Mrs Everything

Sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman grew up middle-class and Jewish in Detroit, raised by their mother after their father’s early death from a heart attack. While coming of age in the 1960s, Jo realizes she is gay, Bethie is the victim of sexual abuse, and their mother is emotionally unavailable, preferring to sweep such difficult matters under the metaphorical rug. Both girls can’t wait to escape their stifling home environment by going to college, where Jo enjoys the freedom to be herself and Bethie goes wild. Over the next forty years the sisters’ lives take some interesting turns, as both navigate life as a woman in an ever-changing society. Jo marries immediately after college, having come face-to-face with some of the realities of show more being an independent woman -- let alone a lesbian -- during that period in history. Bethie’s path through adulthood is more circuitous, but the long-term impact of abuse is obvious. Despite their differences, each sister is there for the other when she most needs it. Through Jo, Bethie, and the generations who follow them, we see the ways in which women’s lives and options have changed, and the ways they haven’t. Towards the end of the novel, the characters are watching televised coverage of the 2016 Democratic National Convention with such optimism and hope. Jennifer Weiner doesn’t need to tell us how that all worked out. It’s a brilliant way to show how progress can be so easily and quickly eroded.

For me, this story began as “a novel about sisters, one of whom is gay,” and successfully reinforced the importance of sisterhood and family ties. But it was also a more sophisticated exploration of women’s roles in society, and a book with such well-developed characters that I was sad to say good-bye at the end. I loved this book and heartily recommend it to any woman who has experienced the growth of feminism, women’s empowerment, and LGBTQ rights since the 1960s. show less

Hmmm....I am going to go with 4 ⭐️’s but there were moments of 2 all the way to 5, so this is a tough one for me to rate!

I went in for a fun, easy read...what I have found Jennifer Weiner to have given me in previous reads. But nope. Not that. Not bad, just not that.

The subject matter made me really uncomfortable at various stages throughout the book; it got hard for me to read at times, but yet I was interested and invested in the characters. I wanted to know how life was going to turn out. I wanted to see them grow. I wanted to see them support one another and learn from one another. I wanted to learn the lessons with them.

How in the world was the author going to end this story in a way that I would feel content with? I still show more wasn’t even sure if I liked the book yet!

I shouldn’t have questioned JW. She is good. She ended it in the way it exactly needed to end. My stomach feels anxious and sad and content all at once...and I’m ok with that.

But back to the fun, easy read...it was not that. show less

This started as an enjoyable Anne Tyler-esque nostalgic family saga about two Jewish sisters growing up Detroit in the 1950s and then growing apart after the death of their father. Jo, the eldest daughter, is the fearless 'tomboy' who disappoints her mother but dotes on her dad, while Bethie is the younger, prettier all-American 'good girl' of the pair, destined for the 1950s vision of feminine success - getting married and starting a family. Jo is not so keen, developing crushes on the girls at school instead. And then, with the heartbreaking discovery that their loving, forgiving father has dropped dead in the bathroom, life starts to fall apart.

There is a lot of flip-flopping of fortune in the girls' lives - Bethie hits rock bottom show more after two incidents of abuse and Jo's own quest for adventure is brought to a halt when she comes to her sister's aid. Settling for a life - or living death - in suburbia that I wasn't expecting from such a vital character, even in the 1970s, Jo's life then appears to be settled while Bethie joins a commune out of desperation to start again. Then suddenly Bethie is wealthy and happily married and Jo's life comes unstitched at the seams (although I was pleased that she was finally free once again). I enjoyed reading about the sisters' lives more than the second generation, who all seemed rather clichéd - and Lila just plain obnoxious - but did feel like I got to know and sympathise/empathise with the whole cast, over a timeline of fifty or so years. Jo was the stronger sister for me, until she gave into marriage and motherhood for an easy life, but Bethie is also wonderfully resilient: “We lose ourselves,” she repeated, forming each word with care, “but we find our way back.”

And the title, in case anyone is wondering (like I was), is a sort of pun explained by Lila - 'Mrs Everything' 'misses everything'. show less

Trigger warning: Rape

Wow. So this was good. I think that some parts were a bit too long, but I can't really complain about that when I think that Weiner did such a great job with character development along and weaving all of the plot elements together. Weiner also includes certain pop culture and historical incidents (the Kennedy assassination, student protests, war in Vietnam, the me too movement, and even Hillary Clinton running for President of the United States) that are not front and center to the story, but still intriguing to read about with these characters. I of course ended up liking one character more than the other (can't help it, this is the way it goes with dual POVs) but I still really enjoyed the other character too. I show more just wanted this story to go on for much longer after I got to the end which is a mark of a great book to me.

