I Love the Whole World!

by Victoria Hannan

Leslie had felt for some time that life was a series of things that just happened to her. When her physiotherapist husband dumps her for a woman with superior posture, she finds herself lost without a map.

A ticket out of her misery comes in the form of an all-expenses paid trip to the bright lights of Las Vegas.

Wonder, Leslie discovers, can be found in the most unexpected of places. Soon she falls in love with the beauty of the desert, its art and its people – and finds her way back to herself.

I Love the Whole World! is a celebration of life and self. Hilarious, joyous and beautifully observed, it is a novel about friendship, ageing and the extra/ordinary act of deciding to begin again.

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Book Club, Humor

Kindle Edition

Published August 11, 2026

Reviews

[Mel]

I’m really disappointed that I couldn’t like this more. I absolutely LOVED ‘Marshmallow’ so had very high expectations for this.

I found the tone and style of the narrative voice to be unappealing, with the lapses into second-person making all the ‘telling’ even worse. I think this was also a factor to my complete lack of emotional investment in Leslie, her trials and her supposed triumphs.

2-stars = it was okay

[Wendy Beech]

I LOVE THIS WHOLE BOOK! I love Leslie! I love Las Vegas! I love joy! I love exclamation marks!!

This short little book just explodes with joy on every page. We meet 43 year old Leslie who has recently split from a controlling, grumpy, boring husband who made her small. She’s won a trip to Las Vegas and she’s experiencing joy, wonder and awe everywhere for the first time in forever and god, it was a delight to be along on this ride with her.

The book made me smile the whole way through, it’s also hilarious and has the funniest moment/brief plot twist about half way through I have EVER experienced. Bravo @victorialhannan bravo - and when you all read it you need to come back to me. I loved those 2 simple pages more than I can express. Genius.

Leslie’s trip also made me feel that wonder you feel when you travel to a new place. I feel a deep connection to the US for reasons I can’t explain and I felt this reading the book too. I was googling the places she was visiting just to experience some of what she was experiencing.

I quite simply bloody loved every minute of my time with Leslie! And Carol Ann! And Jeff! But defintely not Dennis 👎🏻

I also loved the writing. I loved the humour, I loved the heart 💖 Leslie is my book spirit animal (along witb Rocky from Sandwich)

I’m sorry to tell you that this book isn’t out until August because that’s the kind of influencer I am these days, but pre-order or reserve your copy now if you’re a woman and you want to experience another woman experiencing JOY!

Thanks so much to @netgalley @penguinrandomhouse for my ARC 🙏🏻

[Chloe Ŀicious]

3.5

A novel about reclaiming oneself after a marriage leaves one feeling small and insignificant. This is about Leslie, freshly divorced in her 40s, winning a trip to Las Vegas and rediscovering who she is. It’s about finding immense joy in small moments and discoveries. It was a nice, easy read. But after reading Marshmallow from the same author, I think I expected more depth, something I could hold onto and remember long after I put the book down. This didn’t have that for me.

[vianny]

Okay, I really enjoyed this! I Love the Whole World! follows Leslie finding herself post divorce, really putting herself first after making herself so small within her marriage.

There's a lot of telling and stream of consciousness in this one, so go in knowing that's the style but I enjoyed it a lot. There is also a chapter that was the funniest thing ever, I was shocked to my core, and then the reveal was SO iconic.

You'll enjoy this if you love:
- older FMC
- post divorce self discovery
- stream of consciousness storytelling
- character forward literary fiction

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

[Madeleine Laing]

Fun and funny!

[Amanda Jackson]

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

This book felt like an indie movie my husband and I would randomly pick to watch on a weeknight and, when the credits rolled, I would say, "Well, that was just lovely."

Leslie is a 40-something divorcée who made herself small for decades of marriage and motherhood. (I loved her immediately.) After winning a potato chip company's sweepstakes to travel from her home in Australia to the magical new world of Las Vegas, Leslie decides to try on countless new versions of herself and discovers so much of life that she never before realized existed.

This author writes with the exact sense of humor I adore: coy fourth-wall breaks. Self-referential humor, spoiler alerts and inside jokes about the character between the author and reader. I smiled to myself often while reading and couldn't wait to see what happened as Leslie uncovered more of the world's bacon and slot machines and rocks and (in some cases literal) magic.

