All of Us and Everything by Bridget Asher

All of Us and Everything Reviews

• 
  Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin

  
  www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com
  
  I loved reading about the characters in this book. They are all related, but their lives are so very different.
  
  Augustus gave birth to three daughters, Esme, Liv, and Ru. Not long after she leaves their father Nick because of what he is.. can't tell you about that.
  
  Esme's husband Doug leaves her and their daughter Atty for another woman. Their world is totally ripped apart as you can imagine.
  
  Liv has problems with drugs and alcohol after getting a divorce from her third husband.
  
  Ru gets engaged, then runs off to Vietnam to do research.
  
  They all come back together at Augustus home after hurricane Sandy causes a lot of problems, needless to say.
  
  This is a story of the lives of women and family finding each other and finding things they have lost.
  
  It was very poignant and had it's moments of comedic relief.
  
  When all things seemed so impossible for these women, things fall into place and works out for the better.
  
  **I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review**
  
  
  
• 
  Jennifer

  Hurricane Sandy bears down on the Jersey Shore and unearths a long-forgotten trunk filled with letters concerning local matriarch Augusta Rockwell and her three unique daughters. Said daughters each happen to be having major life crises, and decide to venture home to NJ to reconcile their feelings with their mother, their mysterious father, and each other.
  
  This novel is marketed as being "quirky," but it just felt too forced for me. Weird for the sake of being weird. Sort of like several of Johnny Depp's movie roles ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Alice in Wonderland", etc.) It took me awhile to get into the book, and then once I did, I didn't care much for the characters. The only exception was the story line of Augusta and the girls' father, which I thought was interesting and well done. That was quirky without being contrived.
  
  All in all a 2.5 star read.
  
  Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Lorilin

  I was looking forward to reading this book. I love The Husband's Secret, so I had high hopes for All of Us and Everything. Plus, I really like stories that focus on relationships between sisters, and relationships between mothers and daughters. I genuinely thought this one was going to be a good fit for me.
  
  Yikes, what a disappointment. While I think there was some potential here for an interesting story with weird, eccentric, engaging characters, author Bridget Asher just couldn't pull it off. The story is meandering and unfocused. It has engaging moments, but it also has a lot of superfluous, boring sections that could have been eliminated all together. In fact, I'd say the whole book could have been edited down, probably by at least 40 percent. It would have moved along much more quickly.
  
  I took issue with the dialogue, in particular; it just wasn't believable to me. And some of the conversations between characters went on and on and on. I found myself zoning out at these points, and I'd have to catch myself and reread what I just read (never a good sign).
  
  Ultimately, this book did basically nothing for me. While I still think the plot had potential, I never fell in love with the characters.
  
  If you are looking for a better book about relationships between sisters or between moms and daughters, I'd suggest The Roots of the Olive Tree. I really liked that one. Oh, and if you've never read anything by Liane Moriarty, don't judge her based on a (totally misleading) comparison to All of Us and Everything. Her books are nothing like this one.
  
  See more of my book reviews at
  www.BugBugBooks.com!
• 
  Michelle

  ***3.5 All of Us Stars***
  
  Smart, entertaining, and wickedly charming!! All of Us and Everythingby Bridget Asher was a fun, sexy, provocative read that was widely intriguing as Ms. Asher creates a story that unravels family secrets. Nothing is black and white and in this unique and entertaining read as Ms. Asher weaves a story of sisters discovering the truth regarding their father.
  
  Augusta Rockwell is an eccentric mother to three daughters- Esme, Liv, and Ru. They didn’t have a normal upbringing as most children did. Their mother always told them crazy and far-fetched stories that their father was an international spy and was absent because he was away on top-secret missions. So when a storm hits their family home, the Rockwell sisters reunite and soon discovers buried letters that exposes the real truth. After weathering the storm, will this new found revelation bring the Rockwell women closer?
  
