ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING
BY: HADLEY LEGGETT

About 3.50 Stars!

This is a first time novel making its debut, written by a thought provoking author, Hadley Leggett, called, [book:All They Ask Is Everything|199541837] is a character driven literary fiction novel, which brings to light a fast paced important subject by this author right in the beginning. Right away you're introduced to a grieving, single parent named, Hannah. As the mother's impulsive decision is life altering that had me saying to myself: "OH NO DON'T DO IT!," that kicks off the action by which the thesis is one that sets up the rest of this novel, by which this poor choice focuses. Her actions made with good intentions wanting to do something nice for both of her young children, but so not responsible reverberates like skipping stones in a lake. Causing concentric circles that progress continuously heartbreaking consequences for herself, in addition to being frightening for both her, and her innocent children. She has two daughters named Ivy, who is three years old, and Wren who is a seven year old that has been given too much responsibility resulting her to have to act as a stand- in mother to her younger sister and herself. This was made more poignant for me when I read the informative Author's Note, and the Acknowledgements section, of the laws regarding foster care with specific afflictions that are protective regarding parents in Washington State. Indicative citing how it relates to this mother and her interactions with the Child Protective Services changing the organizational shifts in policies, and law changes that have been instituted around the same time period that this literary fictional but very raw narrative takes place in, 2017.

There are three main characters with alternating chapters told in the third person points of view that starts off with Hannah, who is around forty who is the biological mother of Wren and Ivy. I didn't find her as emotionally devastated by losing custody of her children since I wouldn't be able to function in her position. Seeing your children being carted off with police after you didn't think they were harmed by your split second decision. I can only surmise Hannah must have known better to explain her reaction being not traumatized more significantly. Being arrested and charged with serious offenses to be atypically authentic by how a mother would be inconsolable I would expect. The children didn't seem equally realistic as they were separated by the only parent they had would have been equally inconsolable as they watched from the police SUV as their mother was arrested. The fact of a mother and her two young children being ripped apart from each other I would imagine would elicit unimaginable terror from both Hannah and her young children. If that happened to me when my two children were that age, the results would have both myself and them hysterical by the sheer amount of shock. I don't think anything could prepare me or my children at that age to be separated by an unknown entity, let alone police without being prepared for such a huge shift in our lives. If this narrative would have included the powerful grief stricken response instead of it being portrayed as if it was a normal occurring experience that their reactions displayed with being so calm it would lend more credibility. Since Hannah and her children didn't react in a manner that matched their circumstances which was a family torn apart without notice it didn't seem to phase the children. Maybe the author didn't want to upset her audience leading her to display less effect, on both Hannah and her young daughters. Maybe it's my own imagination, nevertheless I would have shown a stronger reaction by the shock at never expecting to be ripped apart the way these three were.

Julie is the Foster mother who Child Protective Services places Hannah's two young daughters in her custody. Rhonda is a secondary character that is the case worker who is from Child Protective Services in Seattle, Washington who is assigned to Hannah's daughters' and she seems overworked by her lack of returning Julie's phone calls whenever Julie calls her with concerns or questions regarding Ivy and Wren. Julie's most important goal in life is becoming a mother, but has been unsuccessful at having her own children. Her townhouse is perfectly equipped to take the girls and seems to be able to provide the structure and stability that these two young girls need. She is responsible for providing a home for Hannah's two daughters' and she has arts and crafts, books, comic books from her childhood that she shares with Wren. Ivy refuses to talk which seems realistic to her being separated from her mother being only three it seems naturally an effect from suddenly being thrust in a strange environment with a stranger who she's never met. Julie takes them to the library and is shocked in the morning to see Wren cooking breakfast when Julie finds them awake in her kitchen. She takes them to Target to buy them new clothes when she turns her back and Wren slips out of her sight, which she quickly locates her. Her problem is that she gets attached to them as if she expects them to stay with her, but she is kind to them seeing that they are constantly supervised. It's not what the girls are used to since at home they would wander their neighborhood unsupervised and a neighbor gives Hannah a prescription bottle of green pills that gave her energy before the girls were taken. Since the girls show up in dirty pajamas they get bought new clothes and are fed healthy snacks along with Julie making sure that they are fed healthy meals which she models for them that they are to be prepared by her. She thinks that both girls are better off with her than with their mother Hannah, and is elated to hear that Hannah's arraignment turns out that her toxicology screen shows amphetamines in her system. Hannah is sent to see a doctor before she's released from jail and he tries to persuade her to go through mental health rehabilitation for a quicker way to get custody of her girls back which she refuses and Julie is thrilled that she can keep Hannah's daughters' longer. She takes Wren to the doctor when she sees bruises on her ribs and back. Hannah finds out that she's been accused of having been abusive physically to Wren when the doctors don't believe that Wren said that she fell off a ladder. The Doctors don't find cracked or broken ribs that they expect when Julie has her Case Worker named Rhonda involved but at Hannah's arraignment She expected to get her children returned immediately and they aren't due to the allegations of abuse mixed with her toxicology showing amphetamines in her system without a prescription. She should have listened to the doctor at the jail who told her to agree to go the mental health rehabilitation route, and she would get her children returned to her sooner. He told her with a doctor's care she could get a doctor to help her with a prescription explaining the amphetamines was a cross over mistake resulting in the lab. Hannah also lies about having a living relative who happens to be her mother who could have had the girls released from Foster care and they could have been reunited the next day with her mother being the guardian getting CPS to not keep making things worse for Hannah now that Hannah's Case worker, Rhonda and Julie's belief that Hannah caused multiple bruises on her daughter with physical abuse added on to Hannah's problems. There's no spoilers here. This is just the beginning of a long story of bad judgement that took all of my patience to finish.

Hannah has a mother who she appears to hate that lives in Chicago where Hannah grew up who was a high powered attorney named Elaine. Elaine is being forced into a retirement that she doesn't want that she plans on fighting. Hannah was extremely close with her father who nurtured her, and she felt that he loved her, until he recently died of pneumonia. Hannah has been estranged from her mother ever since he died, she blames her mother for his dying earlier than he would have, since he caught it when her mother placed him in a nursing home. Hannah knew her father didn't have long to live, but thinks that her mother chose her job predictably, as Elaine's first priority over caring for her husband. Just like it was with her mother leaving Hannah being raised by her father, choosing her job rather than spending time with Hannah. Ever since Hannah saw that her father died from bacterial pneumonia instead of viral, she was robbed from getting a chance to say goodbye because he died quickly in only two days after he caught it. She knows already he had been diagnosed with cancer, but looked forward to spending as much time as possible with him, traveling to Seattle since he knew Hannah was grieving her husband's death. They enjoyed their time spent together as a family which her father showed an interest during his retirement visiting Hannah and his granddaughters, fixing up a vacation home on an island they worked on near Seattle. He planned on giving that remodeled cabin to Hannah to vacation there or move there if she wanted to. Ever since she read his autopsy report that states it was bacterial instead of viral she feels that if her mother didn't place him in the nursing home he wouldn't have died so soon. She has not spoken to her mother since she blames Elaine for her not being able to spend the time with her father, since just like Elaine failed to mother Hannah, her job came first. Hannah believes that her mother's job came before her father's care causing him to catch pneumonia in the nursing home, robbing Hannah the precious time they had left. His death was a shock to Hannah since he died sooner than she expected not giving her the time to say goodbye.

Elaine finds out that her granddaughters are in the Foster care system. She travels to Seattle and Hannah is ordered to anger management and outpatient psychiatric therapy which in a private meeting prior to her hearing with a Public Defender she has already told the Public Defender that she doesn't have any other family who can take the girls in. I thought Julie was taking great care of Hannah's daughters', but I would have thought that Hannah would have rather have her daughters' stay with her mother instead of a stranger, if only for her daughters' comfort to know they were with family. Plus, her mother could have helped her with defending her, since she was a much more experienced attorney, who she could have gotten Hannah's daughters' out of foster care, and Hannah would have been reunited with them right away. Her mother went to CPS and tried to get the records regarding Hannah's case, but was denied by the receptionist since Hannah didn't want her mother to take care of her daughters'.

Hannah, Julie and Elaine alternate their points of view told in the third person. Hannah isn't what you might think of her as she is suffering from grief. She lost both her father and her husband, but most of all herself from being left with two young daughters to raise which it would be difficult to do with finding herself without a support system. Julie isn't a bad person, but I sometimes felt frustrated with all three of these main characters for their choices left me frustrated in that all three of them each in their own way were responsible for making a bad situation worse. The novel has a lot of great things going for it, although I felt that it got bogged down and I grew bored and had to force myself to finish it at around the 30% mark. It's not like I could abandon it, since it's a Net Galley ARC that as much as I regretted choosing it, I will always continue to read it until the end no matter how much I'd found it just wasn't for me. I think that the Author has her heart in the right place, with an important message to put out in the world. Sometimes, I read something based on the many five star reviews, when I have a different criteria which I will keep to myself. Please read other reviews as I have an outlier opinion, and I'm a minority, overall. I do wish this author my very best wishes for success with this. I love the ending, and I just think that I am the wrong fit for this. I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know, and I think that this will appeal to a much younger reader. I will end this by saying that I feel it could use an Editor to tighten it up, as I think that it took too long to deliver the point.

Publication Date: August 27, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Hadley Leggett and Lake Union Publishing for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#AllTheyAskIsEverything #HadleyLeggett #LakeUnionPublishing #NetGalley

I was so torn reading this book.

Told from the perspective of 3 women, two little girls' lives are being determined through some dramatized legal situations as the FMCs fight for custody.

Each character is relatable in some shape or form. We have a grandmother who feels she screwed her daughter up and wants a second chance to redeem herself. We have the biological mother who has made major mistakes in her life, leading to removal of her rights to have the two little girls in her care. And finally, we have the foster mother, who cares so much but is it just a dream or does she really want custody?

I enjoyed the major, relevant topics discussed relating to motherhood. As someone trying to conceive, this was an interesting perspective that challenged my own thoughts around the subject.

Hadley Leggett's debut novel is heartfelt, empathetically observed, and un-put-downable. This book hooked me from the first page (from the cover, really--it's a perfect cover for a book about motherhood!). I found myself relating to each of the characters in different ways, and I admire how Leggett handled the complex issues in this book with sensitivity and empathy. I don't always love multi-POV novels but this one hit all the right notes. All They Ask is Everything is a perfect book club pick with plenty of situations ripe for discussion. I'll be thinking about these characters for a long time and I'd love to revisit them in a sequel!

Hannah is, like a lot of women, who think, they are all alone, and after losing her husband and father, she was so lost, and didn't think she had anyone to help her or her two girls. She took her girls to the store so she could make pancakes and left them sleeping in the car. When she came out, the police were there, and she was arrested, and her girls were put into foster care. Many things are revealed, and Julie the foster Mom wants the girls, Hannah wants the girls back, and Hannah's mother wants to take custody of the girls.
After such a devastated loss, will someone help Hannah through the grief, so she can get her girls back? It is a heartbreaking story, and one so real, that it gripped me to reading it all before I could move on.
I received an ARC from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley.

What a fantastic debut novel! Hadley Leggett has a winner in All They Ask Is Everything! A five star read! I can’t wait for an encore!

All They Ask Is Everything by Hadley Leggett is a compelling contemporary fiction novel.
With characters who hooked me immediately and sucked me into their lives. I had such a hard time putting this book down. They are all wonderful and written so well that they jump out of the page.
A thought-provoking and heart felt novel.

4.3 stars

This contemporary fiction novel is delivered from 3 view points of women who are all fighting for custody of 2 little girls. This book demonstrates both the faults in the system governing child protection services as well as the struggles of parenting. It also showcases the extent that people will go to in order to prove that their preconceived notions are right without examining all of the facts.

I was impressed to find out that this is this author's debut novel. I very much enjoyed it and I can't wait to see what else she is working on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

All They Ask Is Everything is the story of three women all trying to do what they think is best for Hannah's daughters. The key is "what they think is best". The story is well written but I struggled with the characters, I didn't really like any of the women though I could empathize with each of them for different reasons. The story gives a lot of insight into the child protection systems and social services that many readers will find interesting.

3.5 for me rounding up though I believe many others will really enjoy the story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author for this advance copy in exchange for this honest review. This one is hitting shelves in a few days on Tuesday 8/27/24!

I’m rediscovering my love for contemporary fiction with some family drama - I will preface this by saying I was not in the foster care system, so I’m not sure how accurate this is (there is an author’s note at the end with all of her research), but this plot and story just pulls from your heart and inspires you to think who the “bad guys” are in this book - very though provoking and very strong for a debut.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for this review. Pub date: 8/27/24!

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.

Hadley Leggett, the Author of “All They Ask is Everything” has written a thought-provoking and heart felt novel. The Genres for this book are Women’s Fiction, Fiction, and Adult Fiction. What do you feel the job description for a Mother should be? Is there a difference between the bonding and love of a biological mother, or a woman who can’t have her own biological children? In society today, does social services meet the criteria for advocating and providing the emotional and physical needs of children? These are some of the questions that the author provides food for thought after reading this book.

In this well written novel, Hadley Leggett vividly describes motherhood through three different women, and two small children. Sometimes in life, situations arise that aren’t anticipated, and there are no ready answers. Circumstances, poor choices, bad luck, and mistakes can be made. Hannah is the mother of two young children and now widowed, is struggling to do the best that she can. A confusing and disastrous mistake has Hannah in jail, and her daughter’s in foster care. Hannah is estranged from her mother, a high-powered attorney, now a widow, who had no time for Hannah, when she was growing up. Hannah’s mother Eleanor is looking at a “forced retirement” in her career. Julie is a single woman who has dreams of being a mother, but hasn’t met the right man. Julie does try artificial insemination, that doesn’t work. The lives of these three women and the two young children collide. Each feels they would make the best guardian for the children.

