Be careful what you wish for.

I love first time novelists. And I particularly like it when a writer’s first novel is good. That’s why I recommend All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown. This novel has everything. A drug addicted mom. A lousy, cheating husband. An even lousier, cheating best friend. Teen pregnancy. A crazy, bitter feminist. Christians. Even a stoner pool boy. And who doesn’t love a good pool boy?

The thing that makes this book great is that it’s trashy enough to be a fun, page-turning read. You could read this at the beach or on a rainy weekend and be perfectly happy. But it’s so well written, you don’t have to be embarrassed that you’re reading it. You can even recommend it to your snobby book club friends.

This is a cautionary tale; that greed, and lust, and desire will just make you miserable. But it delivers this lesson without preaching or beating you over the head with morality. Now, some might put this novel firmly in the Chick Lit category. But I’d be careful making that assessment. The crazy feminist might hunt you down and kill you.