Jennifer Weiner: Mrs. Everything Tour

Photo credit: Girl Well Read and Simon & Schuster Canada.  Do not use without written permission.

Blue Heron Books and Simon & Schuster Canada celebrated the release of Jennifer Weiner's newest novel, Mrs. Everything. Jennifer was interviewed by Marissa Stapley—whose own new novel, The Last Resort, has just landed on all the hot summer reading lists for 2019. Marissa asked Jennifer about her writing process, inspiration, and themes of her newest work.  A question and answer period, as well as a book signing followed.

Jennifer Weiner’s most personal novel yet, Mrs. Everything, is a book that has been percolating for ten years, and is one that she's always wanted to write. Inspired by her mother and grandmother, it is a universal female story—being a woman, you don't come out unscathed.

It is a version of Weiner's own mother's story, and she modelled Jo after her. Jennifer's mother, Fran, came out as a lesbian in her 50s after raising her four children. Jennifer had a lot of questions for her mother about her marriage to her father that Fran wouldn't answer so she imagined it, “because that's what writers do.” Mrs. Everything was also born from the ashes of the 2016 election—where we are as women, where we have been, and where we could go back to.

Mrs. Everything has a good girl and a bad girl who both end up in pain. "Do you know women who live without pain, that everything works out?" Jennifer asked.

On the term "women's fiction"

We don't accord it to the same respect when we call it "women's fiction." When Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom earned him glowing praise as well as the cover of Time, Weiner coined the term "Franzenfreude," the divide between how white male authors are treated with such regard while successful female authors are dismissed.

Inspired by Little Women, her Jo's ambitions are more acceptable (except sexuality), and her Bethie not only lives, but Weiner writes about what happens to good girls, what the world does to good girls.

What did her mom say?

"My daughter has a very active imagination."  Her mother also thought that Bethie was her.

Weiner said that writers are cannibals, nobody is safe—family members are material. "Well-intentioned cannibals...kindables."

Response to Mrs. Everything

The response to Weiner's work has been "great, but scary." Jennifer is interested to hear what young readers think. "Some things have changed quickly, some slowly, and with the #MeToo movement, not at all," she says.

There is a lot about privilege, hierarchy, colour, freedoms, etc. If you're on top of a mountain and someone is climbing that mountain, they are perceived as a threat when in actuality, they are trying to be equal—it's all a matter of perspective.

Jennifer's writing process

Weiner mused that writing a book is like packing a suitcase with all the things you love, and you leave the suitcase on a corner. The smart thing to do is pack another suitcase. Stapley asked if she was packing another suitcase, and readers will be happy to hear that the answer was YES! Jennifer's next novel will take place over a weekend in Cape Cod, a far cry from a 70 year span that was Mrs. Everything. The heroine is a bridesmaid that was estranged from the bride. When something bad happens, she needs to clear her name. (Eep! Can't wait!)

After getting her daughters off to school, Jennifer walks her dog with her husband and it is during this time that she works through plot and characters. After they get back, she goes to an exercise class, showers, does her social media, and then writes between the hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., "that's the sweet spot!" Weiner's writing takes place in her "cloffice" which is her walk-in closet that also functions as her office. Jennifer's desk is a vanity with her dog, Moochie, at her feet.

How did she break into writing?

Weiner started her career in advertising and then as a journalist. She worked her way up from a small paper, to a medium paper, and then to a large paper. She got dumped and then wrote Good in Bed.

Can I just say how fantastic it was to be sitting in the audience and soaking it all in? Jennifer is HI-LAR-I-OUS, warm, and smart. She graciously posed for pictures and chatted while signing copies of her books. Thank you, Jennifer, for coming to Canada on your Mrs. Everything tour.

Marissa was a wonderful interviewer and it was lovely to chat with her about her exciting book and baseball.

Mrs. Everything

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman lived in a picture-perfect house. Jo was a passionate tomboy, with a love of books; Bethie was the pretty, good girl, with aspirations of being a star. She enjoys the privilege that comes with beauty.

Things rarely end up how you imagine them to be. The sisters survive unspeakable trauma and life's tragedies. Coming of age in the time of free love, Vietnam, and women's lib, Bethie embraces the more free, hippy lifestyle, balking traditional roles. Instead it is Jo that becomes a mother, stuck on the sidelines of her life. Neither sister has the future they envisioned, but is it too late for them to live an authentic and purposeful life?

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JENNIFER WEINER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of sixteen books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and her memoir, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing.

She is a graduate of Princeton University and a contributor to the New York Times Opinion section.

Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia.

