Book Review: All We Ever Wanted

All We Ever Wanted

by: Emily Giffin

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine Books/Random House Publishing, and Netgalley for the free e-copy of All We Ever Wanted.  All opinions expressed below are my own.

All We Ever Wanted is the newest novel by veteran author Emily Giffin.  It is told using alternating POVs: Nina, a wealthy Nashville mother to a male high school senior; Tom, a single-father working multiple jobs to make ends meet and raise his sophomore daughter; and Lyla, Tom's daughter.  The novel starts with a drunken photograph that gets shared via social media - Nina's son shares a photograph of Lyla passed out on a bed with a racist comment.  The remainder of the book deals with the aftermath of this single event.

I'll admit - I anticipated a "chick-lit" read out of Emily Giffin.  It has been years since I had read any of her novels, but I think of them as lighter and more fluffy works of fiction.  In fact, that is part of the reason why I wanted to read this one!  I was pleasantly surprised at the more difficult subject matter tackled in this one: fidelity, marriage, social classes, rape culture, social media and parenting.

Emily Giffin knocks it out of the park with this novel that approaches difficult subjects with grace and while keeping the reader engaged.  She doesn't get on a pulpit to preach about the effects of social media, parenting and rape, but rather lets the story unfold and slowly brings the issues to the forefront. 

Personally, I found myself rooting for so many of the characters - even the "bad" ones - you want them to see the error of their ways and want them to admit their wrongs and move forward.  I found this to be an excellent work of fiction that feels like it was ripped from headlines - it is timely and tackles an important subject.  I highly recommend it - 4.5 stars rounded to 5!