Change Islands Public Library
Main Street North A0G 1R0 Change Islands, NL, Canada

I Was Told It Would Get Better Written by: Abbi Waxman Reviewed by: Bobbi Benson This is my second read by Abbi Waxman and she should be paying me rent becaus...e clearly the woman lives in my head. While the characters are superficially nothing like me - the mom in this book has one child, is single and a successful lawyer; I have 3 children, am married and wish I was a successful writer. Chalk and cheese, right? Not so much. Underneath the surface, as a parent, it’s scarily similar. Jessica has cleared her work schedule, she’s taking her daughter Emily on a week-long tour of colleges. For Jessica this is a time to reconnect with Emily, who is exhibiting all sorts of delightful teenage behavior - eye rolling, door slamming, phone obsession, and sullenness, just to name a few. Jessica is hoping this trip will remind Emily of how close they used to be, but also help her focus on her future, to spark an interest in college. Like any parent, she just wants the best for her kid - good grades, good school, and ultimately a good job. Emily is sick and tired of everyone, especially her mom, stressing over college. All she ever hears from adults is where and what are you going to study? This trip is supposed to help her focus; Emily is hoping maybe it might jump start some sort of interest in her future, seriously, she’s batting zero. But a week with her mom? She’s always working, never has time for Emily, and is generally stressed about everything. Yeah, go to college, get a good job sounds awesome. The novel’s narrative weaves back and forth between Jessica and Emily, and it’s both endearing and heartrending to see how often their thoughts and feelings align without either being aware. They face conflict between the two of them but we also see them band together against external conflicts. We see them together, and we see them apart; that unique dance that is only performed by parents and teens - the growing independence warring with the fear of the unknown. With an abundance of wit, and just the right amount of quirky, Waxman asks some of the big questions of life. The ones we all ask, but no one has answered.

A huge thank you to everyone who reached out to donate books to the La Scie Public Library. We appreciate your support! We've gotten the good news that the collection is in good shape and additional donations aren't needed at this time. We will keep you updated as this situation changes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k57T-4Vse7E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HswXZC62-M Watch this video for some great reading tips!!

**Update: Thank you for your interest in helping the La Scie Public Library! Please be aware that they're a small branch which may not have room for tons of don...ations and that if you'd still like to help you can also donate money to this branch using our Paypal: https://www.nlpl.ca//10-/207-online-library-donations.html** If you have recently published books in good condition, and/or NL titles that you'd like to donate to the La Scie Public Library you can drop them off at your local NL public library branch. For a look at our donations policy please click here: https://bit.ly/3eJ3rr2 Please be aware that we don't accept donations of text books, encyclopedia, books in bad condition, or those published before the last couple of years (with some exceptions) and that some branches may not be able to accept donations due to space issues. Please call ahead to your branch library before donating any materials.