I really enjoyed this book. It was easygoing, but to get the perspectives of both lead characters really captured the confusing territory of mother-teenage daughter relationships. There were some genuinely funny moments as well as touching.

I would recommend I Was Told it Would Get Easier to parents of teenagers. Told in alternating chapters from the point of view of hard working single mum Jessica and her teenage daughter Emily as they embark on a tour of universities in the USA’s east coast, this is a really relatable read. There are lots of laughs along the way courtesy of the generation gap and it’s an interesting insight into the education system in America.

I thought this was going to be a great read but it just didn't hit many positive buttons for me. The main two characters were fine and their relationship felt real enough but I wasn't compelled by their story. It felt quite rushed and events happened that either were only put in for dramatic effect or came from absolutely nowhere.

Really good read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

I Was Told It Would Get Easier is family drama at it's finest. Beautifully written with characters that draw you in and you find it hard not emotionally invest in their stories and the secrets they keep from each other.

Abbi Waxman explores a mother-daughter dynamic in this humorous coming of age story of a college tour that whilst seeing miss-steps, goes on to see them reconnect, understand each other better, with both developing a stronger sense of self as a result. 45 year old single mom, Jessica Bernstein, is a high powered lawyer and partner at a prestigious LA law firm, a position she has gained by sacrificing spending more time with the apple of her eye, her 16 year old daughter, Emily. Jessica feels she needed to do this to give Emily every advantage, private school, nanny, and now ensuring that she can fund what she feels is an essential college education. Well grounded, with a strong moral compass, just like Jessica, Emily is feeling insecure when it comes to her mother's love, feeling she comes last in Jessica's priorities.

Both are keeping key aspects of what is happening in their lives from each other as they embark with uncertainty on a college tour, amidst which they meet friends, family and an ex-lover, with Emily unsure about what she wants and feeling that college is more than likely not for her. On the tour are Dani and Alex Ackerman, an unpleasant surprise, along with some other competitive, elitist and judgemental parents and their pressurised teens. College places are fiercely fought over, with some parents willing to cross lines to ensure their child gets the scarce and coveted place as they trample over the rights of others. However, the stage is set for Jessica to see that her worries about being a poor parent are unjustified, as her perspective is broadened by the eye-opening knowledge that other parents experience similar issues when it comes to their relationships with their children.

Waxman skilfully depicts the fraught family drama between Jessica and Emily, who have more in common than they realise, particularly when it comes to values they share. The current environment when it comes to college admission places huge if differing pressures on parents and their children is sharply observed, with the inclusion of parents breaking the law as we have seen in our contemporary world. Both Jessica and Emily are addicted to their phones and posting on social media, a crucial avenue to connecting with friends and the world, whilst for Jessica, it is a medium through which her law firm has her continuing to work, despite it being her time to be with her daughter. This is a fun and entertaining read, whilst simultaneously exploring the serious issues that afflict parents and teens in the modern world. Many thanks to Headline for an ARC.

A fun read depicting the road trip of a mother/daughter duo that I had a great time reading. The book was very well written and the characters were believable. Highly recommended!

Jessica Burnstein is a single mum to Emily and a very successful attorney in Los Angeles. Emily is 16, considering her future, is not enamoured of school or the idea of college though she is hardworking. The two go on an organised college tour of prestigious east coast colleges with other aspiring parents. The story is told in alternating perspectives by Jessica and Emily.

This is an enjoyable read with some smart, funny dialogue with plenty of irony. Jessica is a principled high achiever and is very prepared to stand up for herself, her daughter and those she mentors at work. Like most parents, Jessica beats herself up but she really does the best she can for Emily. The depiction of the pendulum of a mother/daughter relationship is captured really well - the unpredictability, the ability to half say, not say, the treading on eggshells and so on. At least Emily didn’t ‘communicate’ in grunts!! I love reading Emily’s thoughts , she’s a really good character possessing an excellent moral compass and honesty, she’s wise, true to herself and knows what she really wants. I like how the time spent on the tour allows them to properly see each other and to remake a connection. I enjoy the alternating points of view and it’s interesting that their thoughts align more than oppose.

What can I say about the tour? I think I’d rather stick pins in my eyes that be stuck with some of those parents! One of the best moments is when Cassidy the tour guide rips into some of them at the end of the book to a round of applause from me! We have snobbery to the nth degree, we must get the ‘right’ school, the prefect scores and so on. No wonder teens are stressed with all that uber competitiveness and pressure from parents. It also made me think about how much harder it is to be a teenager than in my day as apart from anything else we didn’t have social media scrutinising and judging our very move.

Overall, a really entertaining book with moments of humour some of which made me laugh out loud, there’s empathy with the difficulties of being both a parent and a teen and with ideas to reflect and ponder on.

With thanks to NetGalley and Headline for the ARC.