dual timeline story about 2 sisters and their band who make it big in the early 2000s. One has the talent, one has the looks. Scandal follows, the band is no more, and now we are in 2024. One of the sisters has a daughter who could make it far as a musician, if only her once famous mom would let her try.

This is the kind of writing that immediately consumes me and I forget I’m even reading a book. I’m there, living the story. The character’s emotions are my emotions. Five stars, easy.

You should read this if you like books about music, fame, or family drama. You should be warned that there is a lot of fatphobia against one of the characters (realistic to the early 2000s, especially with pop stars, sadly).

Many thanks to William Morrow for the ARC!

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner releases on April 8, 2025.

Here we have sisters, Cassie and Zoe Grossberg who became sisters in the spotlight in the early 2000s. Their band abruptly breaks up a year later, and now, two decades later, Cherry, who is Zoe's teenager daughter, is on a quest for the truth.

This book had SO much potential and the premise and plot are so compelling, I just couldn't get invested in any of the characters. Ever since Daisy Jones I am HERE for the band drama, but this doesn't even come close.
I thought this book was a bit all over the place, which made me not really invest in anyone? I don't hate a predictable ending for resolution sake, but this just felt like Weiner checked off every box she had to check and got out of dodge.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Weiner is an amazing storyteller and knows how to capture her audience and keep them hooked until the end of the story…and even beyond as the story lives with you. The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits is another great read adding to her growing list of other great reads. Despite the story delving into the music business, an area I have no familiarity with, she provides enough details to get you up to speed but more importantly is how she connects you with the characters. You find yourself dreading their mistakes, wishing you could give them better advice and sometimes just hug away their pain. Jennifer also has unique insight into female body image issues and no matter who we are, there is something we don’t like about ourselves. At the same time, she elevates those who may not fit the standard female image and shows their unique talents while still having to battle society.

The book is based on Cassie, a musical prodigy and her less talented sister, Zoe, who desires to be center stage and have a career as a pop star. We are taken on a journey of their music career and rise to fame in the early 2000s. As the story unfolds, we delve into the challenges that face these two sisters, along with their personal insecurities. Despite their career taking off, the band has a breakup after a major tragedy and Cassie and Zoe go their separate ways.

Cherry, Zoe’s daughter is another key character in the story and another musical prodigy like Cassie. Cherry is on a quest to find out what happened to cause the estrangement of the sisters and try to jump start her own music career.

There is so much in this book that I can see it appealing to a wide range of audiences. It delves into love, loss, forgiveness, regrets, secrets, family dynamics, and fame all wrapped up into one amazing story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

#TheGriffinSistersGreatestHits, #JenniferWeiner, #NetGalley

The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner is a family-centered story that moves through time in the lives of two sisters, and the teenaged daughter who brings them together.

Cassie Griffin doesn’t like being noticed. As a plus-sized girl, then teen, then woman in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when “heroine chic” and size double zero reigned, it’s understandable why she’d choose invisibility over cruelty. But when her sister—less than a year older than her, who has always helped her—begs her to perform in Battle of the Bands together, Cassie can’t deny her.
And then they’re discovered, and their lives change forever.

Cassie’s love for the music and Zoe’s love for the spotlight collide into a brilliant explosion through their band’s short career. When tragedy strikes, the band breaks up, and the sisters split— so thoroughly that Cassie disappears, not talking to her sister for twenty years.

It isn’t until Zoe’s daughter Cherry, on a quest to make it as a musician herself, decides to find her aunt. Cherry has somehow inherited Zoe’s drive and Cassie’s talent, which she employed to audition for a TV singing competition. A competition she’s much more likely to win if she can get her mom and aunt back together– a challenge she accepts. But can one eighteen year old break through twenty years of hurt, grudges, and–hardest of all– silence?

This engrossing novel moves through time, flashing forward and backward, from Zoe to Cassie to Cherry and even including Zoe and Cassie’s mom, Janice. This highlights where the characters have grown, and where they’ve stagnated.
The way the characters, especially Cassie and Cherry, think and feel about music shows their deep connection to their art, how they process the world through it. It makes the reader wish for a playlist of real Griffin Sisters songs to listen to while reading.

The toxic diet culture of the late 90s and early aughts is well described, as is the predatory nature of some in the music industry. These grittier elements are interwoven with the larger story to show the lasting impact those traumas have on the characters.

Scenes from the past are filled with a blend of nostalgia and scrutiny, while contemporary scenes juxtapose just how much has changed in twenty years. From the #MeToo movement to a shifting music industry, the world and the characters place within it is explored in a fresh, relatable way.

Thank you to the author, William Morrow publishing, and Net Galley for an E-ARC such that I could share my honest opinions.

The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits will be available April 8, 2025.

Happy reading!

The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits is a beautiful story about family and music. It goes back and forth between the start of the sisters’ band and present day, hinting at the tragedy that broke up the band while showing the current state of the sisters’ lives. Will they be able to reconcile the past and move forward towards a new relationship?

