While I’ve watched and been inspired by Ann Brashares’ first series, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, I’d never actually picked up the books to read them, and hence I’ve never experienced Ann’s writing style.

Which is why that is the first thing I’m going to talk about.

The writing was so… ethereal. It was subtle yet delivered its point all the way, it narrated but didn’t bore and HOLY CRAP I could spend years just reading the way Ann wrote this book, because of regardless of my problems with it, it was GORGEOUS WRITING.

What is this about?
Lila and Robert used to be married. They had three lovely daughters – Emma, Quinn and Mattie and then after an undisclosed falling out, they separated and go re-married to have children born one month apart – Ray and Sasha.

Their parents would do anything to avoid staying in the same room as each other – anything.

And so despite sharing three sisters, a house and a bedroom, Ray and Sasha have never met. They have a relationship that never existed; they’re deeply considered strangers.

Over the span of one summer, the lives of all five siblings will change. One will move on to another place, one will get married, two will fall in love and one will question who she is in a house they alternate, always split, never together.

“What if she’s unknowingly traded her greatest dread for her oldest wish?”

The things I LOVED about this book include the WRITING. Holy crap it was beautiful and enchanting and I wanted to wrap myself in it and never leave.

Another thing I LOVED was the simple complicatedness of everything. There was nothing far-fetched or unbelievable about this, and yet the web of everything was so intricately knotted that I JUST HAD TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. I loved the basic premise of the story (even though it took me a while to get used to the names) and the characters.

Like I said, I did have a few problems.

The first was Sasha and Ray. I didn’t have an issue with the potential half incestuous thing, but what DID BOTHER ME was that THEY WERE SO IN LOVE WITH THE IDEA OF EACH OTHER and the whole FORBIDDEN FRUIT thing that they didn’t stop to see that THEY DIDN’T KNOW EACH OTHER. In the whole book, they would have had TEN DIRECT EXCHANGES, if even that. I don’t know WHAT that conclusion of theirs was, but UGH. DID. NOT. GET. IT.

I also hated what happened at the ending. As is switch viewpoints, everyone asked Quinn, “Did you plan it like this?” BECAUSE NO. NO, SHE DIDN’T PLAN IT. WHAT SENSE DOES THAT MAKE.

All in all, I was definitely captured by the magic of Ann Brashares. A poignant, beautifully written tale on what it means to be a family. 4 stars.

I did not finish this book as I did not engage with the characters or their story.

I really enjoyed this book. It is the first I have read this author and I am now interested to look into her other books. The only complaint I have is the ending seemed abrupt.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this novel.

I didn't like the writing style, I felt it was a bit choppy & I couldn't get into the way the direction the story took.
I did like the characters and most of their interaction, but ultimately this wasn't for me; however, it could be for someone else.

Not my favorite...I had to keep going back to the family tree/timeline at the beginning to make sure I understood the family relationships. I appreciated parts of the book but to me it felt forced at times. There were also some strange comments thrown in that I thought I were unnecessary and a little off-putting.

I thought the premise of this was fascinating, and I think the overall idea of handling grief was compassionately done. Overall, for me, it was a little too slow-moving. I wanted more time with the two MCs together, and the short bursts from other characters were a little hard to follow at times. Even when I saw who was speaking in the chapters, I still had a hard time switching from the previous POV.

I struggled with this book and a liked it too. There was so much back and forth between 5 of the characters. It took me about a 100 pages to keep them straight. I also was not a big fan of the ending.

I have forever been a fan of An Brashares and was super excited to read this one. With that being said, I enjoyed this book. Although I do wish that there was a little more depth in term of story-lines. It sort of felt all over the place and I found some of it to be rather confusing. On the other hand, the writing style and how the story is presented to us is unique and something I really loved about the book. So I would certainly share this novel with others. It's an honest and well told story albeit a bit scattered.

Thank you to Net Galley, Ann Brashares and the Publisher for providing me with my digital copy for a fair and honest review.

I really wanted to like this more and was really excited to receive my copy. I agree with all of the reviewers on Good Reads. Nobody was able to make much sense of the disjointed and choppy writing. It was very confusing with having so many different characters points of view with some being only a couple paragraphs and others with a lot more to say. It is unexpected because I loved The Sisterhood of the travelling Pants so much. I hope that it finds at least some readers who will appreciate it. Some of the themes really were inappropriate for a Young adult audience.

I've been an avid reader of Ann Brashares since I was a teen! I have always felt that she did a great job at crossover novels that bridge YA and adult fiction. This novel does not disappoint! It has all of the lovable hints from her past novels with something new and refreshing for readers to enjoy. I read this book on a trip to Chicago to see a friend and had people asking me about it in the airport and on the plane. I could not put it down and had to slow down so that I could savor it! I loved the family dynamics and how the house itself felt like a character. I would definitely recommend this for a high school classroom, along with all of Brashare's other YA novels!

I apologize for my following review.
* I received this book for free, in exchange for an honest review, and its going to be very honest*

This book made me feel awkward, there is stuff in this book that I do not support, and will refuse to support said topics by purchasing this book, or recommending it to others.

