Review: Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Published: June 11, 2019

Publisher: Atria Books

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Do we change or does the world change us?

Jo and Bethie Kaufman were born into a world full of promise.

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, they live in a perfect “Dick and Jane” house, where their 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 the truth ends up looking different from what the girls imagined. Jo and Bethie survive traumas and tragedies. As their lives unfold against the background of free love and Vietnam, Woodstock and women’s lib, Bethie becomes an adventure-loving wild child who dives headlong into the counterculture and is up for anything (except settling down). Meanwhile, Jo becomes a proper young mother in Connecticut, a witness to the changing world instead of a participant. Neither woman inhabits the world she dreams of, nor has a life that feels authentic or brings her joy. Is it too late for the women to finally stake a claim on happily ever after?

In her most ambitious novel yet, Jennifer Weiner tells a story of two sisters who, with their different dreams and different paths, offer answers to the question: How should a woman be in the world? 

My Thoughts

Jo and Bethie are sisters but their lives followed different paths. Bethie is the wild child, growing up in the free lovin' 60s she enjoyed and partook in all that the decade offered. She was the one who always gave her mother trouble but no one really knew why. What was it in Bethie that made her this way? We see why later in the story, how she experienced some pain and tragedy in her childhood. 

Jo, on the other hand, had her secret knowing very early on she was gay and in love with her best friend but decided to never let anyone know. She went on to get married and have children, never letting her true self be happy and living the life she wanted and deserved until later on in life.

We see both these sisters lives evolve and how they each went from kids to adults and trying to find their niche in this world. Neither one had an easy life, both having hard lives and never really coming into their own until they were grown. This book was rich in storylines, the way we see these sisters go through decades is amazing and seeing them struggle at times pulls at your heartstrings.

Mrs. Everything is a well-written story with its focus on family, love and coming into your own with elements of feminism. I loved that it has strong female characters that many of us can relate to, and while some of the topics touched upon in this book can be tough to some, I believe its things that can help some people also. This is one book that I highly recommend for anyone who wants an honest to god amazing read.

Review: It Happens all the Time by Amy Hatvany

It Happens all the Time by Amy Hatvany

Published: March 28, 2017

Publisher: Atria Books

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4 /5

Synopsis

Amber Bryant and Tyler Hicks have been best friends since they were teenagers—trusting and depending on each other through some of the darkest periods of their young lives. And while Amber has always felt that their relationship is strictly platonic, Tyler has long harbored the secret desire that they might one day become more than friends.

Returning home for the summer after her college graduation, Amber begins spending more time with Tyler than she has in years. Despite the fact that Amber is engaged to her college sweetheart, a flirtation begins to grow between them. One night, fueled by alcohol and concerns about whether she’s getting married too young, Amber kisses Tyler.

What happens next will change them forever.

In alternating points of view, It Happens All the Time examines the complexity of sexual dynamics between men and women and offers an incisive exploration of gender roles, expectations, and the ever-timely issue of consent.

My Thoughts

It Happens all the Time is a hard-hitting story of two best friends whose lives are forever changed after one night out. Amber and Tyler have been best friends ever since Tyler and his family moved to town when Tyler was in his early teens. He soon became friends with the girl next door Amber. While they are just friends Tyler has always had feelings for Amber but never said anything since he valued their friendship. As they grow older Amber comes home after graduation and reconnects with Tyler and announces she is engaged, and of course, Tyler is crushed but continues to keep his feelings to himself.

One night they go out and Amber admits to flirting with Tyler but she never thinks that what happens next would ever happen. Years of feelings and his love for Amber takes over Tyler and he does the most unthinkable thing ever while making out he rapes Amber. She says no and he doesn't stop but Tyler doesn't remember her saying no and he doesn't think he raped her. This sets off a chain reaction that will break up friendships and relationships and messes with Amber’s emotional state of mind. Tyler’s past with his father and their relationship plays a huge part in all of this and you begin to question Tyler in general.

This story is powerful to say the last, no matter your opinion about Tyler. Is he a good guy yes, at least in the beginning, but he did a very bad thing. Does years of his father mental abuse play a part? Maybe. However, in the end, no means no and nothing excuses what he did. I loved the alternating chapters because we see how each one viewed the events as it happens. This story will make you think and it's a very emotional read one that will stay with you way after you closed the book. Amy Hatvany gives us a story that will have you shocked and in tears and will definitely have you questioning everything you think you knew.

