Book Review and Giveaway: Everybody Has Everything by Katrina Onstad


Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Grand Central Publishing, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it



Everybody Has Everything cover



Synopsis: After years of unsuccessful attempts at conceiving a child, Ana and James become parents overnight, when a terrible accident makes them guardians to 2 year-old Finn. Suddenly, two people who were struggling to come to terms with childlessness are thrust into the opposite situation-responsible for a small toddler whose mother's survival is in question. 

Finn's crash-landing in their tidy, urban lives throws into high relief some troubling truths about their deepest selves, both separately and as a couple. Several chaotic, poignant, and life-changing weeks as a most unusual family give rise to an often unasked question: Can everyone be a parent?



Review: This is not your normal happy go lucky chick lit book. It explores not only a marriage in crisis, but the often unspoken thought "not everyone is made to be a parent". Post women's lib, women are supposed to want it all- a good job, marriage and kids. Balancing all that can be an issue, and it is ok to speak of that, but not of the 'I'm not ready' or 'I'm not comfortable and don't want kids'. It's almost seen as a treasonous act against the women who came before and showed it could all be done- I am woman hear me roar anthem blares in the background.

Katrina takes this notion and tilts it on it's ear. As a character says in the book- crisis brings out the best in people. It also shows the cracks and crumbling foundations that can be holding a marriage together, when two people have gone in different directions as to the future of their marriage, without telling each other. How the marriage literally hits the proverbial brick wall with the arrival of a toddler, is one that many readers may be able to relate to. While the reader may not have a toddler suddenly thrust upon them, it could be a death in the family, a move across country or even a change in jobs. Change makes or breaks us. 

Where does friendship leave and family begin? That can also be a thin line that shows it's strength in the time of a crisis, as Katrina shows us in this book. Katrina gives the reader a case study that will keep the reader turning the pages until the tale is finished!  I would have finished this book in one sitting, if I could have! Some readers may not like the ending, as it leaves the future a bit unknown for James and Ana, but it gives the reader Hope, and that is always a good thing. The book will stay with the reader for a while after finishing it, always a good sign! 



About the Author: Katrina Onstad's award-winning journalism has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the GuardianElle, and Toronto Life. She is currently a culture columnist in The Globe and Mail and lives in Toronto with her family. For more information, please visit Katrina's website: http://katrinaonstad.com/.


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