Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Mrs. Everything

by Jennifer Weiner

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

'You'll love this book and wish she was your friend' MINDY KALING

'If you have time for only one book this summer, pick this one' THE NEW YORK TIMES

From Jennifer Weiner, the bestselling author of IN HER SHOES and WHO DO YOU LOVE . . .
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Jo and Bethie couldn't be more different . . . but the world expects them to be the same

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, the Kaufman sisters' roles in the family are clearly defined. Jo is the tomboy, the bookish rebel with a passion to make the world more fair; Bethie is the pretty, feminine good girl, a would-be star who enjoys the power her beauty confers and dreams of a traditional life.

But as the sixties begin, the world around them is changing fast. Soon nothing about their future seems to be what they'd hoped for or expected. Bethie becomes an adventure-loving wild child, while Jo becomes a proper young mother in Connecticut, putting the truth of what - and who - she really desires to one side. Neither woman inhabits the world she dreams of. Is it too late for them to stake a claim on the lives they really want?

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Find out why Jennifer Weiner is beloved by readers everywhere

'Fiercely funny, powerfully smart, and remarkably brave' CHERYL STRAYED

'Like Helen Fielding, Weiner balances fresh humour, deft characterisations, and literary sensibility' THE GUARDIAN

'Mrs Everything is like Beaches but with mothers and daughters and sisters. I may never recover' JILL GRUNEWALD

'Generous and entertaining' Publishers Weekly

'You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to read it again' TheSkimm

'Blends humour and heartbreak to create an irresistible novel' Publishers Weekly

'Weiner [is] a marvellously natural storyteller' Publishers Weekly

'Jennifer Weiner has done it again. She has made me feel more emotions than I've felt in a long time' Goodreads reviewer

'Beautifully written and heart-touching' Goodreads reviewer

Reviewed by Linda on

5 of 5 stars

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Mrs. Everything spans over several decades, following Bethie and Jo, two sisters born after the 2nd world war, living their childhood in Detroit.
Tackling many important subjects, the story follows Jo a little more closely than Bethie, but they both have their chapters, and we follow their lives rather closely, even without being with them all the time.
Changes in society, from civil rights to LGBT rights, to women's rights, the story really touched me deeply. All the trials and tribulations women have to deal with in their daily lives were depicted, and most importantly were the relationships between sisters, and between mothers and daughters.
Mrs. Everything was a story I savored over several days, the writing brought some kind of melancholy to my heart, and I was filled with tenderness (and sometimes rage - on behalf of) for the characters.
Weiner managed to bring the decades of the past to life, and she also made her characters very well rounded out.

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  • 16 June, 2019: Reviewed