In "Mrs. Everything" the book starts off in the 2000s with a woman named Jo getting news and wondering how to break it to her family. From there we jump backwards to Jo as a young girl and wondering why her family moved from where they lived to another neighborhood in Michigan. We quickly find out that Jo tries very hard to be good for her mother, but always seems to get things wrong. She loves her father and with him she feels as if it's okay if she's not the perfect little girl that her mother wants. Weiner then shows us Bethie (younger sister of Jo) who loves her mother and is very much a great helper to her mother and grandmother. She loves all of the things her sister seems to hate. She does love her sister though and especially the stories that she tells her. Weiner juggles both POVs throughout the book and we follow Jo and Bethie from the 1950s to 2022.

I really liked Jo's storyline the best I think. We have a young girl realizing that she's not like other girls and struggling with that. When we have Jo realizing that her not being like others can mean that her family and life will be harder, we get to see her struggle with making choices that I don't know if I could have been able to do. Jo also is noticing the racial issues that are propping up in the country and how it's not fair that girls she plays sports with in high school can't even sit with her at lunch. Jo has a need to do what's right, but we see her start to lose herself again and again after she deals with romantic disappointments.

Bethie had a more uneven story-line to me though it still works in the end. We get to see what incident in her youth ends up shaping her future. And we get to see her initial dreams change from when she was young (she was a great actor and singer) to her her floundering a lot when she's an adult with her chasing the overwhelming need to be safe.

The secondary characters in this book shine too. We have Jo and Bethie's parents, Jo and Bethie's love interests, friends, and family. I don't want to spoil too much here, but I thought it was great to see the two women go from being close, to slightly estranged, and back again. We get to see the ups and downs of their relationship and how much they love each other.

The book takes place in Detroit, Michigan mostly with some of the story moving to New York and Atlanta. The first parts of the story shows both characters dealing with growing up in Detroit and then later on attending the University of Michigan. From there though we have them moving around and landing on the east coast/south. I think a setting of a book is just as important as the characters and thought that Weiner did a great job of setting the mood so to speak with location changes and providing enough details to make you feel as if you are there too.

The ending I thought was very bittersweet. We get to see another family go on and know that through ups and downs they will be there for each other. show less

4.5 stars

Either Jennifer Weiner's writing has evolved, or I have a very faulty recollection of the impressiveness of her earlier work.

I read a few of Weiner's books year ago, and in my mind I had lumped them into the "chick lit" category -- enjoyable, but not necessarily profound or memorable. "Mrs. Everything" delivers a thoughtful and emotional punch as it shares the stories of several women -- and in particular, two sisters -- over the course of several decades. Weiner's characters have depth and are believable as she uses them to explore what it means to be a woman -- the love, the heartbreak, the compromises, the disappointment, and the redemption.

If you're looking for a page-turner with substance, look no further.

Thank you to show more Atria Books for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman lived in a picture-perfect house. Jo was a passionate tomboy, with a love of books; Bethie was the pretty, good girl, with aspirations of being a star. She enjoys the privilege that comes with beauty.

Things rarely end up how you imagine them to be. The sisters survive unspeakable trauma and life's tragedies. Coming of age in the time of free love, Vietnam, and women's lib, Bethie embraces the more free, hippy lifestyle, balking traditional roles. Instead it is Jo that becomes a mother, stuck on the sidelines of her life. Neither sister has the future they envisioned, but is it too late show more for them to live an authentic and purposeful life?

Jennifer Weiner's newest work is her most ambitious to date and it is a risk that pays off. When a novel spans decades—in this case from the 1950s to present—there is a risk of the author losing the plot and also getting swallowed up in pop culture references, but Weiner doesn't suffer these fates. What happens instead is a remarkable journey of self discovery through the ages. Her writing is rich and fluid with deeply developed, layered characters.

What is so remarkable is that in our ever-changing society, decade after decade, women are still facing the same issues. Especially with how we decide to live our lives—women are constantly berated for their own life choices whether it be to get married, to have children, or work outside the home when they are a mother. These are things that women are consistently being judged for and they are nobody's business. Let me repeat that for those of you in the back...your choices are nobody's business.

Told in dual narratives, Weiner explores the complexities of female relationships, the difficulties woman face, as well as the expectations placed on women. She tackles some heavy issues: sexuality, racism, abortion, religion, drug abuse, etc., and because of this, both Jo and Bethie's stories are engaging and important.

Jennifer, I applaud you for telling stories that so many can relate to. I understand that this book was also personal in that there is a little bit of your mother in Jo. This novel is not only timely, but incredibly moving and poignant. Appropriately titled Mrs. Everything, this book is a bit of everything for every woman. show less

“We lose ourselves,” she repeated, forming each word with care, “but we find our way back.”

This was a good but all encompassing story. It spans quite a time and the twists and turns of children to adults to having their own children. It's a long story with drama and tears, love and laughter. I liked getting to know the sisters so it was tough as they struggled and strained their relationship with each other and others. It was sweet at times and realistic about some of the realities of women having daughters and turning their own struggles into strength to empower their daughters (or at least hoping to do that). I enjoyed this one.