This is my second book by Abbi Waxman and I am again pleasantly surprised by the depth of the characters and the complex emotions they deal with throughout the story. Waxman is quickly becoming one of my go-to contemporary fiction writers.

Waxman explores the complicated mother-daughter dynamic in this humorous and heartfelt story of a college tour and the ultimate growth both women achieve along the way. The alternating POVs which shared their VERY different perspectives added to the storyline.

This is one of those books where the heart of the story isn't the action or events that take place but the dialogue and connections between the characters. As someone who has lost her own mom and didn't always see eye to eye, I was moved by the obvious love of this mother-daughter duo and cheered when they were able to connect and finally could empathize with each other.

This was an easy read, but was just an ok story. Emily and her mom, Jessica, go on a week long group East coast college tour. It is told in their alternating voices, so we see their differing viewpoints while on the trip.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an eARC of the newest Abby Waxman.

I actually ended up listening to this one. I really enjoyed the story of Jessica and Emily, Mother and daughter, on a week long college tour. Their relationship has struggled over the years, and Jessica is hoping this trip can lend itself to quality bonding time with her daughter. It was amusing listening to the talk about preparing for college and all that goes into it. And I liked how Jessica used her influence for good at work. There were some laugh out loud moments and some tender moments. This was a fun book and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something easy.

Waxman's writing is charming, as always, with a strong female lead. The characters are well developed and you find yourself rooting for the main character and her daughter.

I was immediately drawn to this new book by Abbi Waxman because The Bookish Life of Nina Hill will go down as one of my all time favorite rom coms. I Was Told it Would Get Easier is a bit different but equally good. I enjoyed reading about the dilemmas between the mother and daughter and especially liked seeing how the mother struggled to be a single mom but also raised her daughter to be a strong female. Abbi Waxman has become a go-to author for me and I can’t wait to read her next book!

For every mother with a strong-minded daughter! I loved this book about a mom and daughter on a tour of colleges. Both the mom and daughter grow, which was so fun. Very funny too!

I have enjoyed Waxman's previous works and her latest's "I was Told it Would Get Better" did not disappoint. Told in alternating POV, we have the stories of a single mother and daughter from L.A. embarking on a college tour trip, fraught with lots of angst and tension between them. Each is hiding secrets from the other sure to spill out during the course of the week. Along the way, we encounter new and old friends and family embers to give insight into their personalities. Good women's fiction.

This story has a lot heart and a lot off sass, two things I really love from my books. I enjoyed the story but it was a bit slow and not a lot really happens. It is very character driven and while I liked both characters I don't think it was really enough to carry the story. I still gave it 4 stars because I loved both characters, I liked how the book ended and because the author is hilarious.

I was waiting for this one , because I loved her other book!I loved the concept of this one, a mother and daughter going on a college tour I find it interesting and fun!

It's in alternative POV and I find it refreshing,fun and sweet!I loved most of it, only the ending felt a little bit rushed!I really enjoyed Jessica, she was such a fun character!


"It's just as well parents get a decade of cute and cuddly children before they turn into teenagers, otherwise humans would have died out long ago."

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A wonderfully funny, candid, and sharp-witted journey about mothers, daughters, and realizing who you want to be when you grow up…even if you are an adult.

I WAS TOLD IT WOULD GET EASIER is the second book that I have read by Abbi Waxman and they keep getting better. Her ability to craft a story that is sweet, honest, at times poignant, and laced with humor is utterly enjoyable.

n this story, we can have a dual perspective of the mother and the daughter. There is a great balance of the struggles of being an adult as well as being a teen. It has a sincerity to the storytelling that makes all the more enjoyable. There is an effortless flow in this narrative that adds to the reader’s desire to keep wanting more.

Bringing to life characters like these is not always easy. Yet, the author managed to give them fully dimensional personalities packed with strengths and flaws. Even though I identified with Jessica more, I was very much invested in both of these characters’ lives. I wanted them both to find their way past what they are dealing with and come out on the other side. Also, I have to mention that the supporting cast in this book was topnotch. They added to the drama and the laughs in equal measure.

With heart and wit, Waxman delivered another positively entertaining read. I loved every minute I spent with the mother-daughter duo on their trip to figuring out the future.

3.5 stars
This story is my life!! I am going through something similar in my life right now!! I love this because of that! Being a parent is hard! This book made me laugh and make me realize it is not just me!

For any of you that have seen any of my posts regarding the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club, you'll know that I've been reading tons of books from the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer 2020 Reading Guide. And, when I saw I Was Told It Would Get Easier on the list--after getting it from Netgalley--I moved it to the top of my reading list.


