
Member Reviews

Cassie Griffin is a piano prodigy with an amazing voice, awkward social skills, and zero interest in fame. Her older sister, Zoe, is desperate to be famous, despite her moderate-at-best talent. The sisters form a band, skyrocket to fame, and then tragedy sends them into a decades-long spiral of estrangement, guilt, and grief. Zoe's daughter, Cherry, has her heart set on being a performer and seeks out her missing aunt for guidance.
So... I loved this? The story was emotional without being heavy and did a good job exploring the cost of fame and the weight of talent and the complexities of sisterhood. I will say, the "great big fat Cassie is so gross" business got real grating and the song lyrics were SO CRINGEY, but the perfect narration by Dakota Fanning kept this at a solid four stars for me because I did really enjoy listening to it.
This would be a great bookclub pick!

Two sisters as different as night and day form a singing group. The one sister Cassie has real talent but is painfully shy. The other sister Zoe has little talent but lots of ambition. The two meet a producer who in turns finds other band members and guides their success until they are on the top. Then a tragic event happens and the band not only breaks up but the sisters become estranged. Fast forward 20 years and Zoe’s daughter wants to be a singing star too. She tries for a national singing competition but will fail unless she can find her Mother’s estranged sister. The book tugged at your heartstrings. The characters were vividly portrayed and very believable. I could almost hear the music.

So many mixed feelings about this book. First, I loved the setting and the story being told from multiple perspectives. Found it a little long though..

I love family drama stories and this felt particularly poignant to me. I loved the aunt/niece relationship and the way it and music brought the sisters back together. With funny moments, challenging times, and a lot of love this book will break your heart and sew it back together. I loved listening to the audiobook and the added depth the narration gives to the story.

I really enjoyed Jennifer Weiner's latest novel. It was told from multiple view points and jumped back and forth in time to tell the story of two sisters who were part of a hit band.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio-ARC of The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner.
The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits portrays a typical Jennifer Weiner theme; fat girl vs. pretty girl. At times this theme was overused albeit understood. The story is told in alternating view points and timelines and Weiner does a great job keeping the story is to follow. Overall, this is a solid story about the music industry and the cost of being famous.

The Griffin Sisters: Greatest Hits is an absolute gem. I loved every page of it. The characters felt real and sharp, the sister dynamics were messy in all the right ways, and the humor hit perfectly. It had heart, chaos, and so many moments that made me pause just to enjoy the writing. Easily a 10 out of 10 for me. I didn’t want it to end.

I loved this audiobook. It’s packed with 2000s pop nostalgia, complicated sister dynamics, and that bittersweet magic of second chances. Dakota Fanning’s narration is chef’s kiss—emotional, pitch-perfect, and totally immersive. You really feel like you're living inside the rise and fall of a pop duo that defined a generation.
Cassie and Zoe are so real—flawed, fierce, and full of history. One chased fame, the other hid from it, and watching their past and present collide through the eyes of Zoe’s daughter, Cherry, gave it this fresh, emotional twist. Plus, the original song in the audio version? Such a cool bonus—it ties the whole story together beautifully.
If you’re into music-centered fiction, messy family stories, or just want a great bingeable listen, this one absolutely hits the right notes.

Great setting, good characters, loved the complicated family dynamics. You really want them all to heal, move forward, and really enjoy what they make of it.

Yet another phenomenal read from Jennifer Weiner. I love an author whose every story is completely distinct and unique. The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits is not just another story of a band, its a lifelong back and forth that spans for decades. Truly beautifully done!

I have read a number of Jennifer Weiner's books over the years and enjoyed them, mostly as lighter reads. The last one of hers that I read, The Summer Place, I found to be much deeper and quite moving. The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits continues that progression into deeply nuanced and layered fiction that explores profound questions of ambition, forgiveness, and the way society deals with women and the vulnerable.
I was simply blown away by this story. I feel that Weiner has written the book she was always meant to write in that it carries through on many of the themes of her earlier works.
Highly recommended.
Specific to the audio version, I very much enjoyed the narrator; thought her tone was pitch perfect (no pun intended).

