The Most Fun We Ever Had (Reese's Book Club Pick): A Novel
About this product
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • “A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory.” —Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe
In this “rich, complex family saga” ( USA Today ) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest.
Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator turned stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects.
With the unexpected arrival of young Jonah Bendt—a child placed for adoption by one of the daughters fifteen years before—the Sorensons will be forced to reckon with the rich and varied tapestry of their past. As they grapple with years marred by adolescent angst, infidelity, and resentment, they also find the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.
Don't miss Claire Lombardo's new book, Same As It Ever Was! Read more
Editor's Take
Amazon and Goodreads indicate this Reese’s Book Club pick is a well-known paperback edition of Claire Lombardo’s debut novel, and the broader review coverage shows it as a big, emotionally dense family saga with strong writing and mixed-to-positive reader reactions.
Amazon-adjacent and retailer/editorial blurbs emphasize that readers who like immersive, character-driven family dramas tend to respond well to it, while some note its length and emotional intensity as a challenge.
On Goodreads, the edition tied to ASIN 0525564233 shows a solid average rating with many thousands of ratings, suggesting sustained reader interest rather than a niche title.
Review sources like NPR, The New York Times, The Guardian, Kirkus, and Bookreporter describe it as richly written, intricate, and ambitious, with praise for its psychological depth and multigenerational scope.
YouTube search results surfaced several real videos about the book, including reviews and discussions, so the title appears to have active video coverage from book-related creators.
- Overall reader sentiment: compelling, literary, and emotionally rich, with some readers loving the depth and others finding it long or heavy.
- Best fit for: readers who enjoy family sagas, domestic drama, and character-driven literary fiction.
- Common critique: pacing and length can feel slow to some readers.
Price History
Specifications
| Genre | Fiction |
| Illustrated | No |
Product Details
| Publisher | Vintage |
| Publication date | April 6, 2021 |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 640 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0525564233 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0525564232 |
| Item Weight | 2.31 pounds |
| Dimensions | 5.18 x 1.11 x 7.94 inches |
| Best Sellers Rank | #607 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #52 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction #57 in Contemporary Women Fiction #100 in Family Life Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (31,472) |