Leslie is imperfectly human in the way I love a main character to be. She's made plenty of mistakes; she's naïve and brash and ecstatic. And yet you can't help but root for her journey to rediscover herself, or discover who she's going to become now.

It's no secret that women of a certain age simply aren't media darlings by default. The older we get, the less often we're featured as primary subject matter in movies and shows and books like this one. I Love the Whole World! is a prime example of the power of putting *ourselves* in the spotlight and the beauty that unfolds when we choose to be the main character of our lives, again or for the first time.

[Ros Belle]

I just really liked this explosion of joy: Leslie's great, as she realises what a boring controlling leech her former husband is, and expands her mind, her horizons (and given the mind blowing American food portions), her girth on what is a voyage of discovery in the glitz of Las Vegas, but also the soul enriching natural world surrounding the city. Fun and funny and easy to read.

[Georgia]

Very cute journey of discovery.

[Barb Rose]

I wanted to love the book and liked the concept. Reading it was easy however it was a 2 dimensional read. I’m sorry that I didn’t connect with Leslie. She described her holiday well and Las Vegas through a delightful Lonely Planet addition. Unfortunately it lacked insight into the characters lives and depth of the relationships formed over time. It left me wanting to tell Leslie to stay in Las Vegas and don’t come back. I am disappointed that I’m feeling blah blah blah about Leslie.

[Amanda]

A bit so so for me. Couldn’t really engage with Leslie to be honest

[Scott Baird (Gunpowder Fiction and Plot)]

This was fun, it wasn't good and I didn't particularly care about anything, but fluffy, low stakes and silly. It's basically impossible to dislike a novel with the line "how could she ever be lonely with all of her farts for company".

[Kate]

I went to the launch of Victoria Hannan’s new novel, I Love the Whole World! , last week. Hannan was in convo with fellow author, Kate Mildenhall, who described this book as a ‘joy bomb’. And I absolutely agree.

In summary, it's about a woman named Leslie. Leslie's husband, Dennis, a physiotherapist, divorced her (and quickly re-partnered with Kimberley, his Alexander Technique teacher). Leslie, having drifted along in the marriage for decades, is indifferent to what happens next...

Dennis had been the only man she had ever loved, and was now a person she felt a numbing ambivalence towards. Thinking about Dennis was like going to the dentist to get a filling: a slight pinch, and then nothing.

And then Leslie wins a trip to Las Vegas. Wonder, she discovers, can be found in the most unlikely of places, and the trip reminds Leslie of who she once was (an aspiring artist) and what she might become.

There are no crazy plot twists; no big revelations; no pressure on the reader to take away a deep or life-changing message. This is a thoughtful (without ramming it down your throat), funny and relatable story. I loved it and I loved Leslie.

Firstly, it's funny. The funny comes from a few sources (including some fart jokes) but it is Hannan's repeated use of Leslie's name that creates space around the character, separating the reader from Leslie - it's just enough that we can laugh at the things that Leslie finds amazing (because some of them aren't that amazing), yet also appreciate the deep sense of joy Leslie is experiencing. It's infectious.

On thinking about her daughter -

Twenty-two was a complicated age for Moose, who was navigating it with more anger than Leslie remembered having at her age - but then the whole world was on rollerskates back then. Hard to be angry on rollerskates.

On arriving in Vegas -

Everything looked foreign and unreal yet somehow exactly as she had expected it to. There were huge billboards promoting music and magic shows, no-win, no-fee injury lawyers, medications. She spotted two dialysis clinics on the short drive from the airport to the hotel. Leslie wasn't sure she'd ever seen a dialysis clinic at home. And yet, there were two here on this short stretch of road. What was happening to America's kidneys?

On her breakfast waffle, served with maple syrup and bacon -

Leslie cut into the waffle... Whoever invented this deserved a Nobel prize! Which category, she wasn't sure. Was there an overall winner for just generally making life better?

Secondly, the observations about America and Americans are brilliant and because we are seeing it all for the first time through Leslie’s eyes, Hannan gets away with it.

