by Kathleen West
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: 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.
Kritters Thoughts: 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.
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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