The Whole Thing Together: Book summary and reviews of The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares

The Whole Thing Together

by Ann Brashares

The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares X
The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares
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About this book

Book Summary

A beautifully written novel about love, class differences, and betrayal playing out over the course of a fractured American family's Long Island summer.

Summer for Sasha and Ray means the sprawling old house on Long Island. Since they were children, they've shared almost everything - reading the same books, running down the same sandy footpaths to the beach, eating peaches from the same market, laughing around the same sun-soaked dining table. Even sleeping in the same bed, on the very same worn cotton sheets. But they've never met.

Sasha's dad was once married to Ray's mom, and together they had three daughters: Emma, the perfectionist; Mattie, the beauty; and Quinn, the favorite. But the marriage crumbled and the bitterness lingered. Now there are two new families - and neither one will give up the beach house that holds the memories, happy and sad, of summers past.

The choices we make come back to haunt us; the effect on our destinies ripples out of our control ... or does it? This summer, the lives of Sasha, Ray, and their siblings intersect in ways none of them ever dreamed, in a novel about family relationships, keeping secrets, and most of all, love.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Both funny and tragic, this sharply observed drama recognizes the complexity of split families trying to heal and the ill effects of longstanding grudges. Brashares's masterful orchestration of plot, multidimensional characters, and intriguing subplots will delight her fans and newcomers alike." - Publishers Weekly

"The large cast of angst-y characters with their equally daunting number of angst-y issues impedes deep exploration of any particular character or idea." - Kirkus

"A priority purchase for most collections serving teens." - School Library Journal

"Introspective questions of heritage are tied together, ultimately, by the bonds of family and the magic of summer." - Booklist

"A gorgeously written novel on love, loss and family." - Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything

This information about The Whole Thing Together was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Ann Brashares Author Biography

Photo: Peter Freed

Ann Brashares grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her three brothers and attended a Quaker school in the DC area called Sidwell Friends. She studied Philosophy at Barnard College, part of Columbia University in New York City. Expecting to continue studying philosophy in graduate school, Ann took a year off after college to work as an editor, hoping to save money for school. Loving her job, she never went to graduate school, and instead, remained in New York City and worked as an editor for many years. Ann made the transition from editor to full-time writer with her first novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

When asked where the idea for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants came from she replies: "It started with a conversation. A woman I used to work...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Ann Brashares's Website

Name Pronunciation
Ann Brashares: br-shares

Other books by Ann Brashares at BookBrowse
  • The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants jacket
  • The Second Summer of The Sisterhood jacket

10 more...

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