For any of you ladies with teen (or even pre-teen) daughters, I'm convinced you'll love this. Although, I'm not sure when I started relating to the older protagonists plight--I can say that it's refreshing and hilarious reading about the tumultuous relationships between mothers and daughters.


If you're a teen, however, I think you'll still enjoy this read--even though it's not YA, because it's told from dual perspectives of mother and daughter, I'm sure you'll find someone to relate to!


This story wasn't really what I thought it was. It was so much more! And the back-and-forth perspectives was refreshing!


Abbi Waxman is a delightful writer!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this wonderful book!
My review will be up on the given link on 7/11/20.

I love family dramas and this was exceptional. Abbi Waxman really hits the heart of the relationship between mother and daughter. Life is complicated and this book really captured that but also gives us hope that we can work through the complications to get to understanding. I loved this book!

A really interesting take on the mother daughter relationship, college, careers, and why we work. I really enjoyed this book by Waxman and would recommend to readers of her early book as well as new readers.

Waxman does an excellent job of getting the reader into the heads the main characters as she examines the relationship of a mother and teenager. It can be heartbreaking and awkward. The perspectives of this story is what makes it worthy of being read. If there are mother-daughter book clubs this would make an excellent book, and even if it was just a group of moms reading it there would be plenty of discussion as the corporate lawyer and her 16-year old daughter take a weeklong tour of east coast colleges.

I Was Told it Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman is a contemporary fiction about the trials and tribulations of the modern mother-daughter relationship. 40-something Jessica is a single mother, who works diligently to balance parenting with her challenging job as a lawyer. As her daughter Emily reaches her senior year in high school, Jessica is finding it more difficult than ever to know the right things to say and do to keep their relationship on even footing. The looming stress of college applications drives Jessica to sign the pair up for a group-based college tour on the East Coast. During the trip, each woman is dealing with their own stressors, while also cluing in to who the other has truly become. Through this real journey of discovery, they are able to develop a more direct, genuine, and loving relationship.

I really enjoyed this book, which I think says a lot as I am not myself a mother, or a 40-something, or a teen. Waxman did an incredible job of making her characters relatable with her direct writing style that felt more like a dialogue written to the audience, complete with side thoughts, rather than a flat narration. This was the first book I read from Waxman but based on her writing here, I hope to read more. This book is highly recommended for any woman, and especially for mothers and daughters, who may sometimes need a reminder that they are probably much more alike than they are different. Thank you to Abbi Waxman, the Berkley team, and NetGalley for access to this fantastic book!!

Abby Waxman does it again! This was another humorous, relatable, entertaining, and brilliant book! I had the pleasure of meeting Abbi Waxman at a book event this past year and she is as delightful and funny as you would think. Now I think I will be in the minority on this but I found this book even more relatable than Nina Hill. While I really understood Nina‘s love for books, I’m not really introverted. I do however completely understand the complicated dynamics of the mother daughter relationship, having both been a mother of a daughter and a daughter myself. This was the story of mother Jessica and daughter Emily on a college tour trip. Jessica is a hard-working single mother and even though her job as a successful lawyer might not allow her to spend as much time with her child as she would like, it’s all so Emily can have the best possible life. Emily is pretty sure her mother completely does not understand her and isn’t even entirely convinced that she even likes her. To make things more complicated Emily is not certain she wants to go to college. The tour goes to most of the best schools on the East Coast including Jessica‘s Alma mater Columbia. It is a trip full of bonding,self discovery, secret sharing, truth telling, old friend visiting, Old loves, first loves, unexpected friendship, family, and laughs. The book also touched on some current events including the admission scandals and #MeToo.

The story bounced between Jessica and Emily‘s perspectives, and I thought this was so well done. Abbi Waxman did a wonderful job with the teenage perspective. Book even had a different kind of younger vibe when you were reading it from Emily‘s POV. I really liked both of these characters and enjoyed getting to know them better. I also really wanted them to realize how much they truly meant to one another and all it really would take is a few honest words. I also really enjoyed all the secondary characters especially Danny and his son Jack. Another warm, whimsical, and witty tale from this talented author.

This book in emojis 🚌 💅🏻 👩‍👧 🕶 🧳

*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

After having loved quirky Nina Hill and her bookish life, I could not wait to see what Abbi Waxman brought us next in I Was Told It Would Get Easier.

Emily has her sights set on college when she and her mother, Jessica, schedule a big college tour all over the east coast.

