This novel follows sisters Cassie and Zoe Grossberg, who were born a year apart, but who couldn't be more different. They became famous and changed their name to Griffin. The story follows them and their bandmates in the early 2000s as well as a character named Cherry whose timeline takes place in 2024.

I thought the book dragged until I got about 60% into it, and then I flew through it, because that's when it got interesting. Weiner's books are hit or miss for me.

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits is a heartfelt symphony of sisterhood, secrets, and the price of chasing stardom. The story follows Zoe and Cassie, two sisters whose bond propels them into rock star fame — and ultimately tears them apart. Told through three points of view and shifting timelines, the narrative takes a little time to find its groove, but once it does, the chapter switches become seamless, weaving past and present into a rich melody of memories, regrets, and revelations.

At its core, this is a story about sisterhood — the kind forged in shared dreams and tested by ambition, heartbreak, and long-buried truths. As the layers peel back, we uncover what shattered their connection and the band itself, while Zoe’s daughter Cherry navigates the echoes of those choices in the present day. The music is more than a backdrop; it pulses through the story, shaping the characters and echoing their emotional journeys.

I did find the repeated focus on Cassie’s size and lack of beauty a bit heavy-handed, though I understand the significance of these themes within the era and the music industry’s often unforgiving standards. Still, the emotional beats hit hard, and the characters reveal themselves like verses in a ballad — raw, flawed, and real.

Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid will feel right at home here. The story carries a similar rhythm to Daisy Jones & The Six, exploring fame’s high notes and devastating silences. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one adapted for the screen — the drama, the music, and the unraveling of sisterly bonds would make for perfect viewing.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @WilliamMorrowBooks for the advanced reading copy.

When Jennifer Weiner announced the plot for her latest novel, The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. Weiner is well known in publishing for her exploration of the complicated female relationships we all experience, especially as mothers, daughters, and sisters, and this book examines all that and more against the backdrop of the music industry in the early 2000s.

From the book:
“People back then—and probably, people right now—thought that they owned their female stars, that their fandom gave them a say in what they wore, how they looked, who they loved.”

Growing up in the 1980s and 90s, I was drawn to the female powerhouses in the music industry, from The Bangles, The Go-Gos, to Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Pink, and later on, the fun and upbeat tunes of both Jessica and Ashlee Simpson. You’ll catch inferences to all these artists and more, as well as older bands such as Fleetwood Mac and The Mamas and the Papas, in this novel.

Zoe and Cassie Griffin don’t just head out on the road on their own, they are joined by a band, including lead songwriter and guitarist Russell D’Angelo, setting up the reader for a complicated but predictable love triangle.

The book takes place in present day, as Cherry, the daughter of Zoe, makes her way to California to participate in a popular television talent show, while her mother has absconded to suburban life and Cassie has cut herself off from her former bandmates and the family by living in the remote terrain of Alaska. Weiner then weaves in flashbacks to illustrate how the sisters inked their first record deal and set out on the road, where we soon learn Cassie was the true talent of the two. But Cassie never wanted to be in the spotlight, while that’s all Zoe ever wanted. Cherry believes if she can reunite the two sisters, they will help propel her own musical aspirations forward, but many challenges lie ahead of her. The sisters haven’t spoken since the band broke up.

I did have a few criticisms of the novel, but they are minimal. The story of how Cassie and Zoe are discovered, after singing together live only one time at an open-mic event, is a bit unrealistic. Most artists work for years before getting in front of industry professionals, and even then, they don’t experience immediate success. I took issue with the lightning-speed at which the two sisters were matched with a band and produced a chart-topping album. The younger version of Zoe, self-centered, spoiled, and selfish, is difficult to relate to, but every character must have a redemption arc and hers wouldn’t be possible without that growth.

As a reader, I felt immersed in the time period thanks to Weiner’s references to the popular television shows, celebrities, gossip magazines, and fashion. Although they were popular in the 1990s and not the early aughts, I also couldn’t’ t help but compare Zoe and Cassie to real-life sisters Wendy and Carnie Wilson, who were part of the musical trio Wilson Phillips as well as the daughters of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson.
I personally believe Weiner has set us up for a follow-up to The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits, as the book ends with a few different storylines still left open to more exploration and interpretation.

Many thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy of the book!

What's not to love about this novel? This nostalgic read combined my love of 2000s pop and novels involving family and the complicated relationships and feelings that can arise from them. Sisterhood and motherhood are always filled with complex issues, and add on to that dealing with fame and fortune. This novel reminds the reader about the beauty of dreams and second chances. Another win for Jennifer Weiner.

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits follows the story of two unique sisters who rise to rock star fame and are ultimately torn apart. With three points of view and switching timelines it took me longer to sink into, but eventually the chapter switches were seamless while the past is delved for secrets that now affect the present day lives of Zoe, her daughter Cherry, and Zoe’s sister Cassie.

