eShop USA > Books > All We Ever Wanted Was Everything
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $24.95Our Price: $16.47 You Save: $8.48 (34%)Prices subject to change.
Customer Reviews
Rating:  - I was drawn in
Frankly, I didn't expect to like this book. I'm picky about novels, and this one didn't seem to promise much. How nice to be wrong! It was one of those books I carried around in my bag, sneaking a read whenever I could. I enjoyed the way the plot built, and I especially liked that I couldn't really tell which way the story was going to go. The characters felt visually and emotionally real -- I can relate to the reviewer who says she could imagine this as a movie. Nice juicy roles for three generations of actresses.
And this was only her first novel? I look forward to many more excellent reads from Ms. Brown.
Rating:  - THIS IS ONE FINE READ
All we ever wanted was Everything by Janelle Brown is truly a rather amazing work and an absolute mesmerizing read. Now I will be the first to admit that this particular work will quite likely have more appeal to women than men; at first glance anyway, but due to the author's sheer story telling abilities I feel it will delight the male audience as well and they should give it a try.
Briefly, this is a rather satirical American story centering around three women, all in the same family, who are living the American Dream. As so happens, things suddenly turn to pure misery, and the very essence of what they thought was important, what they lived for was all of a sudden taken away from them.
It is interesting to note that each woman, a mother and two daughters, turned to other things for help, drugs, sex, alcohol, self pity etc. They did not turn to their greatest strength, themselves. Enough said here though. I do not want to get into any spoilers.
The author, Janelle Brown is beyond a doubt a master story teller. Her humor and with shine though on ever page even though some of her subject matter is of a rather serious nature. She weaves a story, as story full of circumstances that could happen to any of us at any time, and turns this into what I would classify as a page turner. I actually read this thing not stop, not having the ability to put it down. The author can transition from the absolutely hilarious to the depths of tragedy in a blink and does it with such skill that it all seems quite natural.
One of the strongest, if not the strongest skills this author brings to the pages of the book is her wonderful character development. You absolutely know the characters; feel what they feel and can absolutely relate to each of them. This takes great skill and Brown has it nailed perfectly.
Seldom have I read a first novel of this nature that was this good. This is one of those works that you can completely loose yourself in and will feel sort of let down when it ends. I do hope we hear more from this author and hear soon.
Recommend this one highly. I cannot see how you can go wrong with this one if you enjoy pure good writing.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
Rating: - Well-written debut
In Janelle Brown's "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything," Janice was left by her husband, Paul for her best friend/tennis partner after his pharmaceutical company went public and the family became millionaires overnight. His departure caught Janice completely off-guard, and she was left alone with their two daughters, Margaret and Lizzie. Both daughters had problems of their own - Margaret, was recently dumped by her actor boyfriend, found herself in massive debt when her feminist magazine failed, while Lizzie who slept around with different boys in her high school became known as the slut. All of the three women did not know of one another's problems/issues, and their situation became more complicated when they found out that Paul may soon stripped Janice of her well-deserved money from the stocks.
This was a well-written novel that touched on contemporary issues that affect most families. The author was able to describe her characters vividly, making them seemed like real people with real issues. She was also able to illustrate the complexities of each of the relationships in this book, making this an engaging read. This was a great debut for the Janelle Brown, and I look forward to her next novel.
Rating:  - Canned soup - edible but thin
The book is an entertaining look at the soft underbelly of a small upper class community but not much more than that. The author takes many opportunities to make jabs at the concept of pharmaceuticals (both pharmacy and street, must be a personal vendetta). The oldest daughter is basically a fictionalization of Jessica Valenti, right down to the year of birth[...]
Rating:  - Nothing really
Bad things happen in threes: A mother and two daughters.
Yet another middle aged woman gets dumped by her hubby for another woman. This time instead of a job or BFF coming to her rescue, her two dysfunctional daughters show up. Losers every one, how would they could "help" each other seemed implausible. The cover and title made me want to love it. It is well written so that's why the three stars, but it really was kind of depressing.
| |
 |
