JULY 2019 - AudioFile
Listeners hear about the lives of two sisters through a whimsical performance by Ari Graynor and Beth Malone. Jo, an athlete and aspiring writer, and Bethie, an elegant socialite, grew up in a Jewish household in Detroit during the 1950s. However, their lives drastically changed after they experienced traumatic events, including sexual assault and issues relating to sexual identity. Jo becomes a young mother living in Connecticut, and Bethie turns to the hippie free-love movement of the ‘60s. Malone and Graynor put the listener in a dreamlike trance during the story’s long flashbacks. The sisters’ reflections are engaging, with clear expression of the emotions they felt during disappointing situations. Although both narrators sound quite similar, Jo and Bethie’s perspectives and experiences are unique and easily distinguishable. G.M. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
"The 34 Best New Books to Put in Your Beach Bag Th PopSugar
"You won't want this book to end as you laugh, cry, and root for these characters as if they were a part of your own family. MRS. EVERYTHING is Weiner's best book yet."
Parade
"The Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2019"
Booklist (starred review)
"Readers will flock to this ambitious, nearly flawless novel . . . Weiner asks big questions about how society treats women in this slyly funny, absolutely engrossing novel that is simultaneously epic and intimate."
Shelf Awareness
Jennifer Weiner has created a novel for the ages in Mrs. Everything, which is as impressive as it is ambitious... a skillfully rendered and emotionally rich family saga... an unapologetic feminist novel, fully fleshing out the pernicious effects of patriarchy... Weiner shows that big, expansive social novels are not only still possible in our fragmented society but perhaps necessary. Mrs. Everything is a great American novel, full of heart and hope.
Entertainment Weekly
"Her most sprawling and intensely personal novel to date."
Cosmopolitan
"From the writer behind IN HER SHOESyour favorite movie about sisterscomes another story about sisters. But intsead of being in a competitive relationship fueled by mutual envy, these two are sibling goals as they try to figure out if their generation is really so much freer than their mother's."
Good Housekeeping
"Simply unputdownable."
Bookpage
"MRS. EVERYTHING's flawed but approachable female characters, well-examined friendships and romantic relationships, and often-joyful sex scenes make this vintage Weiner. This is a warm, readable novel about figuring out what it means for a woman to be true to herself, and then figuring out how to act on that knowledge."
Bookreporter.com
"A big sweeping novel . . . MRS. EVERYTHING will be great for a book group discussion."
Library Reads
"A sweeping story about sisters Jo and Bethie . . . This novel is both heartwrenching and funny, and readers will cry and laugh with them along the journey."
The Missourian
"MRS EVERYTHING is heartbreakingly familiar, the struggles and trauma . . . feel as real as the entries of a secret diary. Jennifer Weiner misses nothing crafting the story of two women who could be any womanweighted down by gender roles and patriarchal expectations, learning to navigate a world where women continue to carry burdens passed on to us from generations past. To read the truth of Jo and Bethie's lives is enough to inspire anyone to live more honestly."
AARP Summer Book Preview
Weiner brings us another winner, maybe even her best book yet. A wonderful, absorbing novel skillfully woven with social critique, it's comparable to books by her more heralded male contemporaries (yes, Jonathan Franzen).
Refinery 29
"Jennifer Weiner is the master of richly told page-turners about complicated and likable women."
People
A multigenerational narrative that’s nothing short of brilliant.
Hello Giggles
"A complex, captivating look at the many different roles women play: daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, friends, and beyond."
SheReads
"The perfect book club pick of summer. MRS. EVERYTHING is an acute, sharp and eclectic story about real women facing problems we can all relate to and social obstacles that need to be talked about."
Newsday
"It is her most ambitious and serious book to date, exchanging the witty tone and one-liners of earlier work for a more earnest approach to social issues. MRS. EVERYTHING is sure to delight Weiner's legions of fans and win new ones."
Jill Grunenwald
"Mrs. Everything is like "Beaches" but with mothers and daughters and sisters. I may never recover."
Bustle
"A topical novel about sisterhood, heartache, hope, and womanhood that takes readers through the 'herstory' of the second half of the 20th century."
Good Life Family Magazine
"EVERYTHING you want in a novel."
