Book Review: More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen

Pages: 256

Genre: Adult Fiction

Pub. Date: February 24, 2026

Publisher: Random House

Source: Publisher for review

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they’ve become her closest friends and, along with the support of her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life. Her private school students, her fraught relationship with mother, her struggles with IVF—Polly’s book club friends have heard it all.

But when they give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, the results match her with a stranger. Despite it seeming clear that this match is a mistake, Polly cannot help combing through her own family history for answers. Then, when it seems that the book club circle of four will become three, Polly learns how friendships can change your life in the most profound ways.

Written with Quindlen’s trademark warmth, humor, and insight into the power of love and hope, More Than Enough explores how we find ourselves again and again through the relationships that define us."

 

Polly Goodman is living a seemingly average life in New York; she is an English teacher at a private school and is longing to have a baby with her husband. Things have been difficult on that end, though, and she worries her difficulties around conceiving a baby are from bad "genes." So, her good friends decide to gift her a DNA test, partly as a joke, but also to put her mind at ease. Not long after she submits her DNA, she is matched with a relative she has never heard of, Talia Burton. She is a sixteen-year-old in Vermont, and they are closely related. So, Polly agrees to meet with Talia, who is desperate to connect with family, and from this a mystery unfolds. How is Polly related to Talia? Talia is a young black girl, and at first glance, they shouldn't have much in common. As Polly tries to figure out their connection, secrets unfold. Anna Quindlen's More Than Enough is a smart and reflective novel that's perfect for readers seeking a character-driven story, complete with ample self-reflection.
 
I feel like Quindlen has a knack for creating relatable characters and depicting everyday life, including its ups and downs, very well, to the point where people can relate to her stories, much like Catherine Newman's novels. Polly's struggle to conceive and her dealings with IVF, I imagine, many people can relate to and appreciate the all consuming struggle in More Than Enough. Once she encounters Talia, this also puts a big question mark over her family, and she tries to put the puzzle pieces together. What results is that Polly addresses family secrets with her father, who not only suffers from dementia, but also her mother, who has always appeared to have it together as a former judge. 
 
What I appreciate about Quindlen so much is her writing. It's just fantastic and reminds me of Catherine Newman, Elizabeth Strout, and Anne Tyler in the best way possible. While More Than Enough examines some heavier issues, such as cancer, infertility, infidelity, dementia, and more, she keeps it reflective, relatable, and not too morose.  
 
In the comments below, let me know if you are a fan of Anna Quindlen, and let me know if you plan to read More Than Enough, which is now a Katie Couric Book Club pick.