Forbidden by Destiny by Negeen Papehn

A special thank you to the author, Negeen Papehn, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Sara and Ben finally end things for good, she calls on Leyla to collect her things from Ben's apartment. Leyla reluctantly agrees. After all, that's what best friends are for, right? Wanting to cheer him up, Leyla invites Ben to lunch and the two end up spending an enjoyable afternoon together. Her loyalties are tested when she realizes that she's attracted to him. On one hand, Leyla has always liked Ben and she's bothered with how Sara ended things with him; on the other hand, even though she has moved on and is happy, Sara is still her best friend, and Ben is her ex.

To be with Ben could cost Leyla not only her best friend, but the support of her family because she would be going against what is expected of her. Ultimately she must decide if this love is worth the risk.

Although this is the second novel in the Forbidden series, it can read as a standalone book. Papehn provides enough information for those that didn't read Forbidden by Faith, yet isn't repetitive.

She has matured as an author with this sophomore effort. As a result the characters were more purposeful and the narrative was tight and well thought out. True to the series, this book is also a contemporary love story with a cultural twist. These types of stories are important to tell because they represent so many, yet are not widely read or written about.

This book does not shy away from some pretty sensitive subject matter. Papehn deftly handles the responsibility that comes with writing about sexual assault. She writes the victim with care and compassion all while giving them an authentic voice.

Thank you, Negeen, once again for trusting me with your book. You have really hit your stride and I'm anxious and excited to see how the trilogy ends.

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NAGEEN PAPEHN is a graduate of USC dental school and divides her time between her patients and writing.

She was born and raised in southern California, where she currently lives with her husband and two boys.

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

A special thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What would you do if you found out that your teenage son has been breaking into homes in your quiet, upscale neighbourhood? Olivia Sharpe has just learned that her son Raleigh has a new hobby. He swears he isn't stealing, just hacking into people's computers.

Thinking she's doing the right thing, Olivia sends anonymous letters to the neighbours who were victim to Raleigh's snooping. At the same time, a woman down the street that the neighbours assumed left her husband—when in fact he had filed a missing persons report—was found in the trunk of her car at the bottom of a lake. Olivia is shocked to learn that the woman is Amanda Pierce whose home Raleigh broke into.

Will the letters incriminate her family? Is her son as harmless as he lets on? Who actually killed Amanda and just how far are they willing to go to protect themselves?

What I liked about Someone We Know—that I found lacking with An Unwanted Guest—is that this thriller was more of a character study. Lapena fully developed this particular cast of characters, but it was lacking in execution. There seems to be a lot of repetition because the plot isn't very liner so you end being led in circles.

SHARI LAPENA worked as a lawyer and as an English teacher before turning to writing fiction. A Stranger in the House, as well as Lapena's suspense debut, The Couple Next Door, were both New York Times and international bestsellers.

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

A special thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, Macmillan, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Caroline Stark is hosting a lavish housewarming party at her new beach house. When her husband, Jason, shows up not only late to the party, but followed by a Russian woman he claims is a business associate, the couple get into a very public and very ugly fight. She knows that Jason is lying and that the woman is really his mistress.

When her marriage falls apart and she is left with an empty bank account, and cancelled credit cards, Caroline has an impulsive fling with a bartender. Aidan also happened to be working her party that night and knows all about her husband problems. What she doesn't know is that Aidan has a history of violence.

As if things couldn't get worse, her college-aged daughter seems to be taking her father's side. Crestfallen, she turns to Aidan for comfort—but that comfort soon turns to revenge. The only problem is that their brief fling has left Aidan with a dangerous obsession with Caroline and her family. Meanwhile, Jason disappears and all eyes are on Caroline. Isn't it always the spouse?

Told from multiple points of view, Campbell confuses her reader (on purpose) by telling the same events from two very different perspectives. The dynamic is also interesting: Caroline is a wealthy, 43-year-old woman who is trying to keep up appearances to launch her career and social standing whereas Aidan is a 27-year-old bartender that served time for manslaughter. Both characters are unlikeable, untrustworthy, and unreliable.

There were a few plot holes that I ultimately struggled with, but I'll partially overlook given Campbell's strong writing and ability to deftly create suspense and tension. She pens some formidable characters and used the unreliable narrator as the perfect mechanism to execute her effusive plot. There wasn't the startling revelation that I was hoping for in that I did figure it out, but again, her writing was intricate and compulsive.

MICHELE CAMPBELL is a graduate of Harvard University and Stanford Law School. She worked at a prestigious Manhattan law firm before spending eight years fighting crime in NYC as a federal prosecutor who specialized in international narcotics and gang cases.

Her debut novel It's Always The Husband was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.

Campbell resides in a New England college town with her husband and two children.