  So if you are ready to get struck with a read that will have you charmed with realistic flawed characters then this book is definitely for you. A light and well-written story that would be a perfect weekend read.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Christine Roberts

  I enjoyed this book. Family is an interesting, volatile, ever changing thing, and "All of Us and Everything" highlights that perfectly.
  Each character has great attributes, and I promise at least half of them will remind you of someone you know, and love (or hate lol).
  The greatest line in the book, for me, referenced youngest sister Ru, the novelist and screenwriter. "Then again, she felt conflicted in bookstores, too, which sometimes felt like visiting an animal shelter - all those books gazing at you with sad doggy eyes; you can't save them all, and you know what's going to happen to them."
  
  
  Someone had finally put into words how I feel in a book store (or worse, a thrift shop type place). RESCUE ALL THE BOOKS!!!
  
  
  ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Aura

  I would like to say that I liked this book because my sister and I received/won a free copy from the publisher but I wrestled with this book. That is not the experience you want to have whilst reading. First of all, it is billed as the story of a family of eccentric characters. There is a fine line between eccentric, that is, adorably weird ... and certifiable and I think these sisters crossed over to the "need professional help" category. The spy father storyline was a little bit more interesting, however, I couldn't get over some of odd stories of the girls. Let's see if this makes sense. The drug addict aunt gives gold digging men tips to teen niece who tries to kill her high school bully ... drug addict aunt also gives her last two precious Valiums to same niece so she can deal with her mental instability and lectures the teen on the value of using good drugs, "this is how America survived the 1970s" the aunt says. What? This is crazy weird.
• 
  Lesincele

  Ha tenido un planteamiento inicial muy diferente al que me esperaba y por ello me ha gustado más porque se ha diferenciado de otras novelas del género y ha conseguido atraparme por completo. Los personajes son todos absolutamente geniales y tiene unos diálogos irónicos y repletos de humor negro. Muy recomendable.
• 
  Diane S ☔

  Not for me.
• 
  Kirstie

  Based in America so it’s all about asking things through blah blah blah.
  Not my cup of tea. Dark comedy about a mum whose kids father is a spy. The 3 girls grow up with their issues then lose touch with each other but all come together in the end and live happily ever after
• 
  Grace {Rebel Mommy Book Blog}

  Review
  Augusta and her three daughters, Esme, Liv and Ru, lived in their Ocean City New Jersey house by themselves except for their housekeeper. They were an eccentric family. While the girls wondered who their father was or if they even all had the same father all their mother would say was that he was a spy. The girls all eventually left their mother and each other to live their own lives - although none of them are doing particularly well. When they all come back home after a hurricane to help with the house they will find out certain truths their mother never told them.
  
  This book was one I am not sure how to feel about. In the blurb it is compared to Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret. Now that is a hard one to live up to in my opinion so that may add a little to me not liking it as much as I wanted to. I liked certain things, not others, and some were just kooky. Let's discuss shall we.
  
  Characters. This group of women were all a little insane.  The mother was almost a recluse it seemed. Esme (love that name by the way) didn't believe her mother about anything growing up Liv got shipped off to boarding school. Ru disappeared for 21 days when she was 16. When they are grown Augusta is still a recluse, Esme is facing divorce and has a daughter having a hard time with it, Liv is also going through a divorce and has an addiction problem and Ru is avoiding her fiance but throwing herself into work. All of these women have real issues they need to deal with that seemed to have started early on. They don't know how to talk and relate to each other. Or even like each other for that matter. But they do learn to come together on some level at the end.
  
  Control (or lack thereof).The book starts out with them all conducting a storm. Like literally conducting a storm (cover tie in right there). The whole storm and controlling one is a theme throughout. Augusta fought for control in her life but it was basically by shutting people out. The girls are sought control one way or another as well.
  
  Family Focus. The whole book centers on the sisters and their mother and father. I did like to see sisters who don't get along but don't hate each other. I think it is a somewhat realistic look at that relationship. I did love to watch them bond in their own way and come together. Also, I feel like they finally come to understand their mother better and see her in a different light.
  