This is a book about family sacrifice and the power of talent. It's about two sisters, one wildly pretty and the other wildly talented. They start a musical group as teenagers at the urging of the pretty one. They become overnight sensations thanks largely to the talents of the other. Then, one night on tour, things come crumbling down. The group disbands. One of the sisters disappears and over a decade later, they haven't spoken to each other. Worlds, however, have a way of colliding and eventually, the past comes calling. I am a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner and while this one wasn't my favorite of hers I've read, I still very much enjoyed it.

Really enjoyable, but with characters you don't particularly like all that much. A lot of putting themselves first, especially Cherry. and her Mom.

I was initially intrigued by "The Giffin Sisters' Greatest Hits", especially given its comparisons to Daisy Jones & The Six. I went in hoping for a similarly immersive, emotionally charged, music-driven story—but unfortunately, it didn’t quite hit the same notes for me.
When viewed on its own, the book felt flat. The characters lacked the depth and spark I was hoping for, and the storytelling didn’t quite pull me in the way I’d expected. Even as I tried to separate it from the comparison, I still struggled to stay fully engaged.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Dakota Fanning, and her narration didn’t help matters. She doesn’t differentiate the voices of the characters much, which made it hard to follow who was speaking at times and contributed to the overall flatness of the experience.
It wasn’t a bad read, just not a standout for me. I wouldn’t call it a favorite, but it might still appeal to readers who enjoy a quieter story with a nostalgic musical backdrop.
Thank you to Jennifer Weiner, Dakota Fanning, Harper Audio, and NetGalley for sending me the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Weiner is so widely regarded as the queen of summery stories, and generally I agree! I'm not sure if it was the audio or the story itself, but sadly, I just couldn't get invested in this one.
3.5!

3.5 Stars
Teenage Cherry is an aspiring music star. She knows her mom was once part of a famous Pop/Rock Band, but has no idea why her mom doesn't want to talk about it, and strongly desires Cherry to run fast and far from all things music.
Zoe, Cherry's mom, rose to fast fame alongside her sister Cassie. She left the music behind her long ago and no longer has any communication whatsoever with her sister. She has fully embraced her new role as PTA mom to Cherry and her two younger brothers.
Cassie is living alone in Alaska and feels like she must punish herself with isolation for some act she committed along the rise to fame of her and Zoe's band, The Griffin Sisters. What we find out through the story is why she feels so terrible, and what happened to the band.
This book had a lot going right for it: a fresh storyline, multiple perspectives, dual timelines, intrigue, beautiful writing and a fun basis for a book. Unfortunately, I just couldn't connect at all with either Zoe or Cassie, and I found the decisions they made to be entirely unbelievable (and sometimes unforgivable). The author spends SO MUCH time writing about Cassie's larger body size and calling her fat that it was honestly uncomfortable to read. I don't find this to be body-positive or affirming, it just felt mean and insulting. I love the idea of including larger sized women in stories, and exposing the prejudice they might face and the difficulties of living in a culture obsessed with being thin, but there has to be a better way.
I kept with the book through the end because I wanted to see how the story played out, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to anyone.
I read this book via audiobook, and found the narration to be very well done. It would have been cool to hear the music dispersed throughout the story, but I understand that's not often done.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book was a lot deeper than I ever thought it would be. There were many twists and turns, and I loved how well the characters were written.

This book started off pretty bleak, with the hardships their mother dealt with and Cassie's sad situation, but I really fell in love with the characters and enjoyed their journey. And Dakota Fanning's narration was wonderful!

This was a beautiful story by Jennifer Weiner! It is a tale of the complicated relationship of two sisters, and one of them is neurodivergent in a period of time where that was not fully understood. I really enjoyed this book.

I have to start by saying that Weiner’s book GOOD IN BED is the book that turned me into a reader. So to say I am a big fan does not quite capture how I feel about her writing. So, when I say this book may be my new favorite by Weiner says A LOT! This book has everything…the story, the characters, the excitement, the emotions (highs and lows), the tension, the heartbreak…everything was pure gold! I could not stop reading/listening!!! It was brilliantly done. I was invested immediately. It all came together beautifully…but it was not without love, loss, struggles and triumphs. Such an emotionally charged read that will leave you wanting more!!! I highly recommend this amazing story.