All We Ever Wanted: A Novel

Summary:Have you ever stopped and wondered how you got somewhere? With this man, living this life? Nina Browning should be ecstatic. She is part of the Nashville elite with a charismatic husband and a son that was just accepted into Princeton. It all seems wrong, though. The preoccupation with material wealth, the inability to really connect with her husband or son… this just isn’t who she is. Any of it.Tom is desperately trying to be a good father to Lyla, his beautiful and intelligent daughter. When she got a scholarship to Windsor Academy he is a bit worried, but very proud. Lyla is trying to keep up with her classmates both academically and socially. It’s a different world and sometimes the differences are glaring.A picture snapped in a moment of drunkenness spins out of control. Windsor Academy is going insane with rumors and casting blame. In the eye of the scandal are Tom, Lyla and Nina. Each one is forced to question the relationships of those closest to them, and who they really are.My thoughts:I could not put this book down. It was gorgeously written, and moving. The trio of narratives was an interesting touch. I really enjoyed being able to see more of these characters, their thoughts and motives. These were really interesting, well developed characters. I loved Lyla especially. Tom with the chip on his shoulder and Nina who desperately wants to be seen as a good woman.As far as the plot goes, I found it really intriguing and I loved the different twists and turns that kept me guessing. Through out the book I both loathed and loved certain characters, wanting to believe in them, but not knowing if I can. It’s definitely a different world. I also like how they portrayed the young victim- it was very believable. The horror, shame, inability to believe, and the desire to let it all just fade away. Her strength was also something I really loved. I feel like this book has a lot of adult moments, but also a lot that older teens would like as well. For me, this is a five star book.On the adult content scale, this is pretty high. There’s a lot of language and sexual content as well as drinking. While I would, as I said, see no issue with an older and more mature teen reading it, I have to say it’s meant for adults. I give it an eight.I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Random House Publishing in exchange for an honest review. My thanks!

This is a well-written story. Griffin's prose and character development are spot-on. However, the story itself wasn't engaging enough for me. I liked it, but I found myself trudging along to finish it. It's worth a read if you appreciate good writing, but don't expect to be completely captivated by the storyline.

Good read

As a fan of Emily Giffin's books, I picked this one up expecting it to be great, but I have to say I was a disappointed. Not to give too much away, this novel is told from three perspectives - Nina, Tom, and Lyla. The main story centers around a Snapchat photo scandal that occurs when Nina's son, Finch, from an upper class white family, sends a scandalous photo of a passed out Lyla, Tom's daughter who is half Brazilian and from a lower middle class home, to his friends. The photo quickly spreads through the larger community forcing the families and the school to decide on how to handle the situation. The characters also must deal with how this effects them personally and what it means to do the right thing.I usually enjoy multiple first person perspectives, it gives the reader a chance to see what the different characters are thinking and feeling; however, I didn't think the characters had a strong enough voice, and without the section titles telling me whose perspective it was, it may have taken a bit of reading before being able to tell, and even then it would've been more environmental factors rather than voice. But with that being said, it left me wishing that there were more perspectives from some of the more seemingly villainous characters, who felt very empty.The book as a whole doesn't seem complete, it's a very shallow representation of the situation, the characters, and draws on stereotypical personality traits in almost every circumstance - the privileged white male, the rich white woman from a poor background who resents her wealth, the working class dad, the naive teenage girl. I can see how the author tried to incorporate modern social media devices to seem relevant, but it felt very forced and broke the flow of the story telling.All in all it was a fairly easy read, I didn't hate it, just found it a bit boring, with shallow characters and the ending left me feeling unsatisfied.

This book pulled me in from the beginning and talked about what is really important in life there was mystery, romance and important message about unacceptable behavior

Good book, have others by this author. Would recommend

All we ever want for our children and ourselves... the best in life. And that varies from person to person. A good read where you will see yourself, a little or much, in each of the characters. A mirror and a window for our souls.

Una novela muy entretenida, fácil y rápida de leer!

Silly plot, terrible writing, all the characters are annoying (even the ones we are supposed to like). Avoid at all cost.

I found this book fascinating in how it dealt with values and changing views on what is important. It is a good reminder of what is truly important versus the facades we face every day.

Sweet and easy reading... Interesting point of view of difficulties that teenagers face these days.

Loved it. Unputdownable!