Books like these make me so grateful for my own mom-friends.  Like the women in this book, we met when our kids were in preschool and kindergarten.  Unlike the women in this book, we are genuinely caring and supportive of each other.  These characters care about appearances as much as they care about their kids (to be fair, they all care for and about their kids a lot).  The fact that, Alice, the mom from whom we hear the most, is an interior decorator, is a little too on-the-nose, a fact that doesn't go unremarked upon in the book.

When Alice learns that her 2nd grader is reading significantly below grade level and her 7th grader is acting like a bully, she is equally concerned with how her "friends" will react with how to actually help her children.  To be fair, she does step up and do the hard work to help her kids get back on track.  But following along as she perserverates about other people's perceptions was quite a slog (at least as bad as reading about all the brand-name accessories she uses to decorate her own and her clients' homes).  Alice's other problem is her mother, who is about to drop a bomb on her in the midst of all this.  Alice's mother a child psychologist, and I can only say that I'm glad not all child therapists are as selfish as she is.

The short version: You might not actually like any of these characters, but you might recognize them.  You'll almost certainly recognize their struggles, if you have kids.  You might not actually sympathize with them, though, or enjoy reading their inner monologues, but if you're in a book group, especially with your mom-friends, you'll definitely have a lot to talk about.

There was a lot going on in this book and while I appreciated the story telling and certain elements of the book overall I was underwhelmed. There was too much going on for the reader to really be able to connect with any one story line or character. As for all of the characters, I didn't really like any of them so that was a miss for me too. It had the potential to be a good domestic drama but overall it just didn't do it for me.

I really enjoyed Kathleen West's latest novel. Her writing style is so crisp and easy to read, yet she's tackling some tough subject matter. I found the characters to be completely relatable and often wondered if the author had hung out in my neighborhood. The theme about parents vicariously competing through their children and friendships dissolving overnight because a child makes a poor choice is an incredibly accurate assessment of modern culture. I loved the unique cast of characters and their various arcs as the story progressed. A delightful and thought-provoking read from start to finish. I highly recommend!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary copy. This is my honest review.

This was a really good book that explored the dynamics and relationships of family and friendships.  The story starts off being introduced to three friends, Alice, Meredith and Nadia.  All three have 7th grade kids and they became friends back when their kids were kindergartners.  Drama unfolds and at times it was like watching a car crash or a good soap opera.  The author did a brilliant job of telling the story and writing such multi-dimensional characters that you are rooting for despite their flaws.

Wow. 

Kathleen West does a bang-up job of recreating the junior high years, which without a doubt are THE MOST stressful years of parenting that you will endure. And they suck for the kids, too. (If your kids are still young, I apologize for freaking you out. But I speak the truth.) 

This book is told from several different perspectives, mainly three adult women who have been friends since their kids were in elementary school, along with their children and one of the women’s mother. It was a little hard to keep track of everyone at first, and some of the transitions were a little rough, but overall I really enjoyed the format and reading from the different perspectives. 

Our main character is Alice. Alice 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 falling behind in second grade, she gets call from her son’s school accusing him of bullying.

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 previously all too happy to dole out.

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. 

This book is Girls with Bright Futures for the junior high set, with more moms behaving badly. I absolutely loved it (although it made me fervently thankful that my kids have both passed the junior high stage).

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley for the arc of Are We There Yet?
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Are We There Yet? started out a bit slow, for me, but I ended up really enjoying the novel toward the middle, and then racing to the end. This book is contemporary fiction, and I got major Big Little Lies vibes. 
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As a parent, this book really spoke to me. Life is hard trying to juggle: kids, a household, a career, etc - so when Alice hears that her 2nd grader is struggling in reading, her middle-school son is succumbing to all the middle school drama, and her boss is leaving her our of important decisions at work, all while her husband is traveling, I immediately sympathized and obviously related to her character.
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This novel is told from multiple POVs. I enjoyed the story told from the  mother's perspective, but I ended up mostly looking forward to the chapters told from the kids' perspectives. 
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This is an easy read and I was thoroughly entertained. I absolutely recommend the story if you enjoy Moriarty novels, contemporary fiction, and a bit of family drama.