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader

A special thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, Harlequin, Graydon House, and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is a narrative of four of the McAvoy women: Lindy, the wild sister, left home for a fresh start in the city and never looked back; Delia, the other sister, is run off her feet because she is juggling a moody teenager, a baby, the family business, and her mother's ailing health; Brin is the rebellious teenage daughter that's been feeling displaced ever since her baby sister was born; Meredith, the matriarch, has been suffering with some memory issues and struggles with lucidity at times.

The sisters used to be so close. They shared a room and would write in a notebook as to not disturb their mother who had to get up early for work. It was their book of secrets. Seventeen years ago, tragedy struck their family and the McAvoy sisters fell apart. With pressures mounting for Delia, she has no choice but to welcome Lindy back in the fold for much-needed help. As the two sisters try to put their family somewhat back in order, they finally have the chance to reclaim what's been missing: for Delia, a happy marriage, and for Lindy, a sense of belonging and a lost love—but most of all, the sisters are missing each other.

When a particularly turbulent night leads to a shocking revelation, the women must confront the past that they've been avoiding for more than a decade. Will an old secret bring the McAvoy women back together or is it too late?

Fader's narrative is told in alternating third person limited points-of-view between the four women. Lindy and Delia have a complex relationship that plays out over the course of the story. Delia is suffering from postpartum depression. That, coupled with her mother's recent stroke, is affecting her relationships with her husband, Dan, and daughter, Brin. Lindy is struggling with not only returning to her home, but with the prospect of a new job and rightfully finding her place in an industry that she excels in.

Strong women are what makes this story so great. Meredith raised the girls after her husband was lost at sea and the sisters turned out to be resilient both in spirit and will. Delia doesn't realize her own strength and perceives asking for help as a sign of weakness even though she is shouldering a huge load as well as a past trauma. I also think that Lindy's string of bad relationships is a sign of her fortitude, rather than a flaw—she hasn't found someone to compliment her yet.

The characters were relatable and multifaceted. Fader gives away just enough detail to keep her reader vested in their story—her pace is spot on. She also has an excellent ear for dialogue which translates incredibly well on the page.

The mystery of what happened 17 years ago is the driver and really turns this into a page-turner. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this story is. To be perfectly honest, the cover and title didn't really grab me and I think they actually detract from what is a really great book. Please do yourself a favour and give this one a go, you most certainly won't be disappointed. Fader really packs a punch—there's a lot to unpack and discuss. What was also so great was the mystery part of the story. And that ending...

MOLLY FADER is an award-winning author of more than 40 romance novels under the pennames Molly O'Keefe and M. O'Keefe. The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is her first women's fiction novel.

She grew up outside of Chicago and now lives in Toronto.

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman lived in a picture-perfect house. Jo was a passionate tomboy, with a love of books; Bethie was the pretty, good girl, with aspirations of being a star. She enjoys the privilege that comes with beauty.

Things rarely end up how you imagine them to be. The sisters survive unspeakable trauma and life's tragedies. Coming of age in the time of free love, Vietnam, and women's lib, Bethie embraces the more free, hippy lifestyle, balking traditional roles. Instead it is Jo that becomes a mother, stuck on the sidelines of her life. Neither sister has the future they envisioned, but is it too late for them to live an authentic and purposeful life?

Jennifer Weiner's newest work is her most ambitious to date and it is a risk that pays off. When a novel spans decades—in this case from the 1950s to present—there is a risk of the author losing the plot and also getting swallowed up in pop culture references, but Weiner doesn't suffer these fates. What happens instead is a remarkable journey of self discovery through the ages. Her writing is rich and fluid with deeply developed, layered characters.

What is so remarkable is that in our ever-changing society, decade after decade, women are still facing the same issues. Especially with how we decide to live our lives—women are constantly berated for their own life choices whether it be to get married, to have children, or work outside the home when they are a mother. These are things that women are consistently being judged for and they are nobody's business. Let me repeat that for those of you in the back...your choices are nobody's business.

Told in dual narratives, Weiner explores the complexities of female relationships, the difficulties woman face, as well as the expectations placed on women. She tackles some heavy issues: sexuality, racism, abortion, religion, drug abuse, etc., and because of this, both Jo and Bethie's stories are engaging and important.

Jennifer, I applaud you for telling stories that so many can relate to. I understand that this book was also personal in that there is a little bit of your mother in Jo. This novel is not only timely, but incredibly moving and poignant. Appropriately titled Mrs. Everything, this book is a bit of everything for every woman. 

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JENNIFER WEINER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of sixteen books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and her memoir, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing.

She is a graduate of Princeton University and a contributor to the New York Times Opinion section.

Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia.