Article contributed by Laura Glassman
I Was Told It Would Get Easier is told from Jessica and Emily Burnstein’s perspectives, a mother and daughter pair. Jessica has just announced to her boss at a law firm that she would like to quit her job as partner due to his obvious sexism in hiring additional partners for the following year. Jessica and Emily have planned a college tour together along the East Coast, but the trouble is, their relationship isn’t what it used to be when Emily was a little girl. They don’t connect the way they used to, and often have uneasy conversations about Emily’s future. When they leave for the tour, Emily is looking for a way to become excited about her future, while Jessica is looking for a way to reconnect with her daughter. Together, meeting friends and relatives along the way, they take a bus along the east coast, knowing little about where the journey will take them.
Abbi Waxman has written that this topic is incredibly personal to her, as she is currently the mother of three teenage daughters. Thus, this story is deeply felt. Jessica and Emily’s interactions have a sharpness and insight which demonstrates flawed their relationship is, yet there is humour infused throughout.
Waxman allows us an insider view inside each of the main character’s heads, and she does this very well. The novel is a pitch perfect depiction of the challenges, heartache, and awkwardness that is characteristic of some mother-teenage daughter relationships. It is a story that will be deeply relatable for many women.
Through Jessica’s perspective, Waxman depicts the pain, love, and discomfort of being a mother of a teenager very well. It is clear that Waxman has put her heart into this character, since this topic is so personal for her. Jessica is thoughtful about her decisions as a parent, yet imperfect and unsure at times. It is amusing, heart-rending, and interesting to have a window inside of her head as she contemplates her daughter and their relationship. She must figure out how to be a good parent to Emily at a stage when things have changed between them. It is abundantly clear that she knows her daughter inside and out, however challenging it may be for her to figure out how to parent her at this age. Another interesting aspect of Jessica’s story is her work life and her fight to help her female mentee colleague gain partnership against the odds of some entrenched sexism at their law firm.
Emily’s perspective is interesting and a lot of fun to read, as well. Waxman wrote that she tried to put herself into a teenage girl’s shoes to see things from her perspective. What results is a depiction of a sometimes annoyed, sometimes loving, and deeply funny teenager who must spend a week travelling with her aggravating mother. Emily has a deeper side that also worries about her future, what she cares most about, and whether she will get into and fit in at a college.
However irritating Emily finds her mother at times, it is clear that she loves her and can tell that her mother loves her, too. The two know each other well. So well, in fact, that they can predict what the other will say or how the other will react many times, which is amusing. Similarly, reading Jessica’s perspective, however awkward and frustrating her interactions can be with Emily, it is abundantly clear that she loves her dearly. One of the things that makes this book so interesting is that the full complexity of emotions in this mother-daughter relationship is portrayed so very well.
In addition to crafting an interesting and entertaining story about a mother-daughter relationship, Abbi Waxman describes friendship between women very well. Jessica’s friendships with her friends Frances and Helen are genuine and full of depth. The dialogue is sharp. At one point in Jessica’s narration, she explain very well why friendship between women can be so special.
I Was Told It Would Get Easier also highlights what can be problematic about the college process that many teenagers and their families go through. The behaviour of some of the families on the trip and at Emily’s school, and their attitudes about college admissions is not good, and much of the trip shows what can be painful about applying to colleges. As well, Emily is unlike some of the other kids on the trip in terms of her thoughts on her future. This book portrays the college visits with a sense of humour and shows how an interesting young lady figures out what is best for her, what she cares about, and what is right.
I Was Told It Would Get Better is sure to make readers both laugh at and nod their heads about teenagers and parents alike. Fans of the recent release, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill will be sure to love this latest book of Abbi Waxman’s. Its topic is entirely different, but it has the same irreverance, insight, and honesty that her readers already love. For those who have never read one of her books, this is a fun, genuine, and immensely readable foray into the relationships between teenagers and their parents.
I Was Told It Would Get Better is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of June 16th 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Squashed among a bus full of strangers, mother-daughter duo Jessica and Emily Burnstein watch their carefully mapped-out college tour devolve into a series of off-roading misadventures, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
Jessica and Emily Burnstein have very different ideas of how this college tour should go.
For Emily, it’s a preview of freedom, exploring the possibility of her new and more exciting future. Not that she’s sure she even wants to go to college, but let’s ignore that for now. And maybe the other kids on the tour will like her more than the ones at school. . . . They have to, right?
For Jessica, it’s a chance to bond with the daughter she seems to have lost. They used to be so close, but then Goldfish crackers and Play-Doh were no longer enough of a draw. She isn’t even sure if Emily likes her anymore. To be honest, Jessica isn’t sure she likes herself.
Together with a dozen strangers–and two familiar enemies–Jessica and Emily travel the East Coast, meeting up with family and old friends along the way. Surprises and secrets threaten their relationship and, in the end, change it forever.
