I read All We Ever Wanted the weekend I wasn’t supposed to read a book.
I had decided to take about a week off from my TBR list in order to concentrate on revising my query letter. However, in true CJ fashion, I woke up super early on Saturday morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. I didn’t think that editing my query letter at 5:30am was a stupendous idea, so I grabbed my copy of All We Ever Wanted, climbed back into bed, and began reading.
By Monday morning, I had finished the entire book. #sorrynotsorry.
What’s All We Ever Wanted about?
This women’s fiction novel by powerhouse author Emily Giffin is about two families who lives are thrown into chaos when an inappropriate photo of a high school girl is leaked. As tensions grow, the characters find out where people’s loyalties and morals lie — and it’s not always where they thought they would be.
All We Ever Wanted tackles a lot of sensitive issues. Our current political and social climate is tense as hell right now, and Giffin confronts all of the major hot topics head-on. This novel tackles sexual misconduct, elitism, misogyny, white male privilege, social media abuse, racism, cultural insensitivity, social injustice, morals and ethics, and, of course, good ol’ fashioned assholery.
What I liked about All We Ever Wanted
Giffin always manages to surprise me with the depth of her writing. I’m not sure why I expect a certain type of writing from her. But, I’m definitely sure that fault lies with me and not her. For years now, she’s given us stories with real problems, real people, and real emotion while still keeping us entertained.
She amazingly manages to address all these volatile subjects in an extremely non-aggressive way. This is no easy feat, particularly in today’s climate. Even though the subject matter of this book can raise a lot of tension, I never really felt tense or anxious while I was reading. The story was enjoyable, despite the fact that it deeply affected me on many levels. I kept trying to find snippets of time in which I could sneak just one more page in.
I also appreciated the unique angle Giffin uses to address these issues. The inciting incident in All We Ever Wanted occurs early, and the rest of the novel details its aftermath. The entire spectrum of possible reactions are pretty much covered. You see how the victim and her family are affected, as well as how the alleged perpetrator and his family and friends react to the incident. Some reactions are surprisingly admirable, some are disappointingly predictable. Some are heartbreaking, and some are downright disgusting.
Should you read All We Ever Wanted?
All We Ever Wanted isn’t my favorite Giffin novel (that honor will forever be reserved for Something Borrowed), but it’s a very, very good read. If you’re looking for an entertaining story with a moral, give this one a try. The story is a social commentary, and a very clear one at that. It’s timely, but it’s also disturbingly classic. The problems it addresses may have recently become center stage in our newsfeeds, but they’ve been roosting in the shadows for decades.
While this novel offers you a great story, it asks something of you, too. It asks you to really examine the situation presented in the book from all sides. It’s impossible not to ask yourself what and who you believe as you’re reading this book. If it turns out that you aren’t quite sure, All We Ever Wanted‘s honest, raw, and emotional depiction of a life-changing situation may help you realize where you truly stand.
What’s the book-inspired recipe for All We Ever Wanted?
The book-inspired recipe for All We Ever Wanted is Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches!
I’m glad that you have the same feelings about Giffin. She always surprises me too. I expect complete chick lit, but then she throws in some heavy hitting issues. I think as she writes more and more, she gets deeper into the bones and even better. I haven’t read a Giffin book in awhile, though. This review reminds me that I should go back to her. I also struggled with doing what I was ‘supposed to’ this weekend. I just didn’t have it in me to write a blog post. I think I just needed a break. I picked up one of my historical fiction novels for review, My MacArthur, which has been great. Definitely not the original plan. I hope you get published! I want to learn more about the writing and publishing process–I truly want to write a novel one day.
Right?? I’m glad I’m not the only one who has those absurd expectations of Giffin novels, lol. I think I just still see her as the author of SOMETHING BORROWED, which I adored but was definitely less heavy (I guess…not that stealing your best friend’s fiance is something to take lightly!), and I expect all of her other books to follow suit. But, you’re right — her writing style and topics have definitely evolved, and she’s only gotten better with time. Annother novel of hers that I really liked was THE ONE & ONLY, which is about a football-obsessed woman who has a thing for the much older, much revered college football coach at her alma mater — who also happens to be her best friend’s dad. It delves into many awkward situations, and I really like how GIffin handled such difficult topics. Plus, it was different; not just another romance. And, even though I wasn’t a football fan at the time I read it, the heavy sports talk didn’t bother me a bit. I recommend that one for a bit of a different read.
I hear ya about struggling with what you’re “supposed to do” for the blogger life. I spent all this past weekend cooking, baking, and writing, and it was wonderful — and now I think I’m a bit tapped out. I had great plans to take the Pinterest world by storm this evening, but I think it’s a better time to catch up on others’ blogs and comments from the past few days. I’m slowly learning my limits. 🙂 I hope you get back into your groove soon! I’m glad you found a good book to help distract you a bit. That always helps!
Last year a friend recommended Emily Griffin books, but I never looked into getting one. This review is changing my mind, think I will look into start reading her books. Thanks, great review.
That’s so great! I’m glad that this review helped you decide on something new to try. If you’re looking for a lighter read, I would try Something Borrowed to start. If you want something that tackles more than navigating romantic relationships, give All We Ever Wanted a shot. Happy reading!!