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Everything We Ever Wanted: Advance Excerpt (2000)

by Sara Shepard(Favorite Author)

3.09 of 5 Votes: 4

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English

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review 1: In the past five months, I have read four books about high school scandals. There must be something in the air that has turned so many people's attention to these events. Of course bullying is in the forefront of everyone's mind these days and I think that many of these books do justice to such a complicated topic. Unfortunately, there are other novels that fall short and do not add anything to this canon of literature. Sadly, Sara Shepard's "Everything We Ever Wanted" is one of these works.The story is told from various viewpoints within the Bates-McAllister family. First, is the matriarch of the family, Sylvie Bates-McAllister whose family established a private prep school in Pennsylvania. Two months after her husband dies, Sylvie receives a phone call from the headmaste... morer of the school informing her that her son has been involved in a hazing situation. Sylvie's son, Scott, is the school's wrestling coach and was in fact adopted by the Bates-McAllister's when he was young. Due to this, he has never felt like he fit in with the rich and famous with whom he was raised. Sylvie's other son, Charles, is devastated that once again his adopted brother has dragged the family name through the mud. Watching all of this unfold is Charles' new wife who has strived most of her life to become a Bates-McAllister and still is made to feel on the outs. The family must attempt to come together during this time and face their past demons in order to save their name, the school, and their family.Clearly, there is a lot going on in this novel. I would like to say that it is handled well...but it's not. There are far too may issues for a book that is under 300 pages and with characters that lack any development. The plot is horrifically predictable which would not be such an issue if the characters were more realistic and grew during the novel. The relationships portrayed are very thin and therefore hinder the novel from progressing or being meaningful. Though one can easily see where the book is leading you, there are many questions left unanswered. However, this is not like other pieces of literature where you mull over the ending and discuss with friends what really happened. Instead, this is as if you're doing a crossword puzzle and someone forgot the clue for 39 across...you can still figure out the answer but it's annoying and you lose interest. Personally, I will not be recommending this to any friend, book group, or family member. I give it two stars because I believe Shepard could make this into a decent young adult book, but there's nothing here that hasn't already been done...and done better.
review 2: Have you ever felt like things are slipping through your fingers and you cannot do anything but let them? Have you ever wished you could take back things you said before or that you could forget the past and start your life all over again? This is exactly what the Bates-McAllisters are going through in Sara Shepard's latest novel, Everything We Ever Wanted.It all starts with a telephone call. Sylvie Bates-McAllister, a recently-widowed mother of two gets a late-night phone call from the headmaster of the prestigious private school founded by her grandfather where her adopted son Scott teaches. He tells her that Scott may be involved a hazing scandal and thus may be responsible for a student's sudden death. And with this, the family is thrown into chaos - we embark on a journey to the past, exploring well-hidden secrets and events that have never been told before and enter a world where everyone is being judged, where everyone has prejudices - a world not too far from reality.I was very excited when I got my ARC of Everything We Ever Wanted. Although this is the first book I have read by Sara Shepard, the blogging world is crazy about the Pretty Little Liars series so I was really looking forward to reading it. As far as the story is concerned, I was expecting something more complicated. About two chapters in, I realized that it was entirely different, but not in a bad way. Shepard's main focus is on people's feelings and emotional growth rather than action itself. Everything We Ever Wanted took me a while to get into because I am used to reading fast paced stories and because I could not relate to any of the characters at first. It takes some time for the readers to get to know them but once you are familiar with their characteristics and you know what their childhood have been like, you do not want to put the book down. You realize that they are just like us: they have their flaws, they make mistakes, they say things they wish they did not say and they have prejudices ... but they are perfectly normal.It is complex but rewarding and highly emotional story which describes our society perfectly. For me the most meaningful and expressive part of the story was Sylvie's remark towards the end of the book"I don't have many friends," Sylvie said, her head down. "I...I know a lot of people. But there aren't many people I can really talk to. I find it hard to connect. I've always envied people who find it easy." Everything We Ever Wanted portrays a world where people swallow up their frustration and pretend that everything is fine,a world that is built up on appearances. It is a novel that will definitely make you think about your own life, that assures us that we all make mistakes but we need to come to terms with them, accept them and learn from them. As cliché as it might sound, it points out that everything that is worth having is worth fighting for and it warns us against being judgemental because nothing is ever what it seems. less

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