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.  

I love to read these books and sprinkle them in between a high intensity mystery/thriller or darker moody historical fiction.  Reading about "low level" drama makes me happily roll my eyes and puts my own trials and tribulations into perspective.  Although I am not a parent, a good "mom drama" is fun to read now and then.  

I was excited to find out after finishing this book that Kathleen West has another book that looks to be similar and I hope to slate it into my reading when I need a little lift.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a beautiful family drama that kept me interested the entire read. The author developed characters that were engaging and believable and an excellent plot that sucked me in, I love when a book can do that.

Are We There Yet? pulls the reader in from the first page because the book is filled with words perfectly chosen to make you feel what each character feels, to see what they see. The author describes them all perfectly for they are vulnerable to the love, jealousy, betrayal, lying and grief that colors their lives at the moment.

This taunt family drama blew me away. You get caught up in all of the drama. It keeps you engaged from the very first page and there's a shocking betrayal that I can't say much about without giving it away. Highly recommended.

In this book that explores the dynamic of family when it comes to troubled kids, we have a story that is mostly told in the viewpoint of Alice Sullivan. However, as the chapters develop in this story, there are five other characters who have chapters. As Alice is in conference with her daughter's teaching, she is shocked to learn that her young daughter Adrian is very far behind in reading, that is disturbing enough. However, finding out that her son Teddy is the class bully is incomprehensible. Her friends Nadia and Meredith also have children of the same age and have been friends for years. Alice always that her children were a cut above the others.

Alice may be friends with Nadia and Meredith, but things certainly are on shaky ground. For one thing, Alice always felt that Nadia's son Donovan was the bad boy, and now Alice is pretty much forced to completely rethink that with her current problems with Teddy. Then there is Meredith and her daughter Sadie and the role she played in things in this book. Meanwhile, Alice's mother Evelyn has something to tell Alice. This is something that will no doubt shake Alice's world and could possibly cause detrimental effects to their relationship. 

One thing proves quite true in this book. The preteens in this book all have access to social media. For the most part, the parents have exercised caution with their children, but these kids are smarter than their parents when it comes to technology, and this indeed proves to create untold problems that have devastating effects. 

As a parent of six and grandmother of nine, I admit to having gotten frustrated with this book more than once. I know what I did to protect my children of the dangers of the internet and and I found the decisions made by the children as well as the parents often to be quite disappointing. But my experiences are certainly my own, so I tried to put myself into the minds of the parents when it came to what they were dealing with their children.  

The narration of this book was definitely on point. I loved that so many characters had their own voice, especially when it came to bring in the multigenerational situation that concerned Evelyn, all while Alice and the other mothers coped with the difficulties their children faced. This was my first book by Kathleen West and I am glad for the opportunity. I definitely look forward to reading some of her other books.

Many thanks to Berkley Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I read Ms. West's first novel through NetGalley, so I was super excited to get to read her second one early. Besides for terrifying me at the thought of parenting a middle schooler, this book was quite enjoyable. Much like "Minor Dramas and Other Catastrophes," it was suburban family drama at its best. These are the books I search out to read when everything else in life is heavy, and I need a good laugh at someone else's expense. I enjoyed all of the characters, though Evelyn was a bit much for me in the way she pushed Alice to accept things, and I really liked how it all came together in the end. I do want to know, though, why the "#TT" with the grafitti, especially once I found out who was the responsible party! Questions to ponder... Thanks, Ms. West, for another satisfying read.

It's safe to say that when it comes to books, I have a type.  Give me a book about misbehaving kids and their worse behaving cliquey moms and I'm pretty much sure to love it!  'Are We There Yet?' has these elements and it totally did not disappoint!!

Three friends - Nadia, Alice, and Meredith - connected while their children were in kindergarten.  Now in seventh grade, the women have remained close though their children have drifted apart and pursued their own friend groups and interests.  As troubles arise for each family, the women must decide where their priorities lie and who they can trust.