New York Times Book Review
"Weiner has always been a gifted novelist and a powerful essayist. In 'Mrs. Everything,' she brings the best of both worlds to the page, holding up the prism of choice and letting the light shine through from every angle.... If you have time for only one book this summer, pick this one."
Woman's Day
"A heartfelt and super-relatable story."
Women's Health
"What really makes this book a summer sensation is Weiner's female characters that capture your attention and make you feel lots of feels."
Cosmopolitan
"From the writer behind IN HER SHOESyour favorite movie about sisterscomes another story about sisters. But intsead of being in a competitive relationship fueled by mutual envy, these two are sibling goals as they try to figure out if their generation is really so much freer than their mother's."
Booklist
"Readers will flock to this ambitious, nearly flawless novel."
Woman's Day
"A heartfelt and super-relatable story."
Booklist
"Readers will flock to this ambitious, nearly flawless novel."
Library Journal
05/01/2019
The latest novel by New York Times best-selling Weiner (Good in Bed) follows Jo and Bethie Kaufman, Jewish sisters growing up in Detroit during the civil rights era. Jo is lean, sporty, and a constant source of worry for her traditionalist mother, whereas Bethie is beautiful and the near-perfect daughter. After the untimely death of their father, the girls enter adolescence and begin grappling with their identities, sexuality, and strict societal expectations. Jo seeks solace in her best friend and eventual same-sex lover, while Bethie starts down a destructive path, aided by a sexually abusive uncle. College brings experimentation with drugs, sex, and the fight for equality. The sisters continually come together and then break apart as they navigate life's vagaries for 60 years, all while searching for peace within themselves. VERDICT Not as strong as some of Weiner's previous works, this title struggles with continuity through its expansive time line. Readers may have trouble keeping up with the gaps. Nonetheless, it's a fascinating read that emphasizes the moments that define who you are. [See Prepub Alert, 12/17/18.]—Chelsie Harris, San Diego Cty. Lib.
JULY 2019 - AudioFile
Listeners hear about the lives of two sisters through a whimsical performance by Ari Graynor and Beth Malone. Jo, an athlete and aspiring writer, and Bethie, an elegant socialite, grew up in a Jewish household in Detroit during the 1950s. However, their lives drastically changed after they experienced traumatic events, including sexual assault and issues relating to sexual identity. Jo becomes a young mother living in Connecticut, and Bethie turns to the hippie free-love movement of the ‘60s. Malone and Graynor put the listener in a dreamlike trance during the story’s long flashbacks. The sisters’ reflections are engaging, with clear expression of the emotions they felt during disappointing situations. Although both narrators sound quite similar, Jo and Bethie’s perspectives and experiences are unique and easily distinguishable. G.M. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-03-18
A sprawling story about two sisters growing up, apart, and back together.
Jo and Bethie Kaufman may be sisters, but they don't have much else in common. As young girls in the 1950s, Jo is a tomboy who's uninterested in clothes while Bethie is the "pretty one" who loves to dress up. When their father dies unexpectedly, the Kaufman daughters and their mother, Sarah, suddenly have to learn how to take care of themselves at a time when women have few options. Jo, who realizes early on that she's attracted to girls, knows that it will be difficult for her to ever truly be herself in a world that doesn't understand her. Meanwhile, Bethie struggles with her appearance, using food to handle her difficult emotions. The names Jo and Beth aren't all that Weiner (Hungry Heart, 2016, etc.) borrows from Little Women; she also uses a similar episodic structure to showcase important moments of the sisters' lives as she follows them from girlhood to old age. They experience the civil rights movement, protests, sexual assault, drugs, sex, and marriage, all while dealing with their own personal demons. Although men are present in both women's lives, female relationships take center stage. Jo and Bethie are defined not by their relationships with husbands or boyfriends, but by their complex and challenging relationships with their mother, daughters, friends, lovers, and, ultimately, each other. Weiner resists giving either sister an easy, tidy ending; their sorrows are the kind that many women, especially those of their generation, have had to face. The story ends as Hillary Clinton runs for president, a poignant reminder of both the strides women have made since the 1950s and the barriers that still hold them back.
An ambitious look at how women's roles have changed—and stayed the same—over the last 70 years.