Jessica is excited about the tour with her daughter, thinking they’ll have time to bond and reconnect before Emily leaves the nest. They have grown apart as often happens with teen daughters; friends becoming more important. Jessica turns inward, though. She’s unhappy with herself and doesn’t blame her daughter for not liking her much.

Emily has her own share of personal struggles. She feels like no one at school likes her, and she wonders if college will be more of the same.

I enjoyed this glimpse into mother-daughter relationships. Jessica and Emily insightful, and they share their innermost thoughts with the reader. I found the tour set-up entertaining, where they see different relatives and friends along the way, and Jessica’s wittiness kept me smiling.

Overall, I Was Told It Would Get Easier was a thoughtful, clever, feel-good read, and I’m ready to see what Waxman brings us next!

I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This was such a delightful book!

Jessica is a single mother to daughter 16 year old Emily. This story follows the mother-daughter duo as they take a week long tour of colleges along the East Coast. This tour is through a company and occurs with a handful of other parents and their children. Right before leaving for the tour, Jessica threatens to quit her job because of sexism in the workplace and something happens to Emily at school. The tour is a chance to get away from their problems at home and reconnect while also looking forward to the future.

The first chapter of the book with Jessica’s boss made me so angry I thought I wouldn’t be able to continue with the book. Luckily, I figured he wouldn’t be a huge part of the book because it would focus on Jessica and Emily on their tour, so it didn’t really matter. But if you feel that same way, just ignore it and continue.

I loved how the book alternated between Jessica and Emily’s perspectives and often showed their views of the same moments. It was wonderful to see how a 16 year old interpreted a moment versus how a 45 year old would. I also really appreciated how Emily would sometimes say something snarky and in her head she would then ask herself why she was picking a fight with her mom. It rang so true to me and I haven’t read a book like that before.

This is such a great mother-daughter story and also a story of a teenager coming of age. I think this is one of those rare books that spans generations. Emily’s view point and chapters could easily appeal to the YA world and give younger readers insight into how their parents are viewing the moment. Jessica’s chapters could appeal to the moms who are frustrated with their teenage daughters and at a loss as to how to navigate the world of college.

The idea of this college tour also fascinated me. They tour 10 colleges, and very difficult to get into colleges, over the course of 7 days. This seemed so overwhelming to me. I also had no idea that there were companies who did things like this, as I have never met someone who has been on one.

I honestly want to recommend this book to everyone. I think that almost everybody will find something to connect with in it. It was a quick read too! I felt like I had just started it and all of a sudden it was over. I would love to reconnect with these characters and I love the light-hearted way that Waxman tackles serious issues. Love love love.

Waxman has solidified herself as a must-read author for me. She continue to write books that are unique but easy to connect to. I love that all of her novels are different from one another and I can’t think of a book similar to this one. Her writing is fresh and easy and I am already looking forward to what she writes next.

If there ever was a book that I needed to speak to me this summer it's this one! While it's not a revolutionary topic - that of mother-daughter relationships - it's brilliant and witty in displaying the harrowing minefields that come with said relationship. The story itself made me feel as if the author had shadowed me taking notes on all the ups and downs of my day.

As a high-powered attorney Jessica's worked hard to make a good life for her and Emily. She's thrived in her career and enjoys mentoring other women to be as successful as she has been. However, as she's achieved so much professionally she's also lost touch with her daughter. Emily knows her mother loves her but feels she has to compete with her career to get her attention. She's also feeling a little lost at the moment not knowing exactly where she fits in especially with all this stress of choosing a college.

While Jessica and Emily had their occasional issues connecting, I found empathy for both of them. I felt solidarity with Jessica for all that she was trying to bridge that divide with Emily. Waxman is amazing at spacing and timing the dialogue. She'll have the mother-daughter duo either mirroring each other's thoughts or going in opposite directions with their way off assumptions about the other. It's comedic gold as it shows how much they in fact do have in common and think alike even if they're awkward in each other's company. They're essentially blundering their way through this trip, hashing out their quarrels while also dealing with new complications at work and school. This will make for a memorable trip indeed!

It's a special thing when a book strikes a chord with you and helps to make sense of those tumultuary moments. In my case it's been cathartic. Laughing along with Jessica and Emily, and also at myself while showing me things in a new light, I felt reassured that someone else gets it. Gaining new awareness was an unexpected and welcome benefit of reading this novel. There were a few times when I wished I could jump through the pages (or my Kindle, in this instance) and yell, "Me too, sister!" because wow, Waxman totally nailed all the jumbled up emotions, questions and insecurities that arise throughout the ever-changing dynamics between mothers and daughters. With clever dialogue and humour, IWTIWGE is entertaining summer reading, for sure!

~ Bel