A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall

Love All is a character-driven story that focuses on the perpetual and intricate currents that run through the life of a family. What happens when members of a family are so busy that their lives are "played out in separate spaces"? How does it feel to be elderly and in need of our children and grandchildren's care? What keeps generation after generation tied to their hometown?

As teenage siblings Teddy and Julia put it, respectively: "[Home] was a set of people acting a certain way—live, married, happy-ish—and when that was gone, you were sunk," yet... "There are very few people who can hear us the way we want to be heard."

The novel's changing perspectives each has its own distinct voice, which made it easy to keep track of the characters and the details of their lives. Interestingly, Julia's perspective is the only one told in first person, and that drew me to her narrative most of all. Upon finishing the book, I felt this was really Julia's coming of age story, presented in pieces throughout the complicated situations of (and with) her family and friends. But after mulling over the book for a few days, I realized that each and every character who contributes to the narrative point of view experienced growth and gained insight while facing a new stage of his or her life.

A compelling story, Love All is a family's coming of age.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.