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

I love the humor, sentimentality, and relationships that come from the storytelling of Abbi Waxman. She pulls no punches and takes the reader into the heady world of parenting, friendships, communities, and the cruelties of hormones. When it comes to raising daughters, there are the golden years and the tumultuous ages where neither parent nor child will think they will get through it. As you begin to wonder if all hope is lost, there are those few sparks that help you to see through the dark and hope reins again; this is where Abbi Waxman is taking the reader, one minefield at a time.

We find Jessica and her sixteen-year-old daughter Emily as they embark on a college tour of East Coast Universities surrounded by overachieving students and dominating parents. Emily isn’t sure that college is for her, there are too many stumbling blocks and realities that lawyer mom Jessica never had to encounter. Times have changed, but still, a mother wants the full spectrum of choices for her child. As mom and daughter enter this new battleground, they learn about each other in ways they never thought possible. All the while, each must tread lightly before they destroy what is most important to them both.

A laugh out loud grab a tissue type of book for those who have survived this battle. A book that reminds us of those years and only now realizes that it never gets easier. There is always something around the bend. Next up for those still in the trenches and keeping track, being a parent to an adult child. Those years of watching them journey into adulthood and knowing when, as a parent, to speak up and when to shut up.

Jessica is a partner in a high-powered law firm. She is also the single mom of sixteen-year-old Emily. Jessica and Emily are going on a road trip to look at potential colleges for Emily. Emily has the usual teenager self-esteem issues. Jessica doesn’t understand why Emily doesn’t worship her like she did when she was in elementary school. If Jessica heard, “I Was Told It Would Get Easier”, the speaker obviously meant after Emily was 25—not during the tough teenage years.

I absolutely adored the author’s previous book, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, which was a favorite last year with 5 stars. I tried to not get my hopes up for this book. What are the chances of lightning striking the same place twice? According to my expert, Dr. Google, lightning is 100% likely to strike in the same place twice. Unfortunately, not in this case, however. I liked I Was Told It Would Get Easier. But I didn’t adore it like the author’s previous book. As a parent of a single girl myself, there were no surprises here. It is still a good book but better for readers who haven’t already lived through the same experience. 4 stars!

Thanks to Berkley Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

While it doesn't unseat some of Abbi Waxman's previous books as favorites, I enjoyed this mother/daughter story (with a small nod to the college admission scandals). We get to see both single mom Jessica's perspective as she struggles with career choices, relationships, and connecting with her daughter, not knowing that Emily, her daughter, is struggling with much of the same (as well as keeping a big secret). It's warm and funny, as well as heartfelt, and well worth the read.

I love Abbi Waxman and her witty writing style. This recent release is a a great, breezy story about a single mom and her soon-to-be college bound daughter. She documents their struggles of insecurities and “growing pains” both with mom and daughter as they navigate an elite college tour through the East Coast. It’s humorous, cringy at times (can you imagine hearing your mom talk about sex with an ex? 🤮) and a PG version of a coming of age story. I adored it. It was great. I love you Abbi Waxman for another fun book!

A fun heart warming and sometimes funny story about the bonds between mothers and daughters. I loved the strong sense of girl power in this as well as what it takes to keep a family going in these times and also be a working women in a sometimes very much, male dominated world.

Woman has a wonderful ability to dive into tough subject matters with quirky characters and very real feeling situations and events and still inject a fun loving sense of humor along with all the tough serious heart felt moments.

3.5 ⭐️ from me rounded to 4

This is a good book - wholesome, well-fleshed out characters, fairly predictable and easygoing. But according to me, it did not have that spark that makes the book extraordinary. Ir is more about the characters than about the actual story which is what I generally love, but it fell a little flat. Maybe because it wasn't relatable, maybe because I had more expectations because of Nina Hill. I also expected a little more from the storyline - the 'twist' which actually comes along wasn't too big of a deal, plus I wanted more about the admission scandals.

I think this is a good palate cleanser, and I think people who have kids will enjoy it more.

I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as Waxman’s previous books. It was a nice, humorous story of a mother & teen daughter relationship. Even though I had a teen son, I could still very much relate. Teens are a whole different breed, man.

"The Beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." - B.B. King

Kids, inevitably they grow up. But before they do, they leave that cute cuddly phase and enter the eye rolling, talking back, pushing the limits phase which occurs right before flexing their wings and leaving home. In this book, successful attorney and single mother, Jessica is looking forward to the college tour she and her daughter are about to embark on. She hopes that they will do some bonding, spend special moments together while her daughter decides where she wants to go to college. For Emily, the college tour is about deciding where she wants to go to college while (insert eye roll) she has to spend time with her Mother who is a successful attorney who is glued to her phone and seems to have more time for the woman she mentors than for her own child.

Once the college tour begins, they are thrown in with strangers and a familiar mother daughter duo who neither Jessica or Emily or too thrilled to see. But one of them has a secret and while visiting colleges, getting into tiffs, some Kvetching, and eye rolling, the two manage to visit family, get work done, make new friends, and in the end learns some truths about each other.

Abbi Waxman blew me away with The Bookish Life of Nina Hill and I went into this book with very high hopes. Perhaps my hopes were a tad too high. This book was just missing that little bit of something which would have made the book more enjoyable for me. Nevertheless, I enjoyed how she portrayed Jessica and Emily's relationship. Both had her own issues going into the college tour. I enjoyed their back and forth and reading each's thoughts about their interactions and motivations. Their relationship felt realistic and believable.

I found this to be an enjoyable light read. Well written, nicely paced and realistic.

I received a copy of this book from Berkley Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is very different from what I’m used to but I’m glad I decided to request it because it was very refreshing to read about mother/daughter relationships from both points of view rather than about cute romances and magical worlds. What I’m trying to say in a very convoluted way is that, sometimes it’s nice to mix up our reading habits with something totally different from what we’re used to.

But let’s actually talk about this book. Emily (daughter) and Jessica (mum) are set to leave on a university tour together as a way to help Emily decide where she wants to go to college and also to work on their mother/daughter relationship.

Jessica is a successful corporate lawyer who decided to take a stand and help younger female lawyers in the firm to finally get partner (based on their merits).

Emily is a student at a all-girls private high school where a cheating scandal takes place. She’s an average student and is unsure what college she wants to go to or if she even wants to go at all.

The book is peppered with funny, cute and wholesome moments but also with bickering and college admission drama.

I love how much both Emily and Jessica grew throughout the story and how when shit hit the fan they stood by one another no matter what. Both work on their issues and find a way to actually communicate how they feel and what they want, specially Emily.

Their relationship dynamics was so realistic and I could see myself in both Emily and Jessica’s shoes even thought I have never been a mother. Their relationship is super relatable.

Jessica’s willingness to change her life plan at the end was probably my favourite thing in the whole book. Her realising that maybe staying true to her life plan was not the best for her and Emily was a big step towards change.

I loved the side plot of cheating and bribing on college admissions. It is such a real issue! I liked that it was addressed in the book from the POV of both a parent and a student. The pressures family deal with of getting in the best colleges is ridiculous and I’m glad that was discussed in the story.

My only complaint is that we never get to know if there was indeed someone in the tour who got the cheat tests. That really bothered me because it was at the forefront of my mind as soon as it was made a possibility.

I highly recommend I Was Told It Would Get Easier. Abbi Waxman’s books have been recommended to me more than once before and I’m really glad I decided to finally read her work!

Jessica Burnstein is a badass lawyer and single mom to her only daughter, Emily. Jessica knows that she is far from perfect, but she’s proud of her ability to excel at work and provide for herself and her daughter. Emily, typical teenager that she is, is slightly less impressed. Most often, she feels ignored by her mom, always put second. Feminism and all that, sure, but it’s hard to have a parent who never leaves work at work.

So when the mother-daughter duo decide to go on a college tour, their agendas are slightly different. Jessica wants to make up for lost time and enthusiastically reconnect with her daughter, but Emily just wants to get a glimpse into a life away from home—and away from the drama waiting for her back at high school…

MY THOUGHTS
I Was Told It Would Get Easier is a really quick, sweet, and funny read. The book alternates between Jessica and Emily’s perspective, and I found both of them to be so likable. I could actually genuinely empathize with each character at the same time, since it was so easy to see their strengths and vulnerabilities along with their weaknesses. It helped that the book was so focused on their inner lives and thoughts. Of course there are plenty of secondary characters—we get to know quite a few entertaining parents and students who are on the tour, as well—but the book’s main focus is on the relationship between Jessica and Emily.

This was all set to be a five-star read for me, but the ending felt rushed and random. I still don’t 100% understand why the story morphs into a mystery whodunnit at the end (though I’m noticing A LOT of authors are incorporating major mystery elements into their general fiction these days: Big Summer, The Lies That Bind, and the list goes on). It felt forced, so I’m taking a star off for that. But I still really enjoyed the book and finished it in less than two days. If you loved The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, you will definitely like this one, too.

4.5 I love Ms. Waxman's books, so went into this with high expectations. Let me tell you, she did NOT let me down! 🎉 Told in POVs from both mother and daughter who both are keeping secrets from the other while on a college tour in the northeast, it's hilarious and heartwarming and touches on a whole raft of hot topics. This book feels like a warm hug, and who doesn't want that! Loved it!

Jessica is a successful lawyer and single mom, she is stressed at work because they won't make two of her very qualified protegés partner and her teenage daughter is unpleasant to say the least. On her way to a college tour with Emily, her daughter, she threatened her boss that she will quit unless her mentees are fairly treated. It is safe to say she is not starting this trip free of worries. Emily doesn't share much her mom and is worried that a scandal at school will get back to her mom. This was such a wonderful mother/daughter story. I remember myself as a teenager and I was probably as awful as Emily

Abbi Waxman is quickly becoming one of my very favorite contemporary fiction authors. Her writing is the perfect mix of being entertaining and also relatable and emotional.

