Kathleen West

"Alice Sullivan, a high-achieving architect and mom of two, is used to being in control--until life rips the blueprints right out of her hands. While she's always strived for a picture perfect life, Alice's foundation is rocked when she discovers her daughter is failing reading at school, and worse, her son is a bully, having humiliated a classmate on stage in front of 500 of their peers. Alice feels desperate to make things right, but when she turns to her friends for support, she discovers her own social standing has eroded now that she's one of 'those moms' who can't control her kids"--

Are We There Yet?

"Class Mom meets Small Admissions in this wryly observed debut about the privileged bubble that is Liston Heights High--the micro-managing parents, the overworked teachers, and the students caught in the middle--and the fallout for each of them when that bubble finally bursts. Isobel Johnson can't stand helicopter parents like Julia Abbott, a stage mom whose world revolves around interfering in her children's lives. Julia resents teachers like Isobel, who effortlessly bond with students, including Julia's own teenagers, who've been pulling away from her more each year. Isobel has spent her career in Liston Heights side-stepping the community's high-powered families. But when she receives a threatening voicemail accusing her of Anti-Americanism and a "blatant liberal agenda," she realizes she's squarely in the fray. Rather than cowering, Isobel doubles down on her social-justice ideals, teaching queer theory in AP American Lit. Meanwhile, Julia, obsessed with the casting of the winter musical, inadvertently shoves the female lead after sneaking onto the school campus. The damning video goes viral and has far-reaching consequences for Julia and her entire family. With nothing to unite them beyond the sting of humiliation from public meltdowns, Isobel and Julia will find common ground where they least expect it, confronting a secret Facebook gossip site and a pack of rabid parents in a suburb where appearance is everything"--

Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes

Two friends, one Olympic dream, and the choice that stood in the way. Once Leigh and Susy were close friends and teammates bound for Olympic hockey gold, but when Leigh's sure-fire plan to make the final roster backfired, she left everything behind to start over, including the one person who knew her secret. Two decades later, Leigh's a successful investment banker, happily married, and the mom of a hockey prodigy, so when a career opportunity lands the family back in Minnesota, Leigh takes the shot for her kid. Back in the ultra-competitive world she left behind, the move puts her in Susy's orbit, a daily reminder of how Leigh watched from the sidelines as her former teammate went on to Olympic glory. Despite the coldness between them, Susy can't help but hope that Leigh might lace up her skates and join her in the coaches' box--after all Leigh knows better than anyone how hard it is to be a woman in this world. Susy's coaching decisions are undermined by the all-male board and she knows soon her daughter, Georgie, will be seen as a "girl athlete," relegated to the B team, with less support and opportunity to advance. But Leigh's sure keeping Susy at arms' length is the only way to hide her history with her coach Jeff Carlson. When he hints of new favors in exchange for her son's ice time and allegations arise over his conduct, Leigh is caught in the ultimate bind: come clean about what happened when she was an Olympic hopeful and risk her marriage or play Jeff's game. In a moment of desperation, Leigh turns to Susy and realizes the one person she thought was her biggest competitor might turn out to be her biggest ally. Told with Kathleen West's trademark wit and compassion, Home or Away is a story about overcoming our pasts, confronting our futures, and the sustaining bonds of female friendship.

Home Or Away

"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.

"A gloriously entertaining plunge into the ultra-competitive world of youth sports and the lengths we go to for the kids and game we love."--New York Times bestselling author KJ Dell'Antonia Two friends, one Olympic dream, and the choice that stood in the way. Once Leigh and Susy were close friends and teammates bound for Olympic hockey gold, but when Leigh’s sure-fire plan to make the final roster backfired, she left everything behind to start over, including the one person who knew her secret. Two decades later, Leigh’s a successful investment banker, happily married, and the mom of a hockey prodigy, so when a career opportunity lands the family back in Minnesota, Leigh takes the shot for her kid. Back in the ultra-competitive world she left behind, the move puts her in Susy’s orbit, a daily reminder of how Leigh watched from the sidelines as her former teammate went on to Olympic glory. Despite the coldness between them, Susy can’t help but hope that Leigh might lace up her skates and join her in the coaches’ box—after all Leigh knows better than anyone how hard it is to be a woman in this world. Susy knows soon her daughter, Georgie, will be seen as a “girl athlete,” relegated to the B team, with less support and opportunity to advance. But Leigh believes keeping Susy at arms’ length is the only way to hide her history with her former coach Jeff Carlson. When he hints of new favors in exchange for her son’s ice time, Leigh is caught in the ultimate bind: come clean about what happened when she was an Olympic hopeful and risk her marriage or play Jeff’s game. In a moment of desperation, Leigh realizes the one person she thought was her biggest competitor—her former teammate—might turn out to be her biggest ally. Told with Kathleen West’s trademark wit and compassion, Home or Away is a story about overcoming our pasts, confronting our futures, and the sustaining bonds of female friendship.

Home or Away

The Whatchamacallit? is an alien race that has discovered humans are delicious. Now they are heading toward planet Earth to fulfill a dark mission: to harvest humans as livestock. A group of elite scientists, military, and government officials initiate communication in an attempt to learn the motivation of the extraterrestrial visitors. After a “First Contact” diplomatic procedure, they discover that the Earth faces a grave threat unless they surrender to the demands of the hungry Whatchamacallit? aliens. Meanwhile, Earthling Greta Müller has been plagued by strange dreams for some time, leaving her unsure of her reality and past memories of her capture and escape from the Whatchamacallit? planet. Now it is up to Greta and her friends with special abilities, both artificially intelligent entities and horse-like alien creatures, to collaborate to face the Whatchamacallit? threat. In this continuing science fiction saga, old and new friends unite to aid in stopping the greatest alien threat against human civilization, before it is too late for all. But will Greta’s friends find the human race worth saving? Or will they allow the Whatchamacallit? predators to restore balance to an already damaged ecosystem on Earth with humans as prey?

Volume 2: Predator and Prey

Tales of the Multiverse

Greta Müller lives in a tiny house just outside her parents' home. One night Greta is awakened with a horrible feeling that something is wrong. After she finally falls back asleep, Greta has no idea of what is about to befall her and the rest of the world as a large, green tentacles climb up her house, spread its tendrils over her bed, and sample her flesh. An alien race called the Whatchamacallit? has just discovered that Greta and the human race are delicious to eat. After they kidnap Greta and take her to their planet, she is tested in their laboratory and presented to the queen in an extravagant banquet ceremony for consumption. Greta finds hope in her newfound alien friend, Love, a fellow captive gifted with amazing abilities that may help them avoid being someone else's dinner. But can they escape in time? In this science fiction adventure, a young woman held captive by hungry aliens must utilize creative ways to safely flee before they eat her.

Tales of the Multiverse Volume 1: The Tasty Girl

Greta Müller lives in a tiny house just outside her parents’ home. One night Greta is awakened with a horrible feeling that something is wrong. After she finally falls back asleep, Greta has no idea of what is about to befall her and the rest of the world as a large, green tentacles climb up her house, spread its tendrils over her bed, and sample her flesh. An alien race called the Whatchamacallit? has just discovered that Greta and the human race are delicious to eat. After they kidnap Greta and take her to their planet, she is tested in their laboratory and presented to the queen in an extravagant banquet ceremony for consumption. Greta finds hope in her newfound alien friend, Love, a fellow captive gifted with amazing abilities that may help them avoid being someone else’s dinner. But can they escape in time? In this science fiction adventure, a young woman held captive by hungry aliens must utilize creative ways to safely flee before they eat her.

Kathleen West

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