Nadia, mother to Donovan, has always been the "bad mom," not that any of the women would tell her that.  Donovan is a classic "problem child," often in trouble with the principal, prone to learning difficulties, and in therapy.  Meredith and Alice are convinced Donovan is the way he is because of Nadia's parenting - what else could it be?

Alice is the successful working mom to Teddy and Aidy and she's coming to grips with recognizing that though she can have it all, she can't seem to have it all at the same time.  Just as her interior design company seems to be taking off and getting national attention, Teddy starts showing signs of being a bully, Aidy's reading levels are shown to be clearly behind, and Alice's relationship with her mother starts to crack.

Meredith, mother to Sadie, is the perfectionist.  Sadie is her golden child - a talented figure skater, a team player, highly intelligent.  But when Sadie gets wrapped up in some drama with Teddy at school and subsequently makes a poor decision on social media, Meredith quickly sees her perfect life crumbling in front of her eyes while at the same time also compromising her daughter's reputation and future.

As the mothers each push to do whatever they think is best for their children, they make plenty of their own bad decisions along the way.  Dealing with current and relevant issues related to bullying and social media and parenting in general, I was totally engrossed with the drama of Elm Creek and felt that it was (terrifyingly) realistic.  It really showed what a parent is willing to do for his/her child and how hard it can be to be honest with yourself about who your kids really are.

It was easy to see how the kids' impulsive decisions spiraled out of control in the new age of social media and I often found myself thanking my lucky stars Instagram and SnapChat weren't a thing while I was growing up.  Though I was frustrated with some of the decision-making, it truly did feel authentic and I have a feeling these situations happen more often than anyone would like to think.

Funnily enough, I didn't love any of the characters all that much and particularly disliked Teddy, Alice, and Meredith.  Everyone felt impulsive, judgmental, entitled, and superior, but for me, that made me enjoy the book even more!

I loved the writing and narration style - we heard from the mothers as well as several other characters including Alice's mom, Teddy, and Sadie.  I do wish we had heard more from Nadia to balance out the voices of the three moms and because we didn't hear from her, it felt like her character was sidelined a bit.

Some of the storyline was wrapped up a bit abruptly at the end but I did feel there was good closure to the various plotlines.

Overall, I couldn't get enough of this book and I'm looking forward to reading more by West!!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

West is a great writer, but this is not as good as her debut. Had major issues with how the social media subplot was executed.

This novel provides a relevant look at parenthood through the lives of three modern families.  Told from alternating perspectives, we meet Alice, Meredith, and Nadia: three woman who became friends when their children entered kindergarten at the school. Those kids are now in junior high and the woman quickly learn that the kids’ friendships are not the only relationships that are shifting and changing. 

I tend to have trouble liking books similar to this one because oftentimes I feel as though the author provides caricatures of people rather than relatable characters. However, in this case I could easily replace the characters’ names with the names of moms I know.  I think this book does a great job of truly showing a glimpse of modern life in terms of parenting, friendships, and families.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing an advanced look into this novel for women. 
In life, it seems, that once you think everything is smooth sailing, someone can hit you with a humdinger of a right hook from out of the blue...even your own mother.
As in most communities, parent groups have ladies who have a difficult time trying to keep up with each other. They become friends who compare their husbands, children and others, too.  In this novel, the surprises are around every corner and you need a mirror to watch your back.

This novel focuses on Nadia, Meredith, and Alice, three suburbia mothers who met when their children were in Kindergarten.  Nadia's Donovan is a "trouble child" who has had issues and behaviors throughout school that constantly call for Nadia to defend her child while the other two secretly comfort themselves that at least their children "aren't Donovan."  Alice's son Teddy, always an easy-going child, is having a hard time fitting into middle school life and begins bullying fellow student, Tane, who is usurping his spot on the soccer team.  Meredith is overprotective of her daughter, Sadie, and has difficulty believing her daughter could send an inappropriate text, and instead convinces herself that Sadie is the victim.

As each mother deals with her child's behaviors, their friendship begins splintering and they realize that sometimes "school mom" friendships run their course, also.  