It was so enjoyable and relatable to see Jessica and Emily learn more about themselves and one another along their journey together. The alternating POVs which shared the differing mother-daughter perspectives and added so much to the storyline. With wonderful punches of humor, Waxman simultaneously explored the complexities of parent/teenager relationships in our contemporary world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reading I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman made me seriously nostalgic for my own college tour. It’s a story about a single mom and her daughter going on a week-long tour, alternating between their two point-of-views. It’s definitely a stressful situation, made more difficult by the strained relationship between workaholic, Jessica, and her uninterested daughter, Emily. As they progress on the tour, they have their own respective journeys of self-discovery and self-realization, learning more not just about themselves but about each other as well. ⠀
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With a whip-smart narrative packed with astute, thought-provoking observations, I Was Told It Would Get Easier is an entertaining page-turner. Both characters have a biting, self-deprecating humor that manifested in different, but equally enjoyable perspectives. That being said, I found myself identifying more with Jessica’s character, despite not having any children. I officially feel old. 🤣⠀
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If you’re a fan of Women’s Fiction and you’re in the mood for a feel-good story, I definitely recommend adding this to your TBR list!

I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman deals with a full-time-plus working lawyer mother who is raising a teenage daughter. The pair are off for a week-long tour of colleges on the East Coast.

Jessica hopes the week will be a bonding experience with her daughter. Emily views the time as a chance to see what freedom is like even though she is not sure she even wants to go to college.

The week with a busload of parents and college-bound teens proves to be eye-opening for both mother and daughter.

When I’m looking for a funny read, I know Abbi Waxman will fulfill that desire ever since I was first introduced to her chick lit with The Garden of Small Beginnings in 2017. I went on to her next novel, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Born in England, Waxman worked as a copywriter at various advertising agencies in London and New York. She left advertising and began writing books, TV shows, and screenplays. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting June 17, 2020.

I would like to thank Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Jessica and her daughter Emily are getting ready to go on a college tour. Their relationship is what it always is: just fine, but they've definitely struggled with their dynamic lately. Jessica would have you believe it's the teenage hormones in play. Emily will have you believe that her mother cares more about her job than she does asking how Emily's day was anymore. Truth is: they're both right in a way. The college tour will help each of them discover who the other is, who they were, and who they hope to become.

I think I Was Told It Would Get Easier is a near-perfect example of the oft-tackled subject of the mother-daughter relationship. We get both Jessica and Emily's perspectives and the moments we would see their thinking align but they may not voice their thoughts would be both a tad bittersweet (because missed opportunities to open up to one another) but also hilarious (because how alike they are as people). It pushes that misunderstood narrative which is how many teenagers feel, but actually it's a universal feeling. Believing that no one really "gets" you. Parents can have those thoughts of insecurity too.

But more than that, I liked the moments where their perception of the other is altered. Emily by witnessing Jessica with her friends from college and understanding that her mother dated and partied, and was maybe a little wild. And Jessica seeing that her daughter is smart and thoughtful on her own but that she can still be undecided about the future.

I really loved everything about this book. It was light-hearted but also tackled serious matters of the parent/child relationship.

This is only the second book I've read by Abbi Waxman (next to [book:The Bookish Life of Nina Hill|42379022]) but I'm definitely going to look up her other ASAP.

I was so excited to read this one, because I loved The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. But I didn’t find the magic in this one that I found in Nina Hill. The characters were, to me, difficult to connect with and I found the daughter’s voice and POV to be inauthentic. It was also distracting to me how horribly she spoke to her mother.

Not every book can be a hit, and I love this author’s writing so much that I will definitely give her next book a go. This would just unfortunately didn’t work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free copy.

There’re subplots about bribery and cheating that frankly weren’t hard to figure out. Jessica and Emily both have revelations about themselves and what they want from life. These also weren’t major surprises by the time the book gets to them. Most everything is hinted at at least once if not several times and there aren’t any surprises by the end. This is a nice book and an honest look at the issues it presents but hardly groundbreaking. Though it’s filled with the witty snark that I adored in “Nina Hill,” lots of what is said is repetitive since we’re seeing alternating viewpoints from Jessica and Emily and enough things fizzle or are left without resolution (though honestly these are fairly minor, still …) to be slightly annoying. I enjoyed my time reading it but I doubt it’s a book that will stick with me long. C+

I enjoyed reading this story from both the mom's view and the daughter's view. I'm almost at the point where I need to take my daughter to visit colleges, and yet I can still identify with the daughter's feelings! I liked the inclusion of college admission scandals, as well as relationships with the mom's friends from college and the daughter's high school acquaintances. The college tour sounded like a lot of fun!