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genthebookworm's review against another edition
4.0
When it comes to page-turners, I definitely have a type! A family drama with nods to female friendship, family secrets, and the struggles of parenting? Check! Are we There Yet? has it all!
In addition to this book being totally engrossing, it is also super thought-provoking and just feels so real! As a mom who is navigating having a middle school student for the first time this year (during a pandemic no less), there is nothing that I find more stressful than figuring out how to parent in the digital age.
Kathleen West shines at alternating between adult and teen perspectives so flawlessly and this added so much to the storyline. The characters are imperfect and multifaceted and this story just filled my reading bucket this week. This would make an amazing book club discussion and I highly recommend adding this one to your list! 4.5/5 stars
Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.
In addition to this book being totally engrossing, it is also super thought-provoking and just feels so real! As a mom who is navigating having a middle school student for the first time this year (during a pandemic no less), there is nothing that I find more stressful than figuring out how to parent in the digital age.
Kathleen West shines at alternating between adult and teen perspectives so flawlessly and this added so much to the storyline. The characters are imperfect and multifaceted and this story just filled my reading bucket this week. This would make an amazing book club discussion and I highly recommend adding this one to your list! 4.5/5 stars
Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.
paigereitz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
thephdivabooks's review against another edition
4.0
Do you ever feel like everyone else has it more together than you? Are We There Yet tells the story of a group of mothers caught up in the never ending pursuit of balance between work, motherhood, marriage, and friendship. I laughed, I empathized, and ultimately I loved seeing the journey of these flawed but relatable women.
I really loved Kathleen West’s last book so I was excited to read Are We There Yet! Similar to her previous novel, West takes a sharp, witty, and ultimately thought-provoking look at the so-called “perfect” mothers and the way a “scandal” can ostracize the parent and the child from their community. One thing that differed in this book was the central mother (there are alternating narrators, but I’d consider Alice to be the main character of the book) started out already feeling very rootable. Alice’s biggest flaw is that she tries to do everything and realizes she has missed some of the small but important things her kids need.
But when an incident between her son, another child, and her best friend’s daughter escalates, Alice soon finds herself on the outs. Suddenly she is a parent of one of the “bad kids” and she feels shame and loneliness as she tries to navigate out of the situation. Alice quickly learns what its like to be on the other side of the judgment she used to place on other parents.
Meanwhile, Alice’s complicated but content relationship with her mother is rocked when her mother tells Alice a secret she has been keeping from her throughout Alice’s entire life. While Alice’s husband is traveling for a big work case, and Alice’s boss is increasingly pushing her out at work due to Alice’s unpredictable schedule with her children, Alice finds herself wondering how her life could have possibly gone so far off track.
There are characters in this book that I never felt fully redeemed themselves, characters in this book who I loved from page one, and characters who grew on me as I read their stories. This is a book full of all the messy imperfect parts of life, and what happens when you realize that the path you are on isn’t the one you thought you wanted, but it might be the one you needed.
Funny, heart-warming, and cathartic—don’t skip this book!
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.
I really loved Kathleen West’s last book so I was excited to read Are We There Yet! Similar to her previous novel, West takes a sharp, witty, and ultimately thought-provoking look at the so-called “perfect” mothers and the way a “scandal” can ostracize the parent and the child from their community. One thing that differed in this book was the central mother (there are alternating narrators, but I’d consider Alice to be the main character of the book) started out already feeling very rootable. Alice’s biggest flaw is that she tries to do everything and realizes she has missed some of the small but important things her kids need.
But when an incident between her son, another child, and her best friend’s daughter escalates, Alice soon finds herself on the outs. Suddenly she is a parent of one of the “bad kids” and she feels shame and loneliness as she tries to navigate out of the situation. Alice quickly learns what its like to be on the other side of the judgment she used to place on other parents.
