Family | Book Chatter

Are We There Yet?
By Kathleen West
Berkley, 9780593098431, March 16, 2021, 352pp.

The Short of It:

Suburban moms and junior high drama. I shudder just remembering those days.

The Rest of It:

The transition from grade school to middle school is a big one. Some kids handle it better than others. Some parents, too. Alice feels pretty accomplished. She’s about to be a partner in the design firm she runs with her boss and her kids are both well-adjusted and happy. Her husband Patrick is very successful, although hardly ever home due to work and the mom group she hangs with all have similar interests. It’s a good life.

One day, one of those suburban moms hints that there might be something going on with Alice’s son, Teddy. Having absolutely no clue what she’s talking about, Alice finds herself defensive and guarded. So when the truth comes out about Teddy and what’s going on at school, Alice’s perfect little world quickly unravels.

West does an admirable job of depicting junior high life and what goes on with teens. All of the insecurity, the hormones raging, the anger that suddenly cannot be contained no matter what, and then the parents who poorly navigate those waters. This story also focuses on the danger of social media and how quickly a bad choice can turn into real harm if allowed to run its course.

Although I didn’t love any of these characters, I feel that the author did a stellar job of presenting the conflict and that these characters behaved very realistically to the challenges being presented to them. I remember my own challenges with my two and those teen years were/are rough. Plus, West touches on the busy-ness of working parents and how oblivious they can be to issues that are literally staring them right in the face.

Overall, I found this story to be pretty realistic in the telling and yes, I can see how even the best of parents can’t control the teen mind or body. They are like wild animals sometimes and definitely have opinions of their own. What would you do if you thought you did everything right and your kid still acted out in a horrible way? That is the question Alice faces over and over again.

I think any parent will be able to relate to this story and even if you don’t have kids of your own, you probably remember what it was like to hit the age of thirteen. I know I do.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Sunday Matters

Good morning! Who is watching the Super Bowl today? I will watch for the commercials. I hope they are really funny this year. We all need a little bit of humor.

Right Now:

Coffee drinking is in progress. I am also assembling veggie enchiladas for our game watching feast. I will serve it with rice and black beans, chips and seven layered dip.

This Week:

On Thursday I have an appointment to get a different vaccine, my second shingles shot. It’s a good thing I set a reminder to book the appointment because four months went by fast. I’ll run over on my lunch break and check that off my list.

There could be more audition stuff going on this week but at the moment I am not sure. There are these things called “walk-ins” where certain schools open up a block of time to allow last minute walk-ins. It’s a good way to open up your possibilities. We are adding four schools for walk-ins.

At the end of this week my church is doing a Galentines event for youth group. It sounds fun. My availability is unknown at this moment since it will depend on what I noted above. I believe it’s outside. Have to check on that.

Have I told you that my son decided to apply to grad school? He has submitted a few applications so far. He will graduate this summer with a B.A. but wants to continue on in Arts Administration so he can pursue his dream of opening community art centers in underprivileged neighborhoods.

Reading:

My eyes are begging me to take a break. Reading, reading, reading, but besides my eyes, it feels good. This week my reviews for Are We There Yet? and Klara and the Sun will post. I finished The Night Tiger so I will get that review up soon.

Next up is Murakami’s latest, First Person Singular, and this one that one of my students lent me:

Watching:

We started to watch Schitt’s Creek, finally! We are done with Season One and it’s great. It’s funny and crazy and well-written. My husband watches it with me and we both love how quickly the episodes fly by. We say we are going to watch an episode and then before we know it we’ve watched three. We should get through these seasons quickly.

Grateful for:

Bookish friends who let me borrow books. Thank you!
Streaming services. I know they can get out of hand if you have many but the few we have are just too fun and used plenty. So many good things to watch.
Independent bookstores. It’s more than just supporting a local business for me. It’s the whole experience. The booksellers talk books and LOVE books. So different from the big box stores. Plus, bookstore cats and dogs. LOVE. One near me even has a wine bar! It was brand new when the pandemic hit so it hasn’t been tested out yet but… a wine bar!