Sexism, racism, body shaming, and the like are topics I refuse to read, and will not encourage others to read as well. We need to move behind this way of thinking, and books being printed, are not helping the younger generation to rise above the hate. No thanks, won't read this book ever again.

I was rather disappointed that my expectations for Ann Brashares' The Whole Thing Together were unmet. After having read her other YA works, I expected the sort of characterization and insight found in those other stories. Unfortunately, this lacked emotional pull, humor, and the truths of adolescence that are usually in abundance with Brashares' stories.

Book: The Whole Thing Together
Author: Ann Brashares
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank Netgally and the publishers ,Delacorte Press and Random House, for providing me with an ARC galley in exchange for an honest review.

I, like so many others, fell in love with Ann Brashares through The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I just loved the series and whenever I saw she had another book coming out on Netgalley, I put my name in. I was actually kind of surprised that I was selected for an ARC. I had very high expectations, but was kind of let down by the book.

The Whole Thing Together is your typical summer read. There is a huge cast of characters, who are supposed to be really great characters and well rounded. I felt like the characters just fell flat and were not developed at all. It seemed like they were all trying to get their own spot in the book. The book is 304 pages, which really is not a super big book. With their being close to five point of view characters and so many side characters, it was just so choppy. Plus, it felt like sometimes the point of view would only be told from a certain character’s point of view for no longer than a few paragraphs. To me, it was just very choppy and difficult to keep everything straight.

The amount of characters also affected the writing. The writing was very choppy and I’m hoping that’s because I have an ARC copy. I really do hope that the publishers take what its reviewers are saying and revisit the book. I know Ann is a very capable writer, but the writing in The Whole Thing Together is just not up to her normal standard. It was a very hard book to follow and a very hard book to stay engaged in.

Yet, I did give The Whole Thing Together a three star review…Why?

There were actually parts that I did like a lot. I did like the relationship between Sasha and Ray. I was a little confused to how they had never met before, but the more I read, the more it made sense. I know a lot of people are not a fan of their relationship, but I actually thought it was pretty cute. Them writing back to each other, just made the story.

I also did enjoy the ending. Now, it was sad, but I did like how it brought everyone together. Though I never did fully understand just what happened…I mean, I get the big picture, but a few more little details would have been helpful.

The Whole Thing Together will be out on April 25, 2017. I think it will be a best-seller, but before I buy a copy of it, there is going to have to be some major changes.

Beautiful ending. I wished for a little more of Queenie so the ending would have resonated a little more deeper, but I loved the story concept and the complicated family tangle.

The description of the book is just about completely different from what the actual story holds. The description makes you assume that it is probably about a couple of star-crossed, love struck teenagers and while it kind of is like that, I would have to say the description is used to draw people in while the actual text is different. Ray and Sasha were not as big of a part of the story as I had originally thought they would be. Instead, the story rotated the POV to all their shared sibling's and then Ray and Sasha in between them. The characters were dry and I would to believe they really lacked in the story. There wasn't any real character development and it all kind of runs really fast. If it was just focused on Ray and Sasha I think it would've been a better read.

This might've been a serious case of it's not the book it's me but I struggled to get through this one. I couldn't get into the stories plot, didn't like the characters, and felt disconnected to the writing style. A quarter of the way through I took a extensive break and then didn't want to go back, finally repicked it up and still felt a disconnect with it.

I gave this book a 3.5/5 stars and rounded it out to a 4.

This story is told in snapshots with different points of views and many characters, and that might be what held my attention most about it. It's unique, and just compelling enough that we want to read to know what happens to that character we most identify with.

Overall, I loved the family dynamic of the story and how it was more about that than anything else. It touched on all aspects of life; love, loss, betrayal, without seeming too far-fetched. !!SPOILER!! The thing that kept this story from really hitting a four or five for me was that Quinn had to die for the parents to get over their disagreements. !!SPOILER!!Why is it up to a child or a woman to fix these kinds of things? People should want to fix their families for the sake of the family, and not only let tragic events dictate their choices. I was sad that this was the route Brashares went for. I'm not about self-sacrificing resolutions.

This book was an interesting read. Some of the plotlines, such as Ray/Sasha, could have used a bit more fleshing out. But I just loved the idea of a family becoming whole once more.

What i loved the most about this book is Ann's narrative, she's so prolific that you get involved in the story from the very beginning. I loved the young characters (not so much the grown ups) they felt very realistic. I'm glad that i've read such a moving story.

Seventeen-year-olds Ray and Sasha share a bedroom. They've seen each other from afar, but have never met. They also share three older half-sisters. His mother and her father, now bitterly divorced, and share ownership of a beach house and take care to assure their paths don't cross. Sasha is wealthy, Ray is not. That's the basis for a possible romance.

Sasha and Ray were engaging characters. I was interested in both (dysfunctional) families and the setup that allowed the sisters' same-aged half-siblings to have never met through careful illustration of separate birthday parties, opposite side seating at graduations etc.

Ann Brashares, of THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS fame, had trouble pulling me in with the third person omniscient point of view. The beginning of THE WHOLE THING TOGETHER was mostly backstory, which I found confusing because I didn't yet know or care about the characters. I love Brashares' crisp, clean writing style and the ease at which the story unfolded.

I think most readers will enjoy THE WHOLE THING TOGETHER, but worry that some readers might not be engaged early enough in the story to keep reading.

“If you put both sides together, it would kind of make a whole. But you never put both sides together.”

Step-siblings Sasha and Ray are seventeen years old. Sasha’s dad and Ray’s mom were married, but divorced and married other people, who became Sasha’s mom and Ray’s dad. So Sasha and Ray aren’t related. Are you with me so far? Good.

Sasha’s dad Rodger is rich. Ray’s mom Lila isn’t. Manhattan, Brooklyn. Day, night. Love, hate…or rather, hate, hate. Because Sasha’s dad and Ray’s mom can’t stand each other. Hate, loathe and abominate each other, to be precise. Yet they share a beach house in the Hamptons that neither could give up, where they switch on and off every summer week/ school weekend like a seldom used faucet. Sasha and Ray have shared a bedroom their whole life, but they’ve never met. Each week or weekend one has the room, and then when the switch is made, the other takes over. They share books, LEGOs, flip-flops, toiletries, even half-sisters. And now Sasha and Ray are starting to wonder if they should share a coffee and meet each other face-to-face.

Ann Brashares, who crafted the incredible Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series (and its spin-offs), digs into the world of divorce, remarriage, and the shrapnel left behind in The Whole Thing Together. And it’s a masterpiece of love, pain, longing and redemption. Because Whole Thing isn’t just about Sasha and Ray, it’s about their whole family. Er, families. You know what I mean.

Less than half way through the first chapter, and I was sucked in. (Exactly like the Sisterhood series, btw.) Brashares hasn’t lost her fine touch with characters, dialogue, and crafts a believable world where everything’s fine, except for the stuff that isn’t. The story is told through the eyes of the children from the Rodger/Lila marriages; Sasha, Ray, and their three half-sisters Emma (the perfect daughter), Mattie (the beautiful mess), and Quinn (the spiritual summer child). This works to give a fuller feel to the story, and keeps the first-person narrative right where it needs to be at any given time. These changes of perspective flow easily, making for a light, easy read even when things get serious.

Another thing that Brashares does well is describe locations. Here the Hamptons are a vibrant dichotomy of mansions hidden from view, glorious beaches, and gorgeous farms. Surfers and shops where everything is triple the price elsewhere. An area where gentrification has hit hard, and is slowly taking over, but hasn’t quite extinguished everything that made the place so desirable at the start. Prep schools and public schools are different, but the same. And Brooklyn is the “real” Brooklyn – Lila and her professor husband have definitely lived there long before Park Slope became a thing – with hint of the hipster haven peeking around the edges. Brashares’ ability to dig into the details, instead of painting with a wide brush, makes everything more real, more lived-in, while also giving off a love-letter vibe to these locations. I’ve never been to the Hamptons, but now I really want to wander around and find a farmer’s market that sells blueberries.

With the different locations, comes different stories from each character, and Brashares’ uncanny knack for getting into the minds of her characters makes each one compelling in its own right. While Sasha and Ray struggle to figure out what they should mean to each other, twenty-two year old Emma has fallen in love, but doesn’t know how to tell her parents. Nineteen year old Mattie has hit a dreaded “what now?” moment in her life, and twenty-one year old Quinn…well, there’s a problem she has, but it’s tough to suss out.

Okay, it’s not really that hard; she feels more than most, and as the story unfolds and things get complicated (as things always do), Quinn struggles to keep herself tethered to her world. For me, Quinn is a bit too ethereal, a touch too “special” to be taken seriously as a character. She’s more of a catalyst in human form, someone each character cherishes for the pure and simple reason that she exists. “Quinn was their special magic.” That’s lovely, but while getting the Quinn’s-eye-view is always intriguing, it’s also often confusing and messy. A bit too much mumbo-jumbo, and not enough clear-eyed coming into herself. I was waiting for a breakthrough that never quite happened.

As for the never-quite of it all, the ending of Whole Thing is rather abrupt, in a “wait, it’s over now?” kind of way. But after that initial shock, it feels right. Like a world we got only a brief glimpse of. Just a small piece of their struggles, even though we got to know them well during that time. Perhaps that’s because a sequel is in the works? I guess only Quinn knows for sure. But the story works well as a stand-alone if a part two isn’t in the cards.

Yes, The Whole Thing Together a bit too Stevie Nicks in some spots, a little overly schmoopy in others. But it socked me right in the heart and I couldn’t put it down. I’m betting you won’t be able to either.



[Random House, 2017]
[NOTE: I received a Kindle advance reader’s copy in return for an honest review. I received no other compensation, not even a trip to the Hamptons or a box of LEGOs. But I’ll live.]