Her understanding of America was that they liked things big, and they liked them convenient.

Lastly, this book is an ode to solo travel. I love traveling on my own. Yes, I also love holidaying with family and friends, but being on your own schedule is outstanding (as Leslie discovers). Specifically, Hannan does what I think many enthusiastic travellers do (or is it just me, Leslie and Hannan?) - you visit a place and you love everything about it. And you imagine a life there. You might even check out neighbourhoods and real estate and think about whether you could work in this new found place. All that pure excitement comes through in Leslie.

She wanted to stand at the edge and peer over. She wanted to hike down and look up. She couldn't remember the last time she wanted so much of everything.

This cold drink. This salty rim. This desert paradise. She wondered if she could live here after all. She could buy a house... She could decorate the house in tasteful desert colours.

There are shades of All Fours here (but not weird or gross, like some people found All Fours to be) - maybe the menopausal woman/ mother on a road trip to find herself is a new literary trend. If so, I'm here for it.

Leslie was having the time of her life, drunk on white rum and food colouring and champagne and pink lipstick and heat and tigers and velvet. She was in love with everyone (except Dennis) and everything. She had never felt a high like this before, and she realised that maybe it was happiness. If it wasn't heat stroke and alcohol, then it was definitely happiness.

4/5

[Karren Sandercock]

Leslie McDonald was married to Dennis Francis-Pester a physiotherapist for twenty four years and they have an adult daughter. Throughout her marriage Leslie was made to feel insignificant, her husband was a perfectionist and she wasn’t good enough.

Leslie starts entering competitions, she wins an all-expenses paid holiday to Las Vegas and she’s excited. Leslie arrives in America jet lagged and tired but determined to have a good time and without gambling.

Leslie is taken to the Grand Canyon, catches up with her best friends Jenny’s Brother Jeff, his wife and two sons. Leslie discovers everything is big in America from the selection and portion size of food, to Jeff’s car and house, and he takes her to see the Valley of Fire, the desert, nature is a work of art and the animal-based magic show he's a part of.

Leslie beings to embrace being forty three, instead of feeling ashamed of her lumps and bumps, how hot and sweaty she gets, no one notices and or cares and she does something very out of character, she puts herself first and makes a big decision.

I received a copy of I love the Whole World by Victoria Hannan from NetGalley and Penguin Random House Australia in exchange for an honest review. I think many women could associate with the main character Leslie, when life doesn’t go to plan, being self-conscious about their bodies, getting older and it’s a story about rediscovering who you are and having fun.

I would have liked the novel to have a couple more chapters and not end how it did (I wanted more) and never discovered why Leslie called her daughter Moose?

Three stars from me, a quick read and one that highlights life doesn’t end when you turn forty or get divorced, instead it’s the start of being able to do what you want, freedom and not be judged by a selfish ex-husband.

[nina.reads.books]

I Love The Whole World! (exclamation mark mandatory) is the third book by Australian author Victoria Hannan. Her last book Marshmallow was among my favourite in 2022.

Leslie is 43 years old and is about to embark on an exciting adventure. She has won an all expense paid holiday to Las Vegas. She is going with her best friend Jenny until Jenny needs surgery. The ticket can’t be transferred, and so Leslie bravely goes off on her own adventure. In Las Vegas she finds that she has the chance to remake herself.

This was a book imbued with a delightful sense of joy. It was also an ode to women arriving in middle age, post-divorce, with a child who is now an adult wondering who the hell they are now. Who were they before marriage and motherhood?

Leslie takes pleasure in absolutely every experience given to her. She finds small moments of joy. She appreciates every moment. She is almost naively joyful.

“She felt joy fizzing through her veins as if her blood had been replaced with sherbert, as if every atom in every cell of her body was finally awake after a long sleep. She took a deep breath and smiled. She loved Las Vegas Leslie, she loved Las Vegas, she loved her life – and she loved the whole world!”

Leslie’s adventures have a lovely amusing quality about them. However there is a very funny moment in the middle where with a few brief words across 2 pages the reader is given a little jolt. I have since been informed that this is a little Easter egg to an earlier book (thanks @where.the.books.go!). I may not have remembered it at the time but I did enjoy the reading experience.

