BOOKISH FRIDAY: “ARE WE THERE YET?”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56D and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists! What a great way to spend a Friday!

Today”s feature is a recent download:  Are We There Yet?, by Kathleen West.

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Book Beginning:  (Alice Sullivan)

Alice scrolled through the latest posts on the Next Door app as she waited for Nadia, who was, as usual, several minutes late for their twice-monthly coffee. Meredith used to join them, but she’d announced a year ago that she’d rather see them on Sundays for power walks than lounge in a Starbucks.

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Friday 56:  (Alice Sullivan)

Alice had hoped she’d perk up that night after seeing her friends, but a leaden feeling had settled in her gut.  Despite Nadia’s assertions that there were “a million ways to fix Teddy,” there seemed to be just two:  Call a therapist and apologize to Tane.

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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.

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What do you think?  Do the excerpts and blurb call to you?

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