I appreciate how discusses the importance of communication, seeking and asking for help, forgiveness, second chances, the importance of family, friends, community, honest, love and hope. The author also discusses the importance of physical and mental health, individual growth and goals. I highly recommend this memorable novel.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinion are completely my own.

I would not recommend this book to students, but would absolutely recommend to friends.

Although the book did get slow at times, everything written had a purpose which was nice

I wanted to take Ivy and Wren home myself and give them a love without ulterior motives. Every character was extremely well written and I did feel like I knew them. I may not like them, but knew them.

I don't think I have read anything like this before that I'm very glad I did.

All they ask is everything gives a new look at parenting, mental health, fostering children and so much more. You can tell that this book is written by a female with children who mean the world to her. The author wrote the book so well that you are pulled into the life of the main characters and feel some of what they are feeling. I loved this book and know it will stay with me for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC. My review is entirely my opinion.

As a mom of two, this debut book had my heart hooked from the first pages. I literally tore through the last half in one sitting. Author Hadley Leggett artfully crafts a story about three nuanced female characters with strong motivations that keep you wanting more. You will root for Hannah, Julie, and Elaine all the way through as one common bond threads through all of them: the love for two little girls whose personalities equally shine in this thought-provoking, heart wrenching novel. The author shines in such a smooth and effortless narrative, reminiscent of Jodi Picoult but very much with her own unique voice. If you are looking for your next go-to women's fiction author, one who will have you staying up with tears from emotion and heart bursting with a satisfying ending, add this one to your to-read list!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book told a heartbreaking story of a mother who loses who husband, and then her father, and eventually her two girls. Her grief is overwhelming every aspect of her life, and she doesn't know how to cope.

While the tone of the book is sad, I liked reading from the different perspectives. The whole "it takes a village" isn't something everyone believes in, but man, does it apply in this book.

I'd recommend this story.

All They Ask Is Everything is a well-written and interesting book which focuses on three different women and their separate plights for custody of two young girls.

I thought this book was going to sucker punch me in the feels and while it definitely did have sad moments scattered throughout, I just didn’t feel as invested as I wanted to be. I think this is down to the fact that I found pretty much all of the characters unlikable, right up until the end. While I empathised with the shit hand Hannah had been dealt, she just made some truly awful decisions when it came to the safety of her daughters and I found her quite insufferable. Hannah’s mother, Elaine, didn’t fare much better - her motivations for wanting custody of her granddaughters (that she barely knew) seemed self-centered. Julie was the most tolerable but even she had me questioning at times why she had become a foster carer.

It didn’t feel like enough time was given to each of the women in order for me as a reader to really get into their heads and discover more about them. The author did a good job at shining a spotlight on motherhood in general and how the journey differs from woman to woman.

The ending was a bit too fanciful and unrealistic, considering the harsh world of court cases of this nature, I’m just not convinced the judge would have happily ended matters ordering Hannah to take the girls out for ice cream. While I do love a happy ending, this one didn’t really fit with the rest of the story.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing & Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ms. Leggett had me hooked from the first chapter of this heart-tugging novel. The author skillfully developed each POV character (Hannah, Elaine, and Julie) to help the reader connect with their contrasting perspectives, even to make it difficult to pick one to champion. I was moved, all the way up to the final line. ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING will stick with me for a while. Brava to Hadley Leggett on her debut novel. Can't wait to read more from her.

Thank you NetGalley and lake Union Publishing for access to the Advanced Reader Copy of this novel. I also listened to the audiobook version.

All They Ask is Everything is a heartbreaking story of a mom who looses herself in her grief and depression until she finally looses her girls. It's a work of fiction but it's a clear picture of the difficulties single parents may face after loosing a loved one and how they'll react to their surroundings and reality. A grandmother broken after forced into retirement, a foster mom who can hardly wait to have her own child, a mother who will do anything to protect her daughters, and a social work hurting for decisions she took in the past that led to the death of a child. But how will they find a common path to thread and give the girls a better life? Engaging but a sad portrait of our times.
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

ALL I CAN SAY IS….WOWWWW THIS BOOK👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 I really loved it sooo much and it was sososo much deeper and emotional than I was thinking that it would be!

Hadley has a new fan in me!

I also need to thank the author for sending me this eARC!

Beautiful read! Leggett's writing was significant in making this debut novel a 4-star read in my book. I say that because I veer away from (contemporary) family drama but I found myself on the edge of my seat reading this book. I needed to know what happens next. The ending was a bit underwhelming but it tied the whole story fairly. I don't know enough about the foster system in the US to have an opinion, however when it came to character depiction, Leggett was effective in making a distinction between the adults and the children, and then the characters individually.