Are We There Yet?

By: Kathleen West

Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer

"A breezy yet affecting read filled with struggle and hope." (People)

A Good Day LA Pick

Among fake Instagram pages, long-buried family secrets, and the horrors of middle school, one suburban mom searches to find herself.

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.

©2019 Kathleen West (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Filled with witty charm, humor and family secrets.” (Woman's World)

"Fans of Liane Moriarty of Big Little Lies fame will love Are We There Yet?, a heartfelt and thought-provoking drama about the trials and tribulations of modern suburban motherhood." (Working Mother)

"Kathleen West's latest novel, Are We There Yet?, tackles the struggles of parenting with unflinching honesty.... Alice's picture-perfect life seems to disappear overnight, leaving her with no choice but to embrace the mess." (PopSugar)

Meh

A novel about parenting middle school students, the choices they make, and how they affect the parents (more specifically the mothers)

A good tale. Great narrator!

I really enjoyed this book. The moms were very believable, I could relate to some of the angst and have been in a community like the one described here.

Excellent narration, unlikable characters

I could listen to Therese Plummer read the phone book to me, so I figured I'd give this author a try. If you enjoy books about self-centered characters with few redeeming qualities, this is the book for you.

An Easy read

Are We There Yet?

2.75 stars

Keywords: family, drama, pre-teens

Trigger warning(s): child pornorgaphy, nude leaking

I’m not entirely sure what drew me to this book. Maybe it was the low stakes of contemporary fiction, or maybe it’s because my nephew is quickly approaching the age of the children in this book. Whatever the reason was, I’m more neutral on this book.

Though I do not personally know any moms like the ones portrayed in this book, I do feel like they are realistic for this day and age. Realistic to the point that some of their behavior bothered me, but such is life when it comes to other people.

Though this book talks about the stress of being a mom with a troubled pre-teen, it’s not a very stressful read. It’s written in a way that doesn’t, for me, get overwhelming. This was a nice light book to listen to while traveling to and from my mother and fathers house. It was a little charming, like the characters were innocent/ignorant to the world and what was happening around them. I’d recommend this to people who just want a light read about the morden struggles of raising a teenager.

Now to my problem with the book…. Slight spoilers ahead.

One of the things that bothered me about this book was the way that Alice approached the trouble that her son got in. I understand being confused when you’re seemingly good kid gets into trouble, but it just felt like she was trying to deny anything wrong had happened, or that he son wasn’t capable or fully responsible for the trouble he caused. This attitude continued even when he spread a naked photo of a girl from school with the soccer team(hence my trigger warnings). Even though what he did was extremely serious, wrong, AND a crime, she acted as though it wasn’t a big enough deal for him to have charges pressed against him, even though the DA wouldn’t follow through because of his age, and thought it was unfair for the charges to exist in the first place. Maybe this is just a difference in attitude, but if I were in her shoes I would not find pressed charges as “too much”. I would not be happy about the situation, however I believe that actions have consequences, and spreading nudes, especially CHILD nudes, is a serious offense in my eyes. In my opinion, at some point you have to put your bias aside and see that your child's actions are wrong.


I listened to the audiobook version of this book. I liked the performance, though it is less theatrical than others I've listened to. This may just be a me issue, but it was kind of hard to keep track of who's perspective the story was while listening. This is not usually an issue I have while READING a book, so I don't hold it against this book at all. My reading skills are better than my listening skills after all, but I figured I would mention it in case others like me were considering the audiobook version.

Surprisingly entertaining

I was prepared to half listen to this book but ended up really enjoying it. The characters were layered and interesting. Give it a go, it’s not life changing or earth shaking but it’s what a book should be—fun.

Typical family with tween drama

Cute read, nothing spectacular. Set in suburban Minneapolis, we follow the lives of several moms and their 7th graders as they navigate friendship, middle school, and normal family drama.

So much fun

ARE WE THERE YET? starts off with unlike, self-centered, middle class suburban moms who sounded very much like women I’ve known and disliked throughout my life. Quickly, the cracks in their privileged façades and those of their middle schoolers rise to the surfaces, as do the insecurities behind their often-bitchy exteriors.

The further I got into ARE WE THERE YET?, the more I wanted to keep listening to the audiobook, even after bedtime. The Audible narration had Desperate Housewives feel to it, not taking itself too seriously or trying to teach a lesson, only to entertain. Sometimes we all need a fun book that doesn’t have a Big Message. I need to read more Kathleen West.

So relatable!

I feel like I could be any of these well-described characters, comically struggling to parent so “correctly.” West eloquently portrays these different mothers all attempting to navigate parenting young teens. The novel is smart, funny, and 100% relatable! Both a thought-provoking and fully entertaining read. I tried to savor it slowly, but couldn’t let go... I finished it in just a few days!

Boring

Where was the drama??? Such a terribly boring book with the back and forth about the boring day to day of being a mom. I want to be transported not reminded of my everyday

I don't understand the great reviews

Narration was great.

The story lacked sooooo much. So much psychologist talk and for one of the main characters being a psychologist, she sure did not understand how to maintain her relationship with her daughter.

Honestly it was so bad, I waited for it to click but man - once the Minnesota references started in and weren't accurate I couldn't, as a Minnesota native.

skip this one!