Jennifer Weiner couldn’t have come up with a better title for this book. Mrs. Everything has characters that are relatable to EVERYONE.
Women are complex beings. We can all go through similar issues but how we deal with them determines how we learn from them. In this poignant novel, we meet two sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman and follow their trials and tribulations from the 1950s to the late 2000s.
Because the story covers so many generational events, there are trigger warnings. If you are sensitive to homophobia, interracial relationships, eating disorders, and sexual assault, and emotional abuse, you may want to pass.
There are a few instances of implausibility. The fashions and events are written for the wrong decades. Since I read an unfinished copy, these nuances may have been fixed before publication. The premise of “empowerment” is evident, but slightly off the mark. Yes, Jo and Bethie are survivors, but they had to endure years of unspeakable things to come out on top? This part of the book seems a little overdone to me. I am glad that women arent subjected to this blatant amount of sexism in current times. We have a long way to go, but nothing like what women as endured decades ago. I did enjoy comparing and contrasting past to present times.
Mrs. Everything covers the female plight through the decades favorably. If you are too young to have experienced the events in the book, I’m sure you know someone who has. The book aims to show how resilience can help carry you through even the toughest life-changing events.
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review