The plot explores the cost of fame and the challenges of women from different angles in a changing world. I was not a huge fan of the sometimes heavy-handed emphasis on Cassie’s size and lack of beauty, but the issues underlying are significant and mesh well with the setting/time period and the story it’s woven into. The secrets are layers revealed and as they unfurl the characters show their facets leading the reader through the mystery of what destroyed the band and ultimately revealing the wound that needs to be healed.

This book will be well loved by readers who also enjoy Taylor Jenkins Reid. Overall the plot is marvelously constructed and somewhat reminiscent of Reid’s Daisy and the Six— I can easily see a well paved path to a TV version.

Thanks to @NetGalley and @WilliamMorrowBooks for an advanced reading copy

A compelling book and the type of read we expect from Jennifer Weiner. The Griffin Sisters examines of the lives two sisters and their relationship between themselves and other family members. The plot examines what happens when you are not honest with yourself or each other, the tragedy and wasted time that occurs when ignored. The book was engaging, The ending, while satisfying, leaves some questions unanswered, and I’m left wanting more and hoping for a sequel.

I am a big fan of Jennifer Weiner's books. I have read most, if not all of her books. This was not my favorite, but it was still a good book.
This story is one of two sisters who are discovered as teenagers and become a rock band. One sister is beautiful but not that talented and the other sister is extremely talented but not very beautiful. The reader travels back and forth through present day- the estranged sisters in their 40's and the past- the teenage and early 20's sister in their rock band. We discover how the sisters become estranged and the rocky road leading up to the estrangement in bits and pieces and Weiner does a good job weaving this story.
I enjoyed the early 2000's nostalgia especially. I also was satisfied with the ending.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great story told over time from multiple POVS about love, music and family. Weiner does it again!

More than two lives are destroyed by jealousies and lies in this story of two sisters looking for love and validation all while experiencing fame and fortune.

3.5 stars rounded up. I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Weiner has done books about sisters before - i absolutely loved In Her Shoes, and it remains one of my favorite books of Weiner's (the movie adaptation too). In the Griffin sisters Greatest Hits, we meet millennial artists Zoe and Cassie Grossberg from Fishtown. Of course, because of antisemitism, they decide for a less ethnic name.

We get a lot of back and forth between 2024 and 2003-2004, the height of fame and success. We get both Zoe and Cassie, and Zoe's daughter Cherry's points of view. For that reason, I felt the book dragged. It wasn't that there was 1 character I disliked, but the 3 points of view and 2 timelines slowed the plot until nearly the end. I'm not sure how it could have been improved for the pacing, the main reason for my 3.5 stars. I did enjoy the book as I love music and a little of the 90s/early 2000's musical groups mentioned. I could identify with Cassie in ways, although she seemed to have an undiagnosed condition on the spectrum.

Cherry is determined to break into the music industry and gets herself on an American Idol type show. She wants to track down the woman who turns out to be her aunt, Cassie. Cassie has sequestered herself in Alaska and blames herself for something terrible that happened.

Of the sisters, I liked Zoe the least, especially after finding out how she manipulated those closest to her and then hurt her sister. It was hard to read, seeing how Cassie turned her life away from everyone she loved.

I'd borrow from the library when it's available 4/8/25. TW for creepy stepbrother, fat shaming & diet culture.

Give me any book set in Philly, especially given that I was on a vacation where I was heading to Philly at the end of it.

It gave me a minute to figure out all of the different voices and plot/time lines, but once I did, it flowed well. I'd like to see a Jennifer Weiner book where there isn't a plot line of body shaming. Maybe it's there and I haven't gotten to it yet. I feel like that can be such a driving force behind her character's choices, and given that I've also been in that boat, it's too much for me at times.

However, give me a book about early 2000's girl bands who are also sisters at any moment. The Griffin Sisters were a band of two sisters that had one album, and then disappeared from the music world. One disappeared into who knows where, and the other disappeared into the domestic life. There were two plot lines I wish had been more ironed out, but as someone with sisters, I did like it,

Thanks, NG!

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the mix of the POV's between Zoe, Cassie, and Cherry. I found each person's perspective on the same experiences very interesting and a poignant message on how everyone sees a different version of the truth. I thought the dual timelines brought a great twist to the plot as well. The mystery of what broke up the band, why did Cassie fall off the map, and why haven't the sisters, who spent their whole lives and careers together, haven't spoken since.

I wish it would have been cut into chapters instead of parts. I'm one of those readers who can't just stop reading mid-chapter so this was hard for me. I also found myself skimming a lot probably because of this reason.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 4/8!