Review: His Favorites by Kate Walbert

His Favorites by Kate Walbert

Published: August 14, 2018

Publisher: Scriber

Format: audiobook via Overdrive

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

They were on a lark, three teenaged girls speeding across the greens on a “borrowed” golf cart, at night, drunk. The cart crashes and one of the girls lands violently in the rough killed instantly. The driver, Jo, flees the hometown that has turned against her and enrolls at a prestigious boarding school. Her past weighs on her. She is responsible for the death of her best friend. She has tipped her parents’ rocky marriage into demise. She is ready to begin again, far away from the accident.

Taut, propulsive and devastating, His Favorites reveals the interior life of a young woman determined to navigate the treachery in a new world. Told from her perspective many years later, the story coolly describes a series of shattering events and the system that failed to protect her. Walbert, who brilliantly explored a century of women’s struggles for rights and recognition in her award-winning A Short History of Women, limns the all-too-common violations of vulnerability and aspiration in the lives of young women in this suspenseful short novel.

My Thoughts

His Favorites is a story that is very relative to what’s going on at this moment. After a night of drinking Jo crashes a golf cart and kills her best friend and soon she decides to leave her school and hometown and goes to a private school. Thinking that this school will protect her she soon learns this is far from the truth, the ones that are there to protect her are the ones that hurt her the most.

This short novel gives us complex characters that are raw and flawed but no matter how messed up someone is that doesn’t give others the right to violate them. You feel for these girls who are taken advantage of but they won't let this define them. This is one jam-packed read that is very important, while it is sad and messed up it also shows you that you can be strong and stand up for yourself no matter what. His Favorites is a huge read despite its small size.

Review: Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

Expected Publication: June 26, 2018

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Format: via Edelweiss

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

A violent serial rapist is on the loose, who goes by the name Maude. She hunts for men at bars, online, at home— the place doesn’t matter, neither does the man. Her victims then must live the aftermath of their assault in the form of doubt from the police, feelings of shame alienation from their friends and family and the haunting of a horrible woman who becomes the phantom on which society projects its greatest fears, fascinations and even misogyny. All the while the police are without leads and the media hound the victims, publicly dissecting the details of their attack.

What is extraordinary is how as years pass these men learn to heal, by banding together and finding a space to raise their voices. Told in alternating viewpoints signature to each voice and experience of the victim, these pages crackle with emotion, ranging from horror to breathtaking empathy.

As bold as it is timely, Any Man paints a searing portrait of survival and is a tribute to those who have lived through the nightmare of sexual assault.

My Thoughts

Any Man is like no novel I have ever read. In this read, we met men victims who are left assaulted by a female they named Maude. We get to know each victim and we hear of the assault that they dealt with by Maude. Some cases are worse than others but nevertheless, each one is gruesome and we are left to wonder why did she do this? Did she do this as revenge, was it personal, or was this just some sick and twisted individual who did this for kicks.

This novel really brings up some great questions, it shows us that sexual assaults towards men happen more than we realize. Due to the stigma, they are even more unaccounted for because of the shame of it. People tend to think how can a woman overpower a man like that and rape him. He must have wanted it and enjoyed it. Society can't begin to understand and comprehend that a man could possibly be a victim.

I cant begin to shine enough praise on this read. It opened by eyes to what goes on, this isn’t a pretty read its raw, uncomfortable and at times hard to read but its one we all need to read. We have to open up our eyes to whats going on and know there are more victims that hide in shadows and we must let them know that they shouldn’t be afraid to report these crimes.

Maude has to be the most diabolical character I have ever read. Even though we don’t really get to know her until the end and at that, it’s a small insight into her she is pure evil in my eyes. The things she does and how she gets her victims is just… I honestly don’t have the words to express it. I do know though she is so complex that she is intriguing at the same time. Amber Tamblyn gives us a novel that is so on point for this moment in time but with a twist that makes us see things differently. This is one read that while is a hard subject is one that we all need to learn more of and understand. This is a topic that definitely needs more discussion and this novel can be the thing to get the ball rolling.