I loved this book! It took me a few chapters to get into, but once I read it, I didn’t want to put it down! I loved Cassie, and didn’t really like Zoe, Cherry, or any of the other characters; however, I was still drawn into the storyline and emotions.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sisters, spotlights, secrets.
‘The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits’ has it all. Sisters Zoe and Cassie are complete opposites. How far will the other go to make all their dreams come true? To rise to the top, and at what cost? All secrets have their way of coming out eventually right?

An exceptional book. Weiner knows how to get to the brunt of things.
I had Wilson Phillips’ Hold On sing on replay throughout the duration of my reading the book.
Although I loved the story I didn’t really care for any of the characters except for Cassie.
My heart broke for Cassie who had all the talent but was sidelined because of her looks and shape. Wiener wasn’t kind in her description of her either, except for her talent which I thought wasn’t necessary.
I despised Zoe. She lied, used, manipulated, and was a moocher. She only thought of herself, always. Even in her asking for absolutions it was all about her.
Cherry was just like her mother. It was all about her and her ambitions. She barged into her aunt’s life, then connived, contrived, and lied to force a reunion without any consideration for her aunt.
The ending was good but it didn’t change my feelings toward Zoe and Cherry.

4.5 stars. The story felt realistic in that sister relationships can be complicated and messy as we see here through sisters Zoe and Cassie. The story shows their bands rise and fall and what shattered not only the band, but their relationship. Told in two timelines with the addition of (present day) Zoe’s daughter Cherry, determined to be a star herself, seeks the truth for their break-up and navigates through their past choices. Cherry does find out having it all isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. The music pretty much takes off as its own character following everything as it unfolds (throughout the book). The story is slow at first, so hang in there as it does pick up. There are negative references to weight, but it gives the story credibility of that time in the early 2000’s when being skinny was thought to be everything, the goal. Weiner wrote an incredibly impressive tale that tied up perfectly in the end. Pub 4/8/25

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sisters Zoe and Cassie are polar opposites, Zoe is an extroverted beautiful girl and Cassie is larger, introverted to an extreme but is also a musical genius - she can play anything, write music and sing. Zoe wants to become famous and so she convinces Cassie to sing with her one night at a club and they get discovered and makes one extremely successful album. But the tragedy strikes the band and Cassie runs away to hide from the world. Years later, Zoe’s own daughter Cherry, has much of Cassie’s talent and wants to know her aunt and have become her mentor. Through Cherry the secret of the Griffin Sisters break up as well as the sister’s own secretive history is slowly revealed, but is the sisters’ relationship permanently broken?

I know I say this a lot, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about this one for about 25% of the novel, but them I really got into the story and the characters and ended up truly enjoying it. The dual timelines and the three women’s POVs allow the reader to slowly learn about the sisters, Cherry’s story (very much intertwined with Zoe’s) their dynamics and what actually occurred that sent them spiraling. I will read anything Jennifer Wiener writes, I love her stories, her characters and her writing style.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC to review

I was a big, big fan of Jennifer Weiner and her first few novels. Then she tried to write a mystery and it did not work in her favor. She switched back to her lighthearted women's lit and things were OK for a while. Unfortunately, I feel like she is losing her touch. I honestly have not forgiven her for a decision she made several books ago and it has colored my perceptions since. I think this will be my last attempt at her novels for a while. I feel like while she used to create endearing, plus-sized, super badass characters, it's become almost a cliche and a tired one. I don't get invested in these people anymore.

The book didn't do much for me. I was half-hearted reading it and struggled to stay interested.

Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for this ARC.

I had high hopes for this book but was somewhat disappointed. I didn’t really care too much about the main characters and didn’t like how their weight/looks defined the characters. I felt like it was really just pushed throughout the whole book unnecessarily.

I really enjoyed this book! I walked in pretty blind and went down a path that I didn't expect. There seems to be quite a few books published these days surrounding the music industry and new artists getting into the scene. Maybe too many. But let me tell you, don't dismiss this one!

What I loved:
-The complex relationships
-The absolute love for music
-The juxtaposition of two different women and their loves and desires in life
-The plot was so well done, kept me connected, kept moving
-I had compassion for both POV's and understood where they were coming from

What I didn't love:
-Really disliked the repeated points around Cassie and how frumpy and fat she was. Over and over. Enough already!
-It broke my heart-and honestly, it was okay! I love a good book that can make me feel deeply
-Again. Proving a point. Too much body shaming in written form surrounding Cassie's character. I got it. Do something more with it.

It would have been a solid 5 star read for me if all the Cassie body hate, negative body talk, negative body image wasn't in the books. Some of it is fine, even normal, but I almost feel like Weiner was too heavy handed in attempting to make a point of how ugly and frumpy and fat Cassie was. It really grated on me. Dropping to 4 stars because of that. It's gonna bug a lot of readers.

Thanks you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the gifted e-arc of this book.