  Quirky. This family was just so kooky. The whole conducting the storm actually took me a little bit to figure out what they were doing. Plus the whole mother telling them their dad was a spy. The sisters all had pretty above average lives too. Esme lived her soon to be ex-husband and daughter at some prestigious boarding school where they worked. Liv lived a super luxurious life paid for by her three ex-husbands ( which she has a system of finding and marrying) and Ru is a best-selling author with an eidetic memory. Some of this worked and some was a little too much for me.
  
  New Jersey. I am a sucker for a New Jersey setting. Love to see the beaches showcased - and not in a trashy way. Also, I think it really got the essence of how bad Hurricane Sandy really was for so many places.
  
  Epilogue. Now I love me an epilogue but this was a bit too tidy. Literally a paragraph for each character and where they ended up. I liked seeing how it played out but either I wanted more or nothing at all.
  
  Overall, it was an ok read - I enjoyed it more than I didn't. It was paced well and I moved along with it pretty quickly. It was just a little weirder than what I was expecting but I will still check out more from Bridget Asher.
  This review was originally posted on Rebel Mommy Book Blog
• 
  Gina

  3.5 stars rounded up to bypass the crappy overall rating, because I think y'all need to read this book.
  
  I admit to some back and forth with this book, but I ended up liking it much more than expected. Initially I loved it and it pulled me right in, with its quirky characters and this strange family that was sometimes annoying but sometimes also lovable and relatable. For some reason, the book started to drag a bit toward the middle and I toyed with the idea of stopping, but then something called me back in. I think it was Addie, I really liked that kid.
  
  I'm glad I stuck with the book because it did get better, although the ending was sort of predictable and a tiny bit schmaltzy, but still made me feel good. What struck me after the part that felt like it was dragging was that it was a slower-evolving story that was meant to be savored, enjoyed, not "hurry up and get to the point already, nothing's happening here," which is how I fear I, and perhaps many of you, tend to read sometimes. There is a richness to the story that didn't sink in until I took an afternoon to just enjoy it (I listened to the audio) and not have it on as background noise as I slogged through the various tasks on my to do list. This experience has made me want to revisit a few other books I put back in impatience because the story didn't seem to be going anywhere. A good lesson for sure!
• 
  Anita

  This contemporary fiction novel was a disappointment to me. The synopsis sounded great and the storyline, in theory, was. However, it just never really came together for me. The story is about a mother and her three grown daughters and their relationships as well as the “mystery” of her absent father who according to their mother, was a spy. The relationships between the women were moderately interesting, but it was just missing a cohesiveness and a believability. 2/5 stars.
• 
  Kaela

  I absolutely LOVED this book. I felt like I was reading a Wes Anderson script along with something entirely unique to Asher’s style. Can’t wait to read more from her.
• 
  Amy

  Some books seem as though they are going to be light and fluffy, a good beach read but nothing profound, nothing that will stick with you. All of Us and Everything seemed to be one of those books. From the first pages I thought it would be a fun, quirky, whimsical read that I would forget about tomorrow. It is fun and quirky and a bit whimsical but it is also so much more. My love for this book began with something oldest Rockwell daughter Esme wrote in her journal: "I feel otherly." I have always also felt otherly. Many other statements in the book stood out to me as well. Some seemed to have been taken from the mouth of Tina Belcher (if you don't know who Tina Belcher is, I recommend you google her and remedy that ASAP) and some were far more complex. My point is, on the surface this may look like chick lit. It isn't. It's otherly and it's awesome.
  
  The Rockwell sisters, Esme, Liv, and Ru, were raised by their single mother, Augusta. According to their mother, their father was an international spy and that is why they had never met him. For whatever reason, as far as they were aware, their father was absent from their lives and this absence had an impact.
  The girls have grown up and are each somewhat dysfunctional. Esme and her daughter Atty have been abandoned by Esme's husband Doug, who was in Paris chaperoning a student trip and fell in love with a dentist. Liv's third marriage has fallen apart and she is looking for husband number four when she sees a wedding announcement in the New York Times, announcing the marriage of her sister Ru to a very wealthy man and she wonders if stealing her sister's fiance would make her a monster. Ru, recently engaged, has absconded to Vietnam, claiming to do research for her next book. Her first (wildly popular) book was based largely on her sister Liv's teenage romance with a boy named Teddy and Liv isn't happy about it.
  Soon after hurricane Sandy, the sisters all return to the home of their mother. Augusta has just received a box of correspondence that surfaced in the wake of the hurricane and it's contents bring the past back to her and change her future and the futures of her daughters.
  This book was funny but it also got in there and poked at the feels. The sisters are vulnerable. Atty is a mess. All of them have issues, many of which I have, too. I read a lot of books and it's rare that I will reread anything but this is a book that I can see myself rereading in the not too distant future.
• 
  Lori L (She Treads Softly)

  All of Us and Everything by Bridget Asher is a recommended book about an eccentric, dysfunctional family of women.
  
  Augusta Rockwell was an eccentric mother as far as her three daughters are concerned. Esme, Liv, and Ru all grew up hearing that their absent father was a spy and couldn't have any contact with them for their safety. Their mother devoted her life to starting movements, unsuccessfully. Now all of their lives are in flux and weathering storms that will bring them home and, once there, they are going to learn some truths about themselves and their absent father.
  
  Augusta survives a literal storm, Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane leads to the discovery of some letters that are given to Augusta. At the same time Esme and her teenage daughter, Atty, are reeling from their husband/father running off with his dentist in France. Atty is hyper-connected to social media and tweets incessantly. Liv is done with yet another marriage and needs to go to rehab. Ru, after one best-selling book, has left the country to do research for another book, but may just be trying to escape her engagement. All the daughters head home, ostensibly to help Augusta recover from the storm.
  
  Really, most of the storm recovery consists of airing the emotional baggage they have all been carrying for years. None of the sisters really like each other or their mother. Augusta is an eccentric, but not as crazy as the girls imply. Augusta was a wealthy single mother, so the girls grew up in a safe, secure environment. I couldn't help but think that all of the damage they claim as a direct result of their childhood was not necessarily as awful as they claim. Okay, some things were explained as unknown outside interference, but still... Stuff happens. You move on. While I basically liked this book, I had a hard time feeling a lot of empathy for any of the characters - with the exception of Atty.
  
  This is an entertaining, light novel. You are going to be able to read it quickly and follow the action and the quirky emotional angst of all the characters. Even though I didn't connect with any of the characters, I was interested in what happened to them and what they learned about their father, and in the process their mother. The writing is decent, though some of the dialogue felt forced.
  
  Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.
  
  http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/2...
• 
  Patty

  All Of Us And Everything
  By
  Bridget Asher
  
  
  
  What it's all about...
  
  
  This book is about a strange quirky family...Augusta and her daughters Liv and Ru and Esme. They lived on the beach in a big old family beach house. Augusta is incredibly
  eccentric...and the girls have always been told that their father is a spy plus they have never actually ever met him. Augusta always buys green station wagons. Jessamine...their housekeeper...does all of the cooking and takes care of all of the errands. The girls have had no contact with their father ever. This results in really weird issues for each daughter. Marriages, engagements, careers are all kind of a mess for the sisters. Esme has a daughter who is kind of a bit of a mess, too.
  
  Why I wanted to read it...
  
  I love quirky characters in quirky books and this book was definitely quirky. And finally...when the sisters all end up at home after Hurricane Sandy a box is delivered to Augusta. What is in that box? Oh my! Even Augusta is afraid of THE BOX!
  
  What made me truly enjoy this book...
  
  I think that my fave character was Augusta. Her relationship with Nick the Spy was crazy! And as the girls spend more time at home with Augusta...more secrets are revealed. My fave part of the book was actually the epilogue...2 1/2 years after this all happened.
  
  Why you might want to read it, too...
  
  This was a unique tale of three sisters and their parents. I loved the beginning. I kind of got a bit tired of everyone and their oddities after a while, though, I am sad to say.
  
• 
  Mary Lins

  ​"All of Us and Everything" by Bridget Asher, is about a single-mother, three sisters and a storm. The mother, Augusta, who has told her daughters that their father is a spy and thus cannot contact them, daughters: Esme who is gong through a personal maelstrom, Liv who is looking for her next (rich) husband by filtering through the engagement section of major newspapers (because the men are pre-screened for commitment-phobes) and Ru, the youngest, a writer who borrows from her family's life. And then there is Atty, Esme's daughter who Tweets every single moment of her life #toomuchsharing!
  
  After Hurricane Sandy hits the east coast, the family reconvenes; secrets are revealed and relationships are forever changed. I thoroughly enjoyed this often witty, ultimately touching, family tale. Readers who enjoy stories about families, particularly the often fraught relationships between parents and children and among siblings will enjoy this fun novel.
  
  "All of Us and Everything" would make a delightful movie (or TV "dramedy") that could employ actors and actresses of all ages/generations. I'm hoping, like her character Ru, who wrote a successful screenplay from her own novel, that Bridget Asher is already on it!
• 
  Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com

  Did you ever read a book that made you feel like you were really observing people in their best and worst moments? That you were really seeing what was at the heart of the person? Well that is how I felt while reading ALL OF US AND EVERYTHING. You are exposed to the Rockwell women and get the privilege to see what has become of them and all the moments that caused them to become the women they are today. They are flawed, real, damaged and struggling. Then a storm (both real and figurative) changes everything. This storm seriously changes the entire course of their lives and causes them to rethink all they once thought they knew. What a crazy ride it was. There were twists and turns and many unexpected moments that created a very enjoyable reading experience. What a great read. 5 stars
• 
  Melissa (Way Behind Again!)

  Asher’s latest is endearing, tumultuous and an all-around wonderful read. The family is quirky and entertaining, yet readers will see a bit of themselves in each member. Filled with scenes of romance, family secrets, learning to grow up and learning to move on, this novel has something for everyone. The tale will stay with readers long after it is completed.
  Augusta has long told her children that their absent father is a spy, and that is why he hasn’t been a part of their lives. Now adults, Ru, Esme and Liv think this is just a fanciful story their mother invented to keep them from learning the truth about their father. After Hurricane Sandy, the women come back together and a long-held secret comes to light. Will the truth finally set them free?
• 
  Cristina

  This was a quirky read! Thanks for lending it, Rachel!
• 
  Kathryn

  3.5 stars. Review to follow.
• 
  Maureen

  Too long - none of the characters was likeable, and I kept having to go back and figure out who was who.
• 
  Natasha Ellis

  Far fetched and quirky but enjoyable as well.
  Some of the conversations felt unreal but it did have a good storyline. Overall a very readable book.
• 
  KmbrlyBshp

  I had a hard time staying on track with this book. I’m usually a fast reader, but kept finding myself bored reading this.
• 
  Jill

  Bridget Asher is one of the pen names of Julianna Baggott, a favorite author of mine. I like the characters she constructs and her insights into the human condition. In fact, my very favorite middle grade book is by her (The Prince of Fenway Park) as well as my very favorite post-apocalyptic dystopia trilogy (Pure, Fuse, and Burn).
  
  This novel is about a very quirky matriarchal family, the Rockwells. The mother, Augusta, never married, and her three girls have no idea who fathered them. Augusta told them their father was a spy, but they didn’t believe her.
  
  It begins in 1985 at their family home in Ocean City, New Jersey, just as a storm is coming through. Augusta has issued her daughters, Esme, Liv, and Ru (short for Ruby), batons to help “conduct” the storm. She told them:
  
  “Storms are one way to define people. There are those who love storms, those who fear them, and those who love them because they fear them.”
  
  Clearly, this will be a theme of the story, and will come into play later as we learn what happened to the father of the girls.
  
  The plot next moves to 2012, when Hurricane Sandy is bearing down upon them. But it is not the only storm in each of their lives. Esme, the oldest, is now 44 and married with a teenage daughter Atty (named for Atticus Finch). Esme and Atty have just found out that Esme’s husband Doug left them while on a trip to Paris. Liv, 40, has been married three times and is researching a possible fourth. Ru, the youngest, is a best-selling author and is in Vietnam trying to get inspiration for another book.
  
  We then move forward again, eight months after the hurricane. Another storm is coming, and this time it will upend all of their lives.
  
  Navigating the various emotional storms that besiege each of the characters, we learn about their rather unique attitudes toward love, including the love most like a passenger pigeon, according to Liv: something rare and precious and thought to be extinct: i.e., love that lasts a lifetime.
  
  The book ends with an Epilogue that reminded me very much of the ending of the iconic movie “American Graffiti” with the “where are they now” information that scrolls across the screen during the credits.
  
  Discussion: Atty functions as the “Greek chorus” of this book with her hilarious tweets commenting on every situation. But all of the women are witty, self-deprecating, and sympathetic in spite of many character flaws.
  
  Some of my favorite moments:
  
  When Esme finds out Doug left her while on a trip to Paris, she wonders:
  
  “Would they be divorcing via Skype - all disjointed, their voices not quite synced to the movement of their mouths? Would she divorce her husband of seventeen years like a badly dubbed Asian monster movie?”
  
  Atty, a master of clever hashtags, also reacts to the pending divorce in her live-tweets: “Will my mother be on the market one day? #ew”
  
  Liv has guided her life by an effort to escape “the unbearable weight of the ordinary . . . " She looks for potential husbands by scanning newspaper engagement announcements, explaining why the men in them make good prospects for someone else to snag them:
  
  “None of them are [happy]. Their fiancées have changed on them almost overnight. . . These men are being forced to make decisions and no one cares about their opinions. They’re being railroaded into buying things they don’t want to buy, arrange people’s seating in ways they don’t want to arrange, pick from samples of food they don’t want to eat, list their friends in a hierarchy, cut cousins off lists. They’re spending more time with their in-laws. . . .They’re dying inside. . . . [This is] 'the quiet desperation of weddings. . . .'"
  
  And I loved Ru's reaction to the chaos at the end:
  
  “Teddy was back. Her father was back. Cliff was coming. It was like an attack of men. What did it mean? She didn’t want to think of men. She wanted something soothing, something simple….”
  
  Evaluation: I found this story delightful. Unlike so many stories about dysfunctional families, there wasn’t a hateful character in the bunch. One could learn a lot from the way each of these women pushed her way past the storms of life through wit, love, and increasing self-awareness, no matter how reluctantly acknowledged.
  
• 
  Diana Dincau

  [...]De esto pude concluir en que en mi mente dividí el libro en dos partes. Una que me resultó introductoria en demasía, y a su vez poco clara como para sentirme enganchada; y la otra mitad en la cual vi realmente personajes formados, que sentían, pensaban, deseaban. Donde los hechos se entrelazaban de otra manera y con otra fuerza. Allí es donde me sentí más identificada, más allá de los problemas familiares que todos en algún punto tenemos, creo realmente que fue una buena lectura porque no se trata de nada que pueda resultar ajeno a algún lector. Claro que tuve mis altibajos, por ejemplo con ciertos personajes. En especial Augusta, cuyo rol me pareció muy extraño y que no terminé de comprender. En especial el hecho de que piense que dirige/controla las tormentas. ¿Hay explicación alguna de eso en el libro? No. Y sin contar que es algo fantasioso, que está muy bien, pero no hay una causa de por qué, ni cómo -esto especialmente-, ni para qué o cuándo sucede. Así que es algo que quedó medio colgado al inicio, y me pareció sumamente interesante como para que no se desarrolle más. Aún así me fui por el lado más lateral y metafórico y le busqué una explicación más filosófica si se quiere, dentro de la historia. Como es a libre interpretación, con algo me tenía que conformar...
  Me gustaría hablar de esa figura paterna y qué es lo que sucede con ella, pero sería contar demasiado y arruinaría el sentido de la obra. Pero desde que se hace alusión a él, y hasta el final del libro, este punto en particular tocó cada fibra de mi ser. Y eso se lleva todos los puntos.
  
  
  
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