Books

We're All in This Together

  • Oct 26, 2020
  • Amy Jones
  • 148 responses.

We re All in This Together A woman goes over a waterfall a video goes viral a family goes into meltdown life is about to get a lot complicated for the Parker family Like all families the Parkers of Thunder Bay have had their

  • Title: We're All in This Together
  • Author: Amy Jones
  • ISBN: 9780771050640
  • Page: 360
  • Format: Paperback

    • A woman goes over a waterfall, a video goes viral, a family goes into meltdown life is about to get a lot complicated for the Parker family.Like all families, the Parkers of Thunder Bay have had their share of complications But when matriarch Kate Parker miraculously survives plummeting over a waterfall in a barrel a feat captured on a video that goes viral A woman goes over a waterfall, a video goes viral, a family goes into meltdown life is about to get a lot complicated for the Parker family.Like all families, the Parkers of Thunder Bay have had their share of complications But when matriarch Kate Parker miraculously survives plummeting over a waterfall in a barrel a feat captured on a video that goes viral it s Kate s family who tumbles into chaos under the spotlight Her prodigal daughter returns to town Her 16 year old granddaughter gets caught up in an online relationship with a man she has never met Her husband sifts through their marriage to search for what sent his wife over the falls Her adopted son fears losing the only family he s ever known Then there is Kate, who once made a life changing choice and now fears her advancing dementia will rob her of memories from when she was most herself Set over the course of four calamitous days, Amy Jones s big hearted first novel follows the Parkers misadventures as catastrophe forces them to do something they never thought possible act like a family.

    • [PDF] We're All in This Together | by ✓ Amy Jones
      360 Amy Jones

    About "Amy Jones"

    1. Amy Jones

      AMY JONES won the 2006 CBC Literary Prize for Short Fiction and was a finalist for the 2005 Bronwen Wallace Award She is a graduate of the Optional Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at UBC, and her fiction has appeared in Best Canadian Stories and The Journey Prize Stories Her debut collection of stories, What Boys Like, was the winner of the 2008 Metcalf Rooke Award and a finalist for the 2010 ReLit Award Originally from Halifax, she now lives in Thunder Bay, where she is associate editor of The Walleye The author lives in Thunder Bay, ON.

    148 Comments

    1. I won this novel from a GR Give Away in exchange for an honest review.I enjoyed this story of the Parker family They are a mess but they are the kind of mess that every family can relate to They are real they make mistakes but they are connected as family This story has a lot of elements in it many family members, all with their own issues the ecosystem, marine life, living abroad, health and courage Mix it together and there s a lot going on For me, some of these elements were weak and the stor [...]

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    2. I received this book through a giveaway, and I m so glad it has a permanent place in my collection We re All In This Together is the type of book you can read at different times in your life and get something totally different from it each time I ve been the callow teenager and the lost housewife and the woman afraid to live all characters that Jones portrays with brutal honesty, humor, and love This family is all families perfectly imperfect, messy, and hard to like But there are such shining m [...]

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    3. 4.5 stars In the end, every family is fucked up, right That s the overriding theme of this novel set in Thunder Bay, Ontario I ve never been to Thunder Bay, but to me it sounds a lot like a bigger version of Ladner always overshdowed by Toronto, people either desperate to get out or happy to stay And in the middle is the Parker family Estranged family member Finn comes back to deal with the aftermath over her mother going over Niagra Falls in a barrel, becoming an overnight YouTube sensation Her [...]

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    4. many thanks to mclelland stewart PRHC for the ARC edition of this book i have been keenly anticipating this read in 2016.3 stars, if we coulde parker family is one hot mess but aren t all families in at least one way or another jones has created an interesting cast of characters in her novel, and i particularly loved how each character had their own warning sign included in a legend each chapter is headed by one the ten signs i feel like jones got into some really interesting research while work [...]

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    6. Thanks so much to Penguin Random House for sending me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review As always, all opinions are my own.Going into this book, I had no really idea what to expect I knew it was about a family of which the matriarch, mother, wife, etc goes over a waterfall in a barrel That and the author is Canadian and the book was set in Canada At it s bare bones, I suppose that is what this book is about, but their is also so much to the story.There are quite a few perspect [...]

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    7. I read this as a monthly reading with my book club It was my selection, actually, and to be honest, I enjoyed it However small this complaint may be, the hazard symbols corresponding with the characters should not have been placed at the end of the book I didn t come to notice it until over half way through Prior to that, I often had to flip back to remind myself who was speaking Once I realized the symbols had a purpose though, it was great Now, onto the story It was funny, a little far fetched [...]

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    8. I picked this up on a whim and because I liked the cover but I thoroughly enjoyed it It tells the story through 8 different people s views and there s an adorable legend at the back to keep track of everyone This book focuses on themes of bravery, courage, forgiveness, family and love and it s actually quite deep despite the hilarious storyline of a woman deciding to go over a waterfall in a barrel Very touching and very insightful into the world of dementia.

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    10. There were parts of this book that were a little difficult to slog through, but it ended on such a sweet, heartbreaking note I really loved the scene at the very end I, too, had a mother who loved to play Scrabble with me.

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    11. I loved this quirky, fun book and the deeply human cast of characters that populate it The alternating voices were all strikingly honest and the ending made me cry and cry One of my favourite books of this year, so far 3

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    12. Now THAT is one messed up family, but they will make you laugh A quick and enjoyable read all around Nothing too heavy.

