Review: All You Never Wanted by Adele Griffin

Goodreads Summary:

With my eyes closed and Alex's core friends all around me, it was like I'd become my big sister, or something just as good. And so who cared if they were calling it Alex's party? One thing I knew: it would be remembered as mine.

Alex has it all—brains, beauty, popularity, and a dangerously hot boyfriend. Her little sister Thea wants it all, and she's stepped up her game to get it. Even if it means spinning the truth to win the attention she deserves. Even if it means uncovering a shocking secret her older sister never wanted to share. Even if it means crying wolf.

Told in the alternating voices of Alex and Thea, Adele Griffin's mesmerizing new novel is the story of a sibling rivalry on speed.

Publication Date: October 9, 2012
 

This was a gripping story about the complex relationships of two sisters. The book alternates points of view between Thea and Alex and readers are able to witness each sister’s inner struggles.

Alex is the more likable of the two sisters. She has her share of problems. She’s having anxiety attacks and has an eating disorder. An event at an internship is hinted at causing her problems. However, once it was revealed what had happened, I kind of didn’t get why it affected her in that way. I was certainly thinking it was something way more traumatic.

Thea is loony tunes. She was definitely demonstrating characteristics of a sociopath. As horrible as Thea was, her chapters were hard to put down. Her desperation is clear as she basically sets out to destroy those around her in the name of popularity.

The secondary characters were just okay and paled in comparison to the richly drawn sisters. There was a weird insta-love thing that went down which I didn’t completely buy into. I liked the hopefulness of the one sister’s ending, but didn’t like the open-endedness of the other sister’s.

Overall, a good book full of tension and memorable main characters.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars  

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this novel for review!