This book held my attention from the start, but there were parts in it I could not help feel had a "privilege-y" vibe to them:  All were upper middle class, had professional jobs, stereotypically consulted the latest greatest child-rearing philosophies in books and trendy magazines instead of just treating their kids like people and giving them attention.  Meredith is quite obnoxious many times when she refuses to admit that Sadie isn't perfect.  Alice tries too hard to be perfect and has a meltdown when she can't control everything.  Nadia, probably jaded with already dealing with her son's obvious behavioral disorders is the most likable, but allows the other two to treat her rather condescendingly.  

Each mother learns a harsh lesson of judging other people's children while ignoring the faults in their own, and that their focus should be on the children not on making the children perfect.

This was my first Kathleen West novel and while there were some things I did enjoy about this book overall, I got a sense of where is this going? and I am not sure we ended up anywhere. There is a lot to unpack with Are We There Yet?

I did like the writing style and that the story is told through multiple points of view, it was an interesting way to keep the story moving and share slices of each character’s perspective. I thought the views from the teenagers were well done and often made me wish the adult characters could understand them a bit better, such as in real life. There are a few concepts that were really interesting, social media on teens, parenting the modern world. Adopted families and how certain things can affect those children through out life. I think the author was just a bit ambitious with all this thoughts to really hone in a couple and showcase them to their full potential.

Which leads to, things that were more of a miss for me include. The number of ideas bouncing around in this book, so many characters to keep track of with several stories lines that I didn’t think were necessary, some never even got addressed by the end of the book. Most of the characters were not likeable, relatable, or even enjoyable. I found our main characters mother’s actions and motivations to be a bit confusing and unrealistic. Every male character in the book was a completely dud. All the friendships were toxic with no chance for characters to redeem themselves.

Never have I read a book with so much going on while the book goes nowhere at all. I like a good domestic drama as much as the next person but unfortunately for me when I reflect on this book I can’t think of a single person I’d recommend it to which for me is the true mark of a good read.

Sadly this book did not hold my attention. I think that is because I am not the target audience for this novel. I think it would be enjoyed more by women who are mothers because they would relate better to the storyline. I read many different novels where  the characters lead different lives than me, but for this one it it so heavily focused around the children and the family dynamic, it was hard for me to connect. 

It was also hard to keep so many characters straight when so many were introduced in the very first chapter. 

The cover is eye catching! And the writing style was great.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Are We There Yet? by Kathleen West portrays pleasant suburban life... until it's not. Three middle-aged girlfriends have teens the same ages.  The kids have been friends since kindergarten but now that middle school has arrived, they have to contend with fake Instagrams, hashtag bully wars, crushes, and SnapChat pictures (that don't get deleted).  Each chapter is a different character's perspective of similar events, from the parents and the kids.  Kathleen West captures all the drama.  Her writing is believable and the issues could happen in any town.

Alice is someone you think has it all. Never mind the fact her daughter is behind on her reading and her son Teddy is constantly getting in trouble at school, thus getting suspended and putting her partnership at risk having to constantly leave early to retrieve and watch Teddy. 
Alice seems to have the support from her “friends”, but are they really friends? The women don’t seem to like Teddy and think he’s a bully. As kids will be kids social media plays a huge factor in this book as well. The parents think they are being socially responsible, but don’t know about the “fake apps” and accounts hidden within their kids phones. 
I loved this book! Thank you Berkeley and Netgalley for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Alice looks like a mom who has it all, but it only takes one day for everything to unravel. First, she learns her daughter is behind grade level. Then, her son is suspended for bullying. Her kids aren't the only problem - her mom also has a secret that will shatter the exiting family dynamic. What's a so-called "good mom" to do when her life is falling apart?

Wow. As someone without kids, this book really threw me into the deep end of parenting struggles. Alice and her friends Meredith and Nadia have so many issues to deal with. West gives the reader the perspectives of both the parents and the children, and I liked seeing both sides of the story. The novel is fast-paced, with lots of new drama popping up every few chapters. I wouldn't say this book is relaxing, but if you need a read to help you realize that your problems aren't so bad after all, you might think of picking this one up.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.