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bookfroglovestoread's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jmj697mn's review against another edition
2.0
I was planning on saying that Ms. Shepard needs to stick to YA fiction, BUT the ending helped redeem this book slightly (from 1 star to 2). I really, really hated all of the main characters, until the end. They were spineless, weak and annoying, but they do finally get their s#it together in the last 30 pages. For the most part.
kimobim's review
2.0
I really liked this book up until about 80% into it. It was a really great set up, and it left me wanting to know what really was happening. Then at about 80% the tense changed. That was also when the part you've been looking forward to for about 10 chapters (Charles meeting up with Bronwyn and his explanation to Joanna) NEVER happened. They also kept alluding to the fact that he would tell his mom it was Bronwyn who was "the girl" and that also was left out. She had such a great build up and then just gave up writing.
christajls's review
3.0
Originally posted at Christa's Hooked on Books
As in many of Sara Shepard’s books, the story begins in a quiet, quaint small town. This town is filled with “average” people. They go to work, they come home, they raise a family. Most of these people have quite a bit of money to their name and spend a good deal of time worrying about their reputation. This worrying is often because of some secret(s) that they don’t want getting out. However, unlike many of Sara’s other books, like the Pretty Little Liars series or The Lying Game series, these secrets are crazy, over-the-top, hard to imagine secrets. They are regular old secrets that anyone could end up with depending on the choices they have made in their life. For me this was the charm of this novel, just how…normal it was.
I really liked how realistic all the characters felt. I truly felt like they were “real” people and I was reading their story. The character development never felt forced. They all changed and developed (as people do) but there wasn’t some big “ah ha” moment, after which everything was completely different. I just don’t think those come around as often as fictional writing has us believe, so it was nice to see an author go a different route.
I should mention that the story itself was interesting. Accusations were flying, plans were set in motion. It was all very dramatic. But it wasn’t the story that sold it for me. If you haven’t already guessed from the previous two paragraphs, this novel is all about the characters. You get invested in them. You hang on through the slow parts because you want to know what will happen. I particularly like Joanna. She seemed so lost, yet so determined to find herself. I respect that. She’s made a few mistakes along the way, but we all make mistakes. It’s human.
What it comes right down to is that Everything We Ever Wanted gives you a glimpse into a very intimate part of people’s lives. But it isn’t about what’s going on in that moment, but how that moment affects the people involved. It's about how it relates to their humanity and their ability to adapt. And it shows you all this in a way that is subtle and unobtrusive. You can’t help but admire it. Sara Shepard has already shown that she is able to write stories that have deep dark secrets, crazy rumours and lots of suspense but now she has proven that she can write the serious dramas that make us question who we are as individuals and how other’s affect our development. She is most definitely a multi-talented writer.
As in many of Sara Shepard’s books, the story begins in a quiet, quaint small town. This town is filled with “average” people. They go to work, they come home, they raise a family. Most of these people have quite a bit of money to their name and spend a good deal of time worrying about their reputation. This worrying is often because of some secret(s) that they don’t want getting out. However, unlike many of Sara’s other books, like the Pretty Little Liars series or The Lying Game series, these secrets are crazy, over-the-top, hard to imagine secrets. They are regular old secrets that anyone could end up with depending on the choices they have made in their life. For me this was the charm of this novel, just how…normal it was.
I really liked how realistic all the characters felt. I truly felt like they were “real” people and I was reading their story. The character development never felt forced. They all changed and developed (as people do) but there wasn’t some big “ah ha” moment, after which everything was completely different. I just don’t think those come around as often as fictional writing has us believe, so it was nice to see an author go a different route.
I should mention that the story itself was interesting. Accusations were flying, plans were set in motion. It was all very dramatic. But it wasn’t the story that sold it for me. If you haven’t already guessed from the previous two paragraphs, this novel is all about the characters. You get invested in them. You hang on through the slow parts because you want to know what will happen. I particularly like Joanna. She seemed so lost, yet so determined to find herself. I respect that. She’s made a few mistakes along the way, but we all make mistakes. It’s human.
