Entertaining book that melds the socio-comic with a critique on our money-driven, sex-obsessed culture. The characters end up likable. However, three's the best I can do for a novel I enjoyed but would never re-read. Fits right in with the slew of books deconstructing the upper-middle and/or academic class including writers like Meghan Daum and Claire Messud. This novel won't stick with me long, but held my interest for the six or so hours it took to read. Might be interesting for a book club that's not uptight talking about sex, drugs, and the veneer that holds together an upper-middle class suburbia. ( )

In All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, Janelle Brown introduces us to a family during their summer of one crisis after another. After 29 years of marriage, Janice Miller is stunned to learn, on the day her husband's Silicon Valley company makes a successful first stock offering, that he won't be coming home to celebrate their new wealth - he's leaving her for her best friend and tennis partner. Meanwhile, her elder daughter Margaret's finances are rapidly plummeting to the other end of the spectrum as her own business goes under, and teenage daughter Lizzie's social naivete is teaching her some hard lessons. Each of them is trying to cope with her problems in her own way, but none of their ways include much open communication with each other.

Brown alternates the focus of each chapter among the three women, and her use of third-person narration gives the reader some insight into each of their perceptions of each other - and these are characters who seem to relate to their perceptions of each other more than to the actual person. There's a lot of reaction to the perceptions of others within the book, really. On the surface, especially in Janice's case, it looks a bit like too much concern about 'keeping up appearances,' especially since their upscale community is the kind of place where appearances seem to matter greatly - however, sometimes when the inner turmoil is just too much to deal with, attention to appearances can give a person some small sense of control over something.

READ MORE: http://www.3rsblog.com/2009/07/monday... ( )

I read this book on the recommendation of an employee at my favorite local bookstore. And if you think the cover looks yummy, just wait til you get a taste of what's inside!

The book alternates point of view among the three main characters, and I found myself most looking forward to the 20-something daughter's sections. I'm no longer 20-something (sigh) but I identified with her character most of all. She grew up in Quintessential Suburbia but developed into a feminist, liberal woman with aspirations of success in the publishing world.

Even though I was drawn to that one character, I loved all the main characters and could see myself in each of them.

This is one of those books that made me into Bad Mommy because I couldn't resist the temptation to sneak a passage here and there while "playing" with my 8-month-old daughter. (It's good for her to see me reading books, right?) ( )

Fabulously trashy!

Set in Silicon Valley with IPO's, Drugs, Family issues, etc. I had read a review on this in the newspaper and it was engaging enough for me to finish it but somewhat formulaic. ( )

Sarah

Sweet revenge tale of 40-something woman whose husband takes off with her best friend, without saying a word, on the day that his company goes public, netting him billions. The writing is better, the story more convincing and the cast of characters much more interesting, than in your average ditched-wife novel. A compelling, juicy read. ( )