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A review by crystalleighwrites
All They Ask Is Everything by Hadley Leggett
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING, the debut novel from Hadley Leggett, is a book about motherhood. Most of the reviews you'll likely see will come from the perspective of mothers -- how they related, how they empathized, how they judged. But this isn't a book *only* for mothers. It's a book for anyone who enjoys a complicated, well-written narrative about flawed people.
ATAIE tells the story of how a mistake made by a struggling, grief-stricken mother, Hannah, sends her two young daughters into the foster care system. Alternating the POVs of Hannah, Hannah's mother Elaine, and foster mother Julie, Leggett builds a complex and conflicting narrative that perfectly exemplifies the conflicting narratives we tell ourselves. These are not perfect characters or perfect mothers and each of their journeys confronting their own flaws happens along their own timelines. At times, this makes for a frustrating read -- as a reader, we can see all the ways in which Hannah needs help, in which Elaine prioritized herself over her daughter, in which Julie is blinded by her love of the girls. Some will say that these women are "unlikeable" and at times, they are. But that makes the ways in which each mother grows and changes more rewarding. It's difficult to write believable, deeply flawed characters that you still want the best for and Leggett handles this balance deftly.
This is an engrossing debut from Hadley Leggett and I look forward to what she writes next.
Content Warning: ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING contains descriptions, descriptions, or themes of the following topics: foster care, child abuse, child endangerment, miscarriage, death, grief, depression.
ATAIE tells the story of how a mistake made by a struggling, grief-stricken mother, Hannah, sends her two young daughters into the foster care system. Alternating the POVs of Hannah, Hannah's mother Elaine, and foster mother Julie, Leggett builds a complex and conflicting narrative that perfectly exemplifies the conflicting narratives we tell ourselves. These are not perfect characters or perfect mothers and each of their journeys confronting their own flaws happens along their own timelines. At times, this makes for a frustrating read -- as a reader, we can see all the ways in which Hannah needs help, in which Elaine prioritized herself over her daughter, in which Julie is blinded by her love of the girls. Some will say that these women are "unlikeable" and at times, they are. But that makes the ways in which each mother grows and changes more rewarding. It's difficult to write believable, deeply flawed characters that you still want the best for and Leggett handles this balance deftly.
This is an engrossing debut from Hadley Leggett and I look forward to what she writes next.
Content Warning: ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING contains descriptions, descriptions, or themes of the following topics: foster care, child abuse, child endangerment, miscarriage, death, grief, depression.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Car accident, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail