Author: Janelle Brown
Read: 7/1/12
Snapshot (taken from the book cover):
When Paul Miller’s pharmaceutical company goes public, making his family IPO millionaires, his wife, Janice, is sure this is the windfall she’s been waiting years for — until she learns, via messengered letter, that her husband is divorcing her (for her tennis partner!) and cutting her out of the new fortune. Meanwhile, four hundred miles south in Los Angeles, the Millers’ older daughter, Margaret, has been dumped by her newly famous actor boyfriend and left in the lurch by an investor who promised to revive her fledgling post-feminist magazine, Snatch. Sliding toward bankruptcy and dogged by creditors, she flees for home where her younger sister Lizzie, 14, is struggling with problems of her own. Formerly chubby, Lizzie has been enjoying her newfound popularity until some bathroom graffiti alerts her to the fact that she’s become the school slut.
The three Miller women retreat behind the walls of their Georgian colonial to wage battle with divorce lawyers, debt collectors, drug-dealing pool boys, mean girls, country club ladies, evangelical neighbors, their own demons, and each other, and in the process they become achingly sympathetic characters we can’t help but root for, even as the world they live in epitomizes everything wrong with the American Dream. Exhilarating, addictive, and superbly accomplished, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything crackles with energy and intelligence and marks the debut of a knowing and very funny novelist, wise beyond her years.
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed reading this book. The ice cream sundae on the cover reminded me of those books that everyone says are good for "beach reading." So I thought, why not? Its a hot summer and I have nothing to do today but sit by the pool and read. Not to mention that the description sounded pretty entertaining and out of the norm. I ended up reading the book in the span of one day, which I haven't done since reading the Hunger Games. I wouldn't necessarily say this was one of those books I just couldn't put down, but I felt like the chapters were broken up in such a way that I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next for that particular character. The chapters rotate perspectives between the three Miller women: the mother Janice, the oldest daughter Margaret, and the youngest daughter Lizzie.
I think the central themes within the book were interpersonal relationships, conflict and communication. This book made me think about relationships within the family and how quickly the people you're supposed to be closest to can become total strangers. The characters in the book did not communicate at all when they each had so many issues and problems to work through. Each of them shut down and internalized all of their emotions until each of the them came to the breaking point and it all came out at once. Internalizing your problems obviously can lead to this sort of breaking point and that is never good emotionally.
In my past relationships, I've found that this is something I used to do on a regular basis. I felt that I would be judged or no one would understand or I could handle the problems by myself, etc. etc. Its kind of funny because that's the way everyone feels when they have this type of personality or coping mechanism. As I've gotten older, I realized its much easier to just say what's on your mind and be honest about your feelings and how others make you feel. I know my biggest problem with doing this is the delivery. I can just blurt out whatever I'm thinking and not realize the effect it could have on other people or what I'm saying may be rude or inconsiderate. The main thing I've learned is to not let a problem sit and fester inside yourself, especially with your significant other. I think me and J do a good job of communicating and I even though I sometimes have to force him to talk about what he's upset about, I feel that we do work through the problem so we can either laugh about the fight later or figure out a work around.
Top 5 things I learned from this book:
1. Don't snort crystal meth that you bought from your pool boy
2. Don't let your credit card debt get so out of control that the companies sue you for the excessive amount of money you owe them
3. Figure out a way to keep your teenage daughter from becoming a slut. I'll take any advice that can be shared for my future daughter's sake
4. If your husband starts spending more time at work and away from home and generally being an ass, you may need to throughly read any legal papers he has you sign that seem innocent.
5. If your husband leaves you and you feel the need to throw all of his stuff out in the garbage, don't second guess yourself. Just do it.