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    13. Such a fantastic read You won t regret reading this one It will be a permanent fixture in my library and I look forward to reading it again

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    14. Barrelling over falls brings family togetherAmy Jones debut novel We re All in This Together is a whirlwind ride, blazing through four days in Thunder Bay, Ont in a tale narrated by 10 characters connected to a single family.At the book s core is Serafina Finn Parker, working hard to live an unremarkable solitary life in a nondescript suburb of Toronto Finn is called back to a complicated family situation she fled years earlier in Thunder Bay when her mother, Kate, goes over goes over Kakabeka F [...]

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    15. Thank you Penguin Canada and First Reads 4.5 stars We re All in This Together is one of those reads that excuse the shark nod , you will delight in sinking your teeth into Award winning Canadian writer Amy Jones has crafted, rather masterfully, an all at once funny, heartbreaking, and wonderfully plotted novel about a family you will not soon forget.The novel begins with an introduction to Finn Parker, who is forced back to her hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, upon hearing that her mother is in [...]

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    16. I can t remember why I found this one some list somewhere but when it arrived on the holds shelf I felt like I was extra lucky because just look at that shark He is tossing a barrel on his sharky snout Terrifying There is an underlying feeling of unease in the reading of this book because it is about family and no family life is perfect There are sharks everywhere Amy Jones has written something beautiful here and I ve shelved it in my book club favourites shelf because I think it would be a rip [...]

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    17. In a nutshell A video goes viral after a woman goes over Niagara Falls in a barrel Recommendation If you re looking for a book about a humour filled dysfunctional family, this could be the book for you I picked this up in the first place because I was attracted to the cover It has a shark on it so how could I just ignore it Then I read the description and saw that it was about a dysfunctional family, which is totally my jam for books to be honest This was pretty entertaining She wasn t fearless, [...]

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    18. LOVED THIS BOOK It evokes Thunder Bay quite accurately reminding me of many aspects of my childhood and part of my adult life there.Jones characters are well drawn, quirky and interesting This story is a great example of how tragedy brings all the issues and problems in a family to the surface at the same time It takes all the pieces of the family jigsaw puzzle tosses them all over and you need to find a way to bring it all back together again into the new reality The Parkers are a family that d [...]

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    19. All families are crazy and chaotic in their own special ways, this one is just exacerbated by a video of matriarch Kate going over Thunder Bay s Kakabeka Falls in a barrel and the video of going viral Finn, living in Mississauga goes back to Thunder Bay once she gets word that not only has this happened but her mother is in a coma Finn left on far than ideal terms so meeting up with her angry twin sister, well meaning father, adopted brother, and her nieces and nephews including a very betrayed [...]

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    20. I absolutely loved this book Quirky, messed up families are one of my favorite fictional topics and the Parker family is a hot mess There were so many moments that had me squirming in embarrassment for them and even where I actually laughed out loud I kind of wished that I had someone around to read passages to because they were just too good not to share Despite the hilarity and the general feel good vibe the story covered some pretty serious topics It was deep without being preachy and funny [...]

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    21. Excellent read, was really drawn in by the concept as who doesn t like awkward family reunions after one s mother goes over a waterfall in a barrel I think what I appreciated most was the real treatment of the characters, Jones manages to present each character s struggles as relevant and genuine, not cheapening any of them or writing them off as being dramatic Each character has their struggles, and deals with them as best they can It was emotional and raw at times and just so beautifully done [...]

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    22. I really enjoyed this dysfunctional family novel set in my hometown of Thunder Bay It provides a perfect amount of nostalgia and nails the four types of native Thunder Baynians those who love it and stay, those who love it and leave, those who hate it and stay, and those who hate it and leave I could tell the author was not born in town as there was a bit too much insider Thunder Bay name dropping, but the story was engaging and the characters all reminded me of someone I know Looking forward to [...]

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    23. 3.5 stars Set in contemporary Thunder Bay, Ontario, We re All in This Together, talks about four days in the lives of three grown siblings and their parents Absolutely dysfunctional and an enjoyable cast of characters that kept me engaged in the story A good read for a day at the beach or a weekend at the cottage.

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    24. An interesting, quirky family story about how a family adapts when the matriach decides to go over a waterfall in a barrel The book was set in Thunder Bay and feels contemporary Each chapter was told by the point of view of a different character, though some characters get several chapters.A quick read and a good family story I like the combination of humour and pathos.

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    26. I realized while reading this book that I love a good dysfunctional family drama This was that, and as a bonus, it was Canadian A great read

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    29. I received this book as a gift so I had no idea what it was about ahead of time It took me a little while to get into it but as I continued reading I began to have a need to learn about the Parker family and to see how into the predicaments they were in It is a story about family about how raw, messed up, loving, complicated, and crazy it can be It does not shy away from sensitive topics but approaches them in away that does not make the reader feel uncomfortable The time I spent reading the b [...]

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    30. 3.5 5 I picked this book up because it was a part of a promo at the local library I wasn t really drawn to it for the cover or for the blurb, just that the library had been promoting the crap out of it As I started reading I was pleasantly surprised at how much I was enjoying it Until I got about 2 3 of the way through Then it just seemed to drag The subplot with the granddaughter was annoying to me, and went on and on and on Ultimately, I liked that it was a picture of a family I could relate t [...]

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