What it comes right down to is that Everything We Ever Wanted gives you a glimpse into a very intimate part of people’s lives. But it isn’t about what’s going on in that moment, but how that moment affects the people involved. It's about how it relates to their humanity and their ability to adapt. And it shows you all this in a way that is subtle and unobtrusive. You can’t help but admire it. Sara Shepard has already shown that she is able to write stories that have deep dark secrets, crazy rumours and lots of suspense but now she has proven that she can write the serious dramas that make us question who we are as individuals and how other’s affect our development. She is most definitely a multi-talented writer.
machadofam8's review against another edition
2.0
This reminded me of The Secret History but it was really just annoying more than anything. I loved the ending, though. Just wish I could feel good about any of the characters other than Scott.
emjanereads's review
2.0
To be honest, I expected more out of this title. Everything We Ever Wanted was little more than a paperback romance, but it tried to be deeper. The rich Bates-McAllisters' lives have suddenly become more complicated: Scott (the grown-up adopted son) may have been involved in hazing that caused the death of a high school student. Sylvie (the matriarch)belongs to the school board, and now has to deal with the scandel and shame of what Scott did (or did not...we don't know). Charles (the uptight older brother)is unhappy in both his work and marriage and still dealing with his dead father's lack of love and affection. Joanne (Charles' wife) is unhappy and confused about which McAllister brother she really loves.
Does that sound like a soap opera? It's how the book read. Though Sara Shepard's writing was not bad, per se, it wasn't engaging.
I have no problem with fluff books, but I don't want them to pretend to be more than they are. Recommended only to those who were intrigued by the plot.
Does that sound like a soap opera? It's how the book read. Though Sara Shepard's writing was not bad, per se, it wasn't engaging.
I have no problem with fluff books, but I don't want them to pretend to be more than they are. Recommended only to those who were intrigued by the plot.
mirable's review against another edition
3.0
SLJ review:
SHEPARD, Sara. Everything We Ever Wanted. 352p. HarperCollins/Morrow. Nov. 2011. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-0-06-208006-6.
Adult/High School–Spock of Star Trek fame put it best: “…having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting.” Best known for her teen series of “Pretty Little Liars” books (HarperTeen), Shepard uses sophisticated prose and the aura of old money to illustrate a family’s angst, ennui, and the belief that appearances are everything. Issues of race and class are the underpinnings in this story of a family floundering, trying to be happy and failing miserably, each person absorbed by loneliness and their perceived alienation from the others. The matriarch, Sylvie Bates-McAllister, becomes unanchored after her husband’s sudden death. Their grown sons are drifting; Scott, who was adopted, is coaching wrestling at the private school that is their family’s legacy, and Charlie is unhappily writing advertising copy he doesn’t believe in. Secrets, including the possibilities of an illicit affair and school hazing, splinter the extended family’s oh-so-proper façade. The stifling weight of history and privilege implicit in Roderick, the ancestral home that is their heritage, contrasts sharply with the contemporary suburban Philadelphia setting. Alternating points-of-view from each character slowly fill in the catalysts of their shifting loyalties, exposing their self-deception. Charlie’s wife comes to the realization that, “When we’re alone, it’s almost as if we don’t exist. We have no identity.” Teens who enjoy layered, realistic stories will find much to like here and be able relate to the isolation and longing for connection the characters share.–Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI
SHEPARD, Sara. Everything We Ever Wanted. 352p. HarperCollins/Morrow. Nov. 2011. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-0-06-208006-6.
Adult/High School–Spock of Star Trek fame put it best: “…having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting.” Best known for her teen series of “Pretty Little Liars” books (HarperTeen), Shepard uses sophisticated prose and the aura of old money to illustrate a family’s angst, ennui, and the belief that appearances are everything. Issues of race and class are the underpinnings in this story of a family floundering, trying to be happy and failing miserably, each person absorbed by loneliness and their perceived alienation from the others. The matriarch, Sylvie Bates-McAllister, becomes unanchored after her husband’s sudden death. Their grown sons are drifting; Scott, who was adopted, is coaching wrestling at the private school that is their family’s legacy, and Charlie is unhappily writing advertising copy he doesn’t believe in. Secrets, including the possibilities of an illicit affair and school hazing, splinter the extended family’s oh-so-proper façade. The stifling weight of history and privilege implicit in Roderick, the ancestral home that is their heritage, contrasts sharply with the contemporary suburban Philadelphia setting. Alternating points-of-view from each character slowly fill in the catalysts of their shifting loyalties, exposing their self-deception. Charlie’s wife comes to the realization that, “When we’re alone, it’s almost as if we don’t exist. We have no identity.” Teens who enjoy layered, realistic stories will find much to like here and be able relate to the isolation and longing for connection the characters share.–Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
3.0
I've read almost everything else by this author - so I was excited to start this one...
and it was an interesting read - one that I enjoyed but didn't love. The secrets were interesting to weave through but I just didn't feel the pull or connection to the characters that I'd hoped.
and it was an interesting read - one that I enjoyed but didn't love. The secrets were interesting to weave through but I just didn't feel the pull or connection to the characters that I'd hoped.
toesinthesand's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn't like any of the characters because we never see them beyond their self involvement . I had totally different expectations for this book but everyone in it was intolerable.