Abbi Waxman

"Stuck in a bus full of strangers, mother-and-daughter duo Jessica and Emily Burnstein watch their carefully mapped-out college tour devolve into something they never expected in this hilarious and insightful new novel from the author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Jessica and Emily have very different ideas of how this college tour should go. For Emily, it's a last-ditch effort to get excited about her future, because every day in the present feels like such a slog. Can't she just skip straight to the adulting part? It looks so much easier... at least on social media. 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 entirely sure she likes herself. Together with a dozen strangers-and two familiar enemies-Jessica and Emily travel the East Coast, visiting one prospective college after another, meeting up with family and old friends along the way. Surprises and secrets test their relationship and, in the end, change it forever"--

I Was Told It Would Get Easier

Kate B-L

3.5 stars, enjoyable quick read, mother-daughter dynamics portrayed really well, and really does strike a chord with me when it comes to forcing young adults to choose a career and therefore a lifestyle when they're still trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be.

Liz Carpenter

Laurel Ann Smith

Yep, Abbi Waxman is my fave. Her writing is so smart and witty. In this book, I particularly enjoyed the opposing perspectives of the mom vs the teen. It had me thinking a lot about relationships (particularly mother/daughter) and also laughing out loud. Highly recommend for a good time.

Julie Berman

Jessica 

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  As always, a copy of this book was provided by the author or publisher in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.


Admittedly, I was a bit nervous to read I Was Told It Would Get Easier. The last time I'd read Abbi Waxman's work, I hyped it up in my head and ended up not really connecting with it. The writing was fantastic, but the story and I just seemed to not vibe together. This time, I definitely connected with it and found myself getting lost in her enjoyable, witty prose.

Dressed in familial themes, humorous and intelligently woven prose, Waxman's I Was Told It Would Get Easier creates the perfect balance in fiction. Told in the split POV of a mother and daughter, the main characters of I Was Told It Would Get Easier are easy to understand; their narrations standing out against one another and providing readers with the chance to slip into their minds easily.

Novels classified under women's fiction don't always connect with me, but there's something about I Was Told It Would Get Easier that captivated me from the very start. You know when you click with a story, its characters and the writing, and suddenly you've devoured it in one sitting? That's how I felt about this novel. 

There's this quality to the story that takes an equally light-hearted and realistic approach to life and storytelling. It gives readers the chance to dive into something as an escape but still feel as though they've read something that did more than provide a window to escapism. Waxman's writing is smooth, heartfelt and hilarious--it keeps the readers turning the pages without even realizing they are doing so.

I loved seeing the dynamic of this mother and daughter duo, and the differences between the two. The way that Waxman portrays their bond and the stories within I Was Told It Would Get Easier was the perfect way to spend an evening indoors. It was heartfelt, funny, lively and completely compelling.

I Was Told It Would Get Easier

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