Main Characters:
-- Zoe Rohrbach – stay-at-home mom to two boys with her husband Jordan and her daughter Cherry, defends her creepy stepson Bix because he lost his mother when he was young, stays active with the PTA, never talks about The Griffin Sisters and gets uncomfortable when people recognize her
-- Cassie Grossberg – painfully introverted and private, musical prodigy, dropped out of the public eye after The Griffin Sisters’ first album and tour, bought land in Alaska and rents out cabins to earn an income, doesn’t go online, doesn’t tell anyone who she is, only the band’s former manager and her Aunt Bess have her phone number
-- Cherry Rohrbach – Zoe’s 18-year-old daughter who wants to pursue a career in music against Zoe’s wishes, selected as a semifinalist on the reality show The Next Stage, takes off for Los Angeles as the book begins when she is supposed to be at school
-- Russell D’Angelo – founder of the former band Sky King, tapped to be the lead guitarist and songwriter with Cassie for The Griffin Sisters
-- Tommy Kelleher – drummer for The Griffin Sisters, also a musical prodigy, attended a music academy with Cassie, has always had a crush on Zoe
-- Cameron Gratz – bass player for The Griffin Sisters

My first experience with Jennifer Weiner won’t be my last. There was a lot to love about this book for a Gen Xer like myself—a pop duo skyrockets to fame, MTV, Saturday Night Live, Rolling Stone. But as much as this story is about The Griffin Sisters’ meteoric rise in music in the early 2000s, the bigger piece showcases the relationship between Zoe and Cassie Grossberg.

Born less than a year apart, Zoe and Cassie grew up in a low-income home in South Philadelphia. Outgoing, attractive, popular Zoe looked out for her painfully introverted, overweight, and outcast sister Cassie. While Zoe desired fame, Cassie wanted the complete opposite. Cassie was a musical prodigy, but she could only bring herself to sing with her sister. When they get discovered at a school talent show, their meteoric rise to fame is everything Zoe ever wanted, until….

A year later, after one successful album and tour, the band breaks up and the sisters live on opposite sides of the country. Zoe tries to make it as a solo artist and eventually marries, supporting her family as a stay-at-home mom. Cassie lives completely out of the public eye in rural Alaska. Zoe’s daughter Cherry, on the other hand, doesn’t understand why Zoe won’t talk about her time in The Griffin Sisters and wants the same fame her mother had.

The story unfolds in multiple timelines from multiple perspectives—Cherry in the present day as well as Zoe and Cassie in the present day and 20 years before. I immediately felt pulled into this story. Cherry is desperate to make it big and doesn’t understand why her mother discourages her dream of being a star. Both Zoe and Cassie feel they are to blame for their current circumstances, and neither of them talks about their time in the spotlight.

I loved the author’s style in telling this story. There’s nothing unusual about dual timelines in novels. What I did find unusual was how the author seamlessly continued a story from one point of view to another. Where Zoe would start telling one piece of the story, Cassie would continue, and then Zoe would pick up again. This was most effective when we learn about the band’s demise with Cassie talking to one person and Zoe talking to another about one specific night in Detroit. It made it easy to see how each of them blamed themselves.

There is a pretty big focus in this novel on Cassie’s weight and appearance. I have learned since reading this that the author always has a main character of size, which I find commendable. There were references in this story about the treatment of women who are viewed as less-than-perfect, and there was a specific reference to the very real scenario of Carnie Wilson’s appearance on The Howard Stern Show in 1999.

This is a real issue in the entertainment world and was even more prevalent 20 years ago. That said, it felt like overkill here. Zoe regularly expressed jealousy of Cassie for having the talent she felt she deserved to go along with her looks. Cassie constantly referred to her weight and her looks. Overweight people know they’re overweight. They don’t think about it constantly.

I grew up loving the music of the ’80s and ’90s, even into the 2000s, so there were plenty of references to make me nostalgic. Sometimes the reason we love a book is that is resonates with us. We can identify with the characters. It makes us feel good at the end. All of these things are true for The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits. I’ll be adding Jennifer Weiner to the list of authors I’ll look for in the future.

This book hits all the right notes for a millennial reader! Set in the glitzy, chaotic world of early-aughts pop stardom, it follows the quick rise of two sisters—one effortlessly beautiful but barely talented, the other deeply gifted but constantly overlooked due to her looks and shy personality. As their fame skyrockets, so does the tension between them, leading to a gripping story of family, fame, and the price of success.
If you grew up obsessing over TRL, AIM away messages, BlackBerrys, and Y2K pop stars, this book will feel like stepping into a time capsule. Weiner nails the nostalgic references, making this the perfect read for anyone who loved the era of bedazzled Sidekicks and teen pop queens. But beyond the nostalgia, the novel delivers compelling themes of sisterhood, self-worth, and the dark side of fame.
I loved the mix of family drama, forbidden love, multiple POVs, and alternating timelines—all elements that keep me hooked in fiction. It’s a fast, engaging read, but one that still feels emotionally rich. As always, Weiner includes a plus-size protagonist, and while I appreciate the representation, the constant mentions of her size and “unattractiveness” felt a bit excessive. I also found it interesting that a character seemed to be portrayed with traits of autism, but this was only briefly mentioned—it would have been great to see that explored more deeply.
Overall, this is a fun, bingeable read that will resonate with millennial readers, pop culture lovers, and anyone who enjoys a juicy, character-driven story. If you love books that balance drama, heart, and nostalgia, you’ll want to add this one to your TBR for its release next month!

