Review: Are We There Yet?

Are We There Yet? by Kathleen West
My rating: 4.5 


I just don't know what to say about this book. It sure held my attention! While I was tempted to DNF during the first quarter of this book, I'm glad I persevered. I wasn't quite sure if this book was supposed to be a farce or not, but the more I read, the more I understood that this is serious business for some mothers -especially the two-income parents and the 'helicopter' style of parenting. Of course, this is just my opinion only, so don't get too ticked at me!

It all starts with a misunderstanding and evolves into what can be called bullying and then devolves into a sort of child pornography case. We have three (and more) mothers who have been friends for quite a while who now are taking sides in this mess. Oh! And don't forget that these are only 12-year-olds! Tweens! Yikes!

Now add to this mess, Alice's mother (she is the main female character) lets her know during this time of upheaval that she had been holding back a major secret for 37 years! Evelyn ( the mother's an,e) does some things that I really took exception to. I actually really disliked her and would love to talk about her, but this is just a review and not a book club!

So would I recommend this book? I sure would, even if you are my age and never had to worry about most of these issues that stem from social media. Sure, we had bullying way back when in my day, but not on this level. I would also recommend this to mothers of tweeners and even those who want to read a good juicy backs-tabbing novel~!

*ARC supplied by the publisher, the author, and Edelweiss. Many thanks!

SYNOPSIS: "Among fake Instagram pages, long-buried family secrets, and the horrors of middle school, one suburban mom searches to find herself in a heartfelt and thought-provoking novel from the author of Minor Dramas and Other Catastrophes.

Alice Sullivan feels like she's finally found her groove in middle age, but it only takes one moment for her perfectly curated life to unravel. On the same day she learns her daughter is struggling in second grade, a call from her son's school accusing him of bullying throws Alice into a tailspin.

When it comes to light that the incident is part of a new behavior pattern for her son, one complete with fake social media profiles with a lot of questionable content, Alice's social standing is quickly eroded to one of "those moms" who can't control her kids. Soon she's facing the very judgement she was all too happy to dole out when she thought no one was looking (or when she thought her house wasn't made of glass).

Then her mother unloads a family secret she's kept for more than thirty years, and Alice's entire perception of herself is shattered.

As her son's new reputation polarizes her friendships and her family buzzes with the ramification of her mother's choices, Alice realizes that she's been too focused on measuring her success and happiness by everyone else's standards. Now, with all her shortcomings laid bare, she'll have to figure out to whom to turn for help and decide who she really wants to be."