There is a particular style to Hannan's writing here that I can’t quite describe – an almost flat retelling of Leslie’s thoughts about her life. It’s a bit different but I liked it. I also appreciated that the book begins and ends with movie script type layouts. I thought this ended the book in an unconventional way that I enjoyed and had me pondering the authors intentions.

Overall this is a gorgeous book that I think will be enjoyed by many.

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinbooksaus for my #gifted copy.

[Rhonda Hoyle]

"If you would have told her...perhaps she would have been happy to hear that life goes on. Perhaps she would feel sad to learn that in the end, one way or another, everything leaves, everything changes."

This short novel is one of self-discovery. Recently divorced, menopausal Leslie from Australia wins a trip to Las Vegas and intends to enjoy every second of the trip. When Leslie's best friend, Jenny, is unable to accompany her, Leslie soldiers on alone for the vacation of a lifetime. She's going to love and absorb every opportunity that comes her way. The year is 2000 and she's going to party likes it's 1999.

Told from a stream of consciousness point of view, Leslie feels small and her uniqueness has worn away. A strange hopefulness envelops her when she visits the Grand Canyon. While in Vegas, she reconnects with Jenny's brother, Jeff. Jeff is a magician who lives in a gated community with his wife and kids. He works for German performers who bear a striking resemblance to Siegfried and Roy. Her reconnection with Jeff spurs her to more adventures.

This is a fun read. I loved the year 2000 references. It was easy to follow and gave me a few chuckles along the way. I loved Leslie desire to rediscover who she was and who she can still be. I found her dislike for Hugh Jackson annoying, but she's so loveable I'll forgive her.

This is a book for anyone who wants to take a chance, who needs some change in their life. Leslie will inspire you to get out there and love the whole world!

A thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book for an honest review.

#NetGalley #ILoveTheWholeWorld!

[GRLSH]

★★★★

I Love the Whole World! is a joyful, funny, and wonderfully tender story about rediscovering yourself after spending years becoming smaller for everyone around you.

At forty-three, Leslie is newly divorced, disconnected from her adult daughter, and no longer sure who she is outside of the life she built with her husband. When she unexpectedly wins a trip to Las Vegas, she decides to travel alone—and begins seeing both herself and the world differently.

Leslie was such a lovable and endearing protagonist. I loved experiencing America through her eyes as she became genuinely delighted by everything from casino buffets and slot machines to desert art and the Grand Canyon. Her excitement over seemingly ordinary experiences was funny, infectious, and surprisingly moving. Beneath all that humor is a thoughtful story about aging, friendship, motherhood, and realizing that it is never too late to become an active participant in your own life.

The novel is short and very character-driven, without a particularly dramatic plot. While that suited its gentle tone, I would have loved to see more of Leslie’s journey and what happened after her initial awakening. Her complicated relationship with her daughter also felt like it needed more exploration and a slightly more developed resolution.

Still, this book left me feeling lighter and more hopeful. It is a warm, quirky celebration of curiosity, solo adventure, and the radical joy of realizing that your life still belongs to you.

[Andrea]

I Love the Whole World! by Victoria Hannan is about a woman, Leslie, who wins a trip to Las Vegas after recently divorcing her husband.

Leslie feels like she has no control over her life. She believes her life has been shaped by events that simply happened to her rather than choices she made. She finds herself feeling rudderless after her physiotherapist husband leaves her for another woman who has better posture and shares his interests.

When Leslie wins an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas, she figures it will be just the thing to pull her out of her slump. However, when her best friend, Jenny, gets sick and is unable to join her, Leslie decides to take the trip alone. As she embarks on her journey, she realizes how much of life she has been missing and decides she needs to find her way back to herself.

The book was pointless and boring. I wasn't a fan of Leslie or the narration style. I felt like there wasn't much of a story, and it lacked depth. Most of the novel felt like filler about Leslie's trip instead of focusing on her daughter's unexpected news, Leslie rediscovering herself, and deciding on a new direction for her life. I also didn't like how the book ended. It felt abrupt and jarring.

[Brittany Herbst]

I wasn't sure what to think going into this book because it was comped to one book I loved (The Wedding People), and one book I DNF'd (All Fours). Ultimately, I enjoyed this book but I didn't love it. It felt a little superficial and lacked depth of characters. I know what the author was trying to do with the character arc, but when within the first few pages the main character is talking about not liking her adult daughter it rubbed me the wrong way. I liked hearing the main's character's intrusive thoughts about what would happen if she flushed the airplane toilet while sitting down, but some of her more crass observations like the entire paragraph on sitting in her own fart cloud were unnecessary and frankly gross. Maybe it's because I'm a spoiled American that I didn't appreciate all the American things she experienced, but I didn't see anything happen that would have made me love the whole world. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC, this was still a solid 3 stars for me.

[Jennifer]

This was my first book by Victoria Hannan. I thought this was a fun, quick read about starting over and figuring out what comes next when life doesn't exactly go according to plan.

Leslie is newly divorced and ends up taking a trip to Las Vegas on her own. A lot of the book follows her experiences there and the different people she meets along the way. There are some funny and quirky moments, and I liked the Las Vegas setting and the overall idea behind the story.

I did feel like it stayed pretty surface level. I would have liked more depth with Leslie and some of the relationships because I never felt completely invested in the characters. The writing and narration style were also a little different and took some getting used to.

Overall, an easy, entertaining read with some humor and a nice message about starting over and experiencing something new. I liked it, but it wasn't one that really stuck with me after I finished.

[tammys bookish life]

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was excited to read this book because I love stories about women rebuilding their lives after divorce—those moments when they go from believing they can do nothing to realizing they can do absolutely anything. But for me, this story felt a bit incomplete, as though some emotional threads were left only partially explored.
Still, it was a pleasant and engaging read. I especially enjoyed following her travels, and I found myself wishing the book included photos of the places she visited along the way. And truly, I would love to see Dennis’s face when he learns about all the places she ventured to on her own—while driving a car on the “wrong” side of the road, no less.
My favorite quote: “I’ve never met anyone with such an enormous capacity for delight.” It’s a beautiful line, and one that captures the heart of the story.

[hannah]

“It sounded absurd and yet as she stood there with all that space in front of her, she felt the significance of it. That absence brings more meaning to presence. The absence elevates the presence. It was the absence of the rock that allowed the rock to exist […] Maybe what you gain from missing out is greater than what you lose.”

One of my anticipated releases of the year (I loveeee books set in Vegas/West Coast deserts) and it didn’t disappoint. So fun and heartfelt and I hope it finds lots of middle-aged women who think it’s “too late” or they have “lost the years” to go back out and find yourself/the aspirations you dropped to become married suburban mum because that’s what the world wanted you to do 30+ years ago: book that trip and find out that it’s so very far from the truth <3 More Denny’s diners and less deadbeat husbands called Dennis

[Victoria]

This is an ARC read review. Thank you for allowing me to participate.

I had to DNF this one. I loved the FMC's inner dialogue until....we got on the plane. The fart and sniff threw me way off. I tried to ignore and then a man's crusty sack fell out of his pants leg and she couldn't stop staring? Wait a minute now ...then we moved on to a flashback of her and her friend getting flashed with a limp ding dong. Almost quit then but I kept pushing and when she started talking about pubes popping out her drawers, I was done. I get it, middle age sucks and is not always pretty, but this lady was just down right funky. I get that it's fictional but I was not having a good time. Maybe I should have sped past the plane scene but my goodness what other gross Easter eggs are there? I DNF's at 25% and gave it a 3 star. Not sure it's fair for me to rate it lower since I didn't finish the book.

[Sharondblk]

I Love The Whole World! by Victoria Hannan is a whimsical coming of middle-age story about a 43 year old Melbourne woman who wins a trip to Las Vagas. Her husband has recently divorced her, she's having some tension with her 22 year-old daughter and she feels like she has been very passive in her life.
This book doesn't take the obvious routes. Yes we are in Vegas. No, Vegas is not glamourised. There are some really fun choices by the author (included the odd straight to the reader aside by the omniscient narrator.)
Set in 2000, so no phones or mobile internet, which I found really fun.
Read this if you want some heartwarming women's fiction that is never soppy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Australia for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sarah Pitcher-hoffman]

I could not get interested in this novel. Leslie was not an interesting character, and her adventures in this book lacked something. I think it started to fall apart for me when pages were spent on her experience on the airplane and her thoughts about the toilets. I was not a fan of Leslie, the narration style, or the lack of a plot. The novel felt like one long "telling" of Leslie's trip instead of her thinking about her relationship with her family, especially in light of her daughter's news. I also did not like the end, as it was too abrupt. I don't really recommend this book and give it 1.5 stars, rounded up to 2. Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Crista]

This was our bookclub book this week and it was not for me. I think maybe because the FMC is someone I did not relate to? I would not have stayed in a marriage for 20+ years with a guy who treated me like crap the whole time. What about him did she love? They had nothing by in common! So off she goes to America but everything is still about her ex. What he would think or say about things, the whole point was for you to move on and find yourself. And does she? I honestly don’t know. The inner monologue of FMC is so hectic and everything is a tangent that I felt exhausted reading the book, the author uses ! A lot, so yeah everything felt hyped and full of energy that wasn’t warranted. Not a book for me.

[Brooke Atkins]

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

I was really excited to read this story. I love stories of women rebuilding their lives after hard times like divorce, and seeing a character who was 43 and rebuilding her life, it was nice to see.

It was a pleasant read, and I loved following Leslie during her travels. I wish we could only see how Dennis felt about her travels. Leslie felt relatable, especially the awkwardness, and it was a good reminder that it's never too late to switch things up in life.

The only thing that I wasn't a huge fan of was how abrupt the writing was. One minute you're here, the next you're there, and then you're somewhere far away for a moment before coming back. It kind of gave me whiplash.

But overall, it was a nice story.

[Meg]

Do you love literary fiction, but wish it wasn't so sad all the time? Then this book is for you!
Leslie, a middle aged divorced woman, wins a trip from Australia to Las Vegas. And she proceeds to do what we all wish we could do, actually appreciates every moment of it.
This book is about remembering who you are, remembering the good in the world, and noticing all the small and wonderful things in life. It reminds you of the joy of travel and discovery, as well as human connection. Leslie is a great character and I loved being in her head. The writing is beautiful, nothing much happens, but it is an absolute joy to read.
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC.

[Amy S]

A quick, quirky read with a few genuine laugh‑out‑loud moments; especially if you’ve ever flown Qantas to the US in the early 2000s or braved Las Vegas in all its chaotic glory. Light, easy, and all about rediscovering joy after divorce and making your small world feel big again.

The side characters bring some fun (visa‑dodging ex‑boyfriend working backstage at a magician show = peak Vegas energy), but the rest of the cast and the Nevada desert don’t quite have the depth to keep things compelling. Still, it’s a breezy, feel‑good escape.

Short, simple, and now happily cleared from the TBR pile and onto the next.

[Shawna Briseno]

When Leslie’s husband dumps her for someone more aligned with his midlife crisis, she decides it’s time for a change. This change comes gifted as an all expenses paid trip to Las Vegas. She’s ready for some culture shock, definitely. She is, after all, traveling all the way from Australia. But she never expects her life to change in such a dramatic way. She’s captivated by the desert, the bright lights, the loud noises…everything completely opposite of the way she’s lived her life. Every new adventure she goes on, every new thing she tries, leaves her wanting more. This is a story about reinventing yourself, taking chances, and living your best life even when things don’t go as expected. I would have liked a little more closure at the end, but it’s a very positive, uplifting story.

[Gavan]

Hmmm. Weirdly a bit boring exactly because Leslie really did "love the whole world". Everything was great and nothing really went wrong (beyond the divorce that triggered the trip). So I liked the fact that it challenged my prejudices; but meant I really struggled to engage with her. For example, I can't visit a casino without getting depressed by people throwing away their money - but she liked it. The food descriptions made my stomach churn (high fat/fried/salt/sugar), but she loved it all. When she got out into the country I liked the descriptive aspects and the presence/absence theme. But disappointing compared with the excellence of Victoria Hannan's first two novels.