Review: All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: 2018

When Lyla's picture is circulated around, at first, she is humiliated. She can't believe this is happening to her. But when she finds out, Finch Browning, her crush is behind it all, she's not sure if she should be happy that he took notice of her or ashamed that he saw her like that. But Nina, Finch's mom, and Tom, Lyla's dad have a whole different perspective of the situation. Nina is appalled by her son's actions, but also in disbelief that this is something her son actually did. Tom can't believe his daughter just wants to sweep everything under the rug and move on with life. What is going to happen? The entire private school, students as well as parents are aware of the situation, and all eyes are on these two families and how this situation will be handled.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Emily Giffin is definitely one of my favorite authors and I have read everything she has written. This book was a bit different than what I'm used to from her, but I still really enjoyed it.

What would you do if you found out a picture of your daughter, partially nude, was being texted around the school community? To students as well as to parents. What would you do if you were the parent of the child who took that picture? Would you try to push the problem away and move on with life, or would you want to your child to be punished for their actions? These are the questions,
Tom Volpe and Nina Browning are asking themselves.

Tom's daughter Lyla got way too drunk at a party and Finch took some pictures of her and texted it to a friend or two. Those friends passed it along to their friends and some parents got a hold of it as well. For Lyla, she just wants the whole thing to disappear, but her father, wants Finch to be punished for his actions. Nina also believes that Finch should be punished for his actions and it quite concerned about Lyla and how she is handling the whole situation. Finch's father, on the other hand, thinks this is something he can buy his way out of.

Tom and Nina form a friendship during this difficult time and help their children make it through to the other side. Will Finch be punished and his future ruined or will everything work itself out?

I really enjoyed this book and it made me think about what I would do, if placed in that situation. With social media taking over the world and raising young people, it's definitely something I have to keep my eye on. I love the way Emily Giffin tackled this topic, with a few surprises that I didn't expect.

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Review: In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nora Shaw has been invited to her "friend" Clare Cavendish's hen weekend(a bachelorette party). But Nora and Clare haven't spoken to each other in ten years and if their mutual friend Nina wasn't attending, then Nora sure as hell wasn't going to go. Nora doesn't even know who Clare is marrying. Arriving a a house made completely of glass in the middle of the woods, with snow on the ground and no cell reception, Nora instantly regrets her decision to come. When disaster strikes, despite Flo(the maid of honor) trying to make this the best hen weekend ever, Nora tries hard to remember exactly what happened, but it's difficult. Will she be able to put the pieces together before she is charged with a serious crime?

This book was so hard to put down. Let's just say, you won't find me in the woods in a glass house anytime soon. Or meeting up with people I haven't talked to in a decade. I enjoy Ruth Ware's style of writing. I like how she starts the story from opposite ends and then it all comes together. It keeps you excited for what is about to come.

I would hate to be in Nora's shoes. I also don't think I would go to a hen weekend for someone I hadn't talked to in 10 years. Maybe if it was just a night out with a big group, I would consider it, but spending and entire weekend with people I barely know....I don't think so. You don't see the twists and turns that happen in the book coming at you and you will find it impossible to put this this book down. Nora Shaw is your typical 20-something. She has her career as a writer and a few close friends. When she gets the call to attend this hen weekend, she is at first skeptical. The only other person she will know besides the bride, is her friend Nina and they aren't necessarily the closest, although they are much closer than Nora and Clare.

Nora is also a serious runner. It helps her to clear her mind for her writing and when she arrives at the glass house, it helps her to calm her nerves before she sees Clare for the first time. The other guests all seem a little on edge as well and the host Flo, is just a mess. Determined to make the weekend "perfect" for Clare. Each character has their own effect on the outcome of this weekend, and none of their lives will be the same when it is over.

If you haven't read anything by Ruth Ware, I suggest you go out and grab one of her books immediately.

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Review--Local Girls by Caroline Zancan

Three friends walk into their favorite dive bar, The Shamrock, and are shocked to see their favorite actor, Sam Decker there.  When he joins their table and starts buying drinks, the conversation turns to each others pasts and how their lives got to be  at the point they are.  This night will change everyone's lives forever.

From the beginning of the book, we know that someone is going to die.  And now I am just trying to figure out the when and how.  The book flips between present day and the past when the group of three girls used to be a foursome.

Something about this book that I liked is that you get to see how the girl get to this point in their life.  I liked the flashbacks and it transported me back to my high school days.  I could see me and my friends in this same situation although my friends and I were not quite as wild as these girls.

One part that really struck me was a reference to Virginia Woolf and her suicide note.  In the note she says, "I don't think any two people could have been happier than we have been."  The character reading this mentions that this phrase is said twice in her short suicide note.  I find it ironic that the author mentions a phrase twice in this book, "Only boring people get bored."  I think deep down these girls were bored, but used the antics they pulled help to add some excitement to their lives.  Another interesting thing about this book, is that we are never really introduced to the narrator.  I can only recall her name being mentioned twice in the book.

**I received an uncorrected proof of this book through Goodreads Giveaways and this review is based on that copy.**