Compelling story and characters- Highly recommend!

I always enjoy Jennifer Weiner’s books and this one did not disappoint! I read this book cold with no idea what it was about- and found myself sucked deep into the story from the beginning. The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits tells the story of two sisters, one beautiful, charming and ambitious and one extremely talented but overweight and extremely socially awkward. The book alternates between both character perspectives and timelines. Zoe and Cassie rise to fame, due to Cassie’s extreme talent, in the early 2000s. One year and one album of extreme fame before tragedy strikes and the band broke up. Twenty years later, Cherry, Zoe’s daughter has musical aspirations of her own. Through Cherry’s quest for fame and family, the two sisters finally reunite and seek to find forgiveness for each other and for themselves.
The storyline and characters were complex - not necessarily likeable, but very compelling. I could not put it down until I reached the end! Highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy. And thank you to Jennifer Weiner for another wonderful read.

It is no secret that I LOVE Jennifer Weiner's books. This is another great title among her long list of great ones.
Zoe and Cassie Grossberg are just a year apart in ages, but couldn't be more different. Zoe, the oldest, was a perfect baby and now a beautiful adult. As a child, she protected her sister Cassie from the world around her. Cassie, born difficult, never fit in and had trouble navigating the world around her. It wasn't until she was revealed as a music prodigy as a young child that she found her place.
Zoe and Cassie become the Griffin Sisters, a band with a smash record, that go on to tour and do all of the big things that new celebrities get to do. But the celebrity isn't enough to hold them together, and Cassie walks away.
Now, as estranged sisters, Zoe's daughter Cherry is fascinated by her musical history. Zoe refuses to share any information, and Cherry must take her own talent and destiny into her own hands.
If you enjoy sister stories, stories about music and fame, and "Behind the Music" type stories, then this one is for you! Highly recommend.

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits" by Jennifer Weiner is a captivating tale of sisterhood, fame, and forgiveness. The story follows former pop stars Cassie and Zoe Grossberg, whose rise to stardom ended abruptly, leaving unresolved tensions and a fractured bond. Decades later, Zoe’s daughter Cherry, an aspiring musician herself, digs into the past to uncover the secrets behind their breakup. Weiner masterfully weaves past and present, delivering a heartfelt exploration of ambition, family dynamics, and the power of reconciliation. It’s an emotional, resonant read that beautifully captures the complexities of sibling relationships.

Who doesn't love a good story about a girl band gone wrong. And when the girl band is about two sisters? And there is a tragic love story involved? Jennifer Weiner always writes a good story. She is always there for acceptance and inclusion of the overweight community. Having grown up in Cherry Hill for most of my life, I loved the Haddonfield, Cherry Hill, and Philadelphia settings for most of this story. The main story is about a breakup of a band, the Griffin Sisters, and then goes back to the beginning to explain what really happened from two different points of view. I love the character of Cherry, one of the band members daughter, who really tries to bring these two sisters back together. Funny at times, but tragic as well, this book is a great read.

“The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits” is billed as a cousin to “Daisy Jones and the Six”. It’s about the rise and fall of a rock group fronted by, you guessed it, two sisters, Cassie and Zoe, as well as Zoe’s daughter’s attempt to develop a singing career of her own.

On paper, this book sounds great. But the execution did not work for me. None of the characters were likable. The magic of the band wasn’t described clearly enough for it to make sense that so many people were still so obsessed with the sisters years after they stopped performing together.

And there was just way, way, way too much talk about Cassie’s weight. I get it. Cassie is fat. She has the voice of an angel but is too ugly to be a star without her sister. It is a topic that is covered ad nauseum when I think it would have been much more interesting to delve into the fact that Cassie seemed to be on the autism spectrum.

The story is pretty fast paced and easily readable but I’m sorry to say this book was a miss for me. Bummer.

It’s always a good day when you get to read a new Jennifer Weiner book and this one did not disappoint. Cassie is a musical prodigy who is socially awkward. Zoe is pretty and popular Zoe would love to be famous; Cassie not so much. They become The Griffin Sisters, a wildly poplar pop music phenomenon. A tragedy marks the end of the group and an end to the sisters’ relationship. Their story is told in both past and present. I have to say that I had a hard time liking Zoe, but did sympathize with her by the end of the book. As usual with a Jennifer Weiner book, I couldn’t put it down. Great story and satisfying ending!