Meanwhile, Alice’s complicated but content relationship with her mother is rocked when her mother tells Alice a secret she has been keeping from her throughout Alice’s entire life. While Alice’s husband is traveling for a big work case, and Alice’s boss is increasingly pushing her out at work due to Alice’s unpredictable schedule with her children, Alice finds herself wondering how her life could have possibly gone so far off track.
There are characters in this book that I never felt fully redeemed themselves, characters in this book who I loved from page one, and characters who grew on me as I read their stories. This is a book full of all the messy imperfect parts of life, and what happens when you realize that the path you are on isn’t the one you thought you wanted, but it might be the one you needed.
Funny, heart-warming, and cathartic—don’t skip this book!
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.
bofstedal's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
allysonclark's review against another edition
2.0
Tedious, but admittedly I didn't stop reading: listening to this audiobook was like being unable to look away from a train wreck (however, this is undoubtedly because it's not a particularly long book).
hayleybeale's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Though rather reminiscent of Bruce Holsinger’s The Gifted School, this novel was an enjoyable romp through the trials of 7th grade for both children and parents.
Three mothers and their children have been friends since kindergarten, but when Teddy Sullivan uses his popularity to start bullying another kid, it collapses a whole house of cards. His mother, Alice, tries to juggle dealing with this new side of Teddy along with her younger daughter’s reading difficulties, all while working with a major new client in her interior design career and her husband’s continued absence on work trips. As she tries, and fails to cope, she alienates her two close friends and her mother, Evelyn, who is going through her own family upheaval.
Composed of short chapters told from multiple perspectives, the story rattles along. I sympathized with Alice, thought Evelyn was a self-centered pill, and found the children’s lack of impulse control to be cringingly realistic. On the other hand, the warm and sunny resolution, though satisfying, felt a little pat.
This is yet another book in which it turns out that women can’t have it all on their own terms and that mothers can really both mess you up and be just what you need.
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
Though rather reminiscent of Bruce Holsinger’s The Gifted School, this novel was an enjoyable romp through the trials of 7th grade for both children and parents.
Three mothers and their children have been friends since kindergarten, but when Teddy Sullivan uses his popularity to start bullying another kid, it collapses a whole house of cards. His mother, Alice, tries to juggle dealing with this new side of Teddy along with her younger daughter’s reading difficulties, all while working with a major new client in her interior design career and her husband’s continued absence on work trips. As she tries, and fails to cope, she alienates her two close friends and her mother, Evelyn, who is going through her own family upheaval.
Composed of short chapters told from multiple perspectives, the story rattles along. I sympathized with Alice, thought Evelyn was a self-centered pill, and found the children’s lack of impulse control to be cringingly realistic. On the other hand, the warm and sunny resolution, though satisfying, felt a little pat.
This is yet another book in which it turns out that women can’t have it all on their own terms and that mothers can really both mess you up and be just what you need.
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
bmpicc's review against another edition
3.0
This hit all my mom buttons and was a firm reminder why our children do not have access to social media accounts yet. I am a little curious about her other book 'Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes'.
"You're in charge of your story."
"You're in charge of your story."
kdurham2's review against another edition
3.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
People always talk about the drama that young folks have in middle and high school, but this book shows that the drama just starts there . . .
Told through a wide variety of perspectives from the kids themselves to the parents, this book shows how perception and reality don't always meet and how life has both ups and downs. The main mom is Alice Sullivan as she begins the book happily married with two kids who have been doing well until middle school happens to her son and his antics send the entire family into a tail spin.
People always talk about the drama that young folks have in middle and high school, but this book shows that the drama just starts there . . .
Told through a wide variety of perspectives from the kids themselves to the parents, this book shows how perception and reality don't always meet and how life has both ups and downs. The main mom is Alice Sullivan as she begins the book happily married with two kids who have been doing well until middle school happens to her son and his antics send the entire family into a tail spin.
wm17's review against another edition
2.0
I am sure I would have related to it more if I was a parent but I just couldn't get into it. The only reason why I kept reading was for the grandma's storyline. It was interesting to see the different POV for that although I wish I could read Julienne's POV as well.