Everything You Want
by Barbara Shoup
by Barbara Shoup
EVERYTHING YOU WANT by Barbara Shoup
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 4/1/08
Publisher: Flux
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
Rating: 4 Stars
Emma, a college freshman, has grown up comparing herself to a more beautiful and accomplished older sister. With her life
plagued by embarrassing situations and constantly feeling odd, Emma thinks she will never fit into the world around her.
Little does she know; most of her family and friends feel exactly the same way about their own lives.
Emma’s tale starts as she attempts to save an annoying goose whose life is scheduled to end because she has finished her
psychology experiment. Heartsick at the thought of Freud’s cremation, she packs him up in a borrowed cage and takes
him home for the weekend. Her parents are not pleased, but they accept it as a typical example of Emma’s normal, yet
peculiar, behavior.
It turns out that the goose changes their lives when Emma’s father uses “golden” as inspiration in the purchase of a lottery
ticket and ends up winning an astonishing $50 million dollars. That’s when Emma’s story truly begins. Does having money
improve life or simply make a mess of it?
EVERYTHING YOU WANT details Emma’s experiences as she struggles to find her place in the world. Having money
doesn’t mean that everything falls easily into place. Instead it tends to muddy the waters and make choices less clear and
focused.
At times I found Emma an annoying complainer, but as she gradually comes to terms with her situation and begins to
recognize that her personal problems are no different or special than anyone else’s, I found her more likeable and relatable
as a character.
Barbara Shoup takes readers into a world we all dream about, only to reveal that things may not be – everything we want.
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 4/1/08
Publisher: Flux
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
Rating: 4 Stars
Emma, a college freshman, has grown up comparing herself to a more beautiful and accomplished older sister. With her life
plagued by embarrassing situations and constantly feeling odd, Emma thinks she will never fit into the world around her.
Little does she know; most of her family and friends feel exactly the same way about their own lives.
Emma’s tale starts as she attempts to save an annoying goose whose life is scheduled to end because she has finished her
psychology experiment. Heartsick at the thought of Freud’s cremation, she packs him up in a borrowed cage and takes
him home for the weekend. Her parents are not pleased, but they accept it as a typical example of Emma’s normal, yet
peculiar, behavior.
It turns out that the goose changes their lives when Emma’s father uses “golden” as inspiration in the purchase of a lottery
ticket and ends up winning an astonishing $50 million dollars. That’s when Emma’s story truly begins. Does having money
improve life or simply make a mess of it?
EVERYTHING YOU WANT details Emma’s experiences as she struggles to find her place in the world. Having money
doesn’t mean that everything falls easily into place. Instead it tends to muddy the waters and make choices less clear and
focused.
At times I found Emma an annoying complainer, but as she gradually comes to terms with her situation and begins to
recognize that her personal problems are no different or special than anyone else’s, I found her more likeable and relatable
as a character.
Barbara Shoup takes readers into a world we all dream about, only to reveal that things may not be – everything we want.