When I first picked up a copy of Janelle Brown’s novel, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, I noticed on the back that a certain magazine had used the word ‘soapy’ to describe the nature of its content.  I don’t know about anybody else, but when I hear the word ‘soapy,’ I think of Days of our Lives, the content of which has very little to do with anything remotely related to real life.  When I finished the book, I couldn’t help but notice the irony in the usage of this one little word.  This is because All We Ever Wanted Was Everything is indeed real life.  It is the perfect depiction of suburban family dynamics as they exist today.

The novel opens with the character of Janice as the quintessential wealthy suburban housewife who has forfeited most of her own personal ambitions in order to create the perfect home life for herself, her husband, and their two daughters.  To her wealthy counterparts, neighbors and friends at the exclusive country club she belongs to, Janice has it made, but her seemingly flawless ride on the coattails of the American Dream abruptly ends when her husband’s pharmaceutical company goes public.  He announces he is divorcing her and his new fortune is his alone.

Janice’s daughter, Margaret, has spent the majority of her twenty-eight years trying to escape the suburban life her mother so readily embraces, and she is failing miserably.  Her arguably offensive, pro-feminist magazine is slowly going under, and has subsequently left her bankrupt.  While her friends are reaping the rewards of lucrative, mainstream careers, Margaret can barely find the means to put gas in her tank.

Margaret’s big hearted and adorably naïve sister, Lizzie, is fourteen, thrives on trashy tabloids, and has become the school slut.

When Margaret moves home in an attempt to escape the bill collectors and help her mother deal with the divorce, the collision of these three lives is explosive.  Facades are torn away, unspoken truths are suddenly revealed, and the family is forced to come to terms with the past, the present, and an entirely new reality.

Janelle Brown’s examination of the skewed priorities, family betrayal, dysfunctional relationships, and the hopes and dreams that have fallen away as a result of the voracious pursuit of money, success, and power, is nothing short of admirable.  Her story is engaging because it exposes a solemn truth, one that has revealed itself in rather horrifying ways in recent times.

All three characters play integral roles in dissecting the confusing and painfully high standards of our society, and the element I enjoyed most was the exploration of how one copes when they are faced with the frightening realization that they will never achieve what The Dream had promised.

At times, Brown’s descriptions are a bit wordy, and my impatience grew as several lengthy passages prevented me from turning a corner in an increasingly twisted plot.  However, what some readers, myself included, may view as overly analytical or distastefully wordy, are in hindsight, incredibly necessary.  I’ve read the work of other writers who strive to illuminate the backlash of the American Dream in the 21st century.  I’m drawn to stories of that nature, and I’ve enjoyed them all, but Brown’s work proves to be my favorite.  To pull apart the dysfunctional American family, detail is everything, and without the minute attention to each character’s flaws, fantasies, eccentricities, epiphanies, and revelations, these three women would not be the lovable, genuine, quizzical, neurotic, and completely relatable individuals we each can’t help but see a little of ourselves in.  For that, I highly recommend it.