Review: All of Us and Everything by Bridget Asher (audio)

Title:All of Us and Everything

Author:Bridget Asher

Narrator:Cassandra Campbell

Published:November 2015, Blackstone Audio

Length:10 hours 9 minutes

Source:Personal copy via Audible

For fans of the
quirky, heartfelt fiction of Nick Hornby and Eleanor Brown comes a
smart, wry, and poignant novel about reconciliation between fathers and
daughters, between spouses; the deep ties between sisters; and the kind
of forgiveness that can change a person’s life in unexpected and
extraordinary ways.

The Rockwell women are nothing if
not . . . Well, it’s complicated. When the sisters—Esme, Liv, and
Ru—were young, their eccentric mother, Augusta, silenced all talk of
their absent father with the wild story that he was an international
spy, always away on top-secret missions. But the consequences of such an
unconventional upbringing are neither small nor subtle: Esme is
navigating a failing marriage while trying to keep her precocious
fifteen-year-old daughter from live-tweeting every detail. Liv finds
herself in between relationships and rehabs, and Ru has run away from
enough people and problems to earn her frequent flier miles. So when a
hurricane hits the family home on the Jersey Shore, the Rockwells
reunite to assess the damage—only to discover that the storm has
unearthed a long-buried box. In a candid moment, Augusta reveals a
startling secret that will blow the sisters’ concept of family to
smithereens—and send them on an adventure to reconnect with a lost past .
. . and one another.

My thoughts:This is one of the She Reads ‘Books of Spring’ selections and had it not been for that, I’m not quite sure I would have picked it up…but I’m so glad I did! It was delightfully quirky and sweet…endearing and odd, but overall, I ended up enjoying it, more so than I thought I would. And it totally reminded me of Eleanor Brown’s The Weird Sisters for those of you that have read that one…another odd little book that I also found a bit quirky yet enjoyable!

I loved this family…they were a mixed–up, drama-infused family that just begged to be heard and loved. Each was not without their own problems and flaws, but I think that only made them that much more endearing…sure at times they were a bit unlikeable and maybe you wanted to throttle them for the choices they made, but overall it was hard not to end up rooting for them to find happiness.

This story is about love, family and forgiveness, but it’s not an easy road to get there. The girls have grown up thinking that their father, never married to their mother, was a spy…little did they know that he wasn’t what they thought. Trust has never been a big part of their world and suddenly when they need to lean on each other, they have to first learn how. 

This is the kind of story that makes you think about the relationships in your life…and differences aren’t always a bad thing. They sometimes bring good to the table, balance things out. They sure balance this family out! I loved spending time with this quirky family and have a feeling I won’t be forgetting them anytime soon!


Audio thoughts:I just love listening to Cassandra Campbell narrate…she just such a great job with the voices and pacing. Her tone and emotions are spot on and she was well-suited for this book. 

All of Us and Everything by Bridget Asher is one of the She Reads “Books of Spring” reading selection picks. 

 

Head over to the She Reads website to read reviews and related posts of this book, as well as
posts related to the other “Books of Spring” selections.