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Fiction. Literature. HTML:Perfect for fans of Where�??d You Go, Bernadette and Small Admissions, a wry and cleverly observed debut novel 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 the bubble finally bursts. When a devoted teacher comes under pressure for her progressive curriculum and a helicopter mom goes viral on social media, two women at odds with each other find themselves in similar predicaments, having to battle back from certain social ruin. Isobel Johnson has spent her career in Liston Heights sidestepping the community�??s high-powered families. But when she receives a threatening voicemail accusing her of Anti-Americanism and a liberal agenda, she�??s in the spotlight. Meanwhile, Julia Abbott, obsessed with the casting of the school�??s winter musical, makes an error in judgment that has far-reaching consequences for her entire family. Brought together by the sting of public humiliation, Isobel and Julia learn firsthand how entitlement and competition can go too far, thanks to a secret Facebook page created as an outlet for parent grievances. The Liston Heights High student body will need more than a strong sense of school spirit to move past these campus dramas in an engrossing debut novel that addresses parents behaving badly and teenagers speaking up, even against t… (more)
User reviews
I might have been able to handle is to a point if I had liked most of the
Once I started it I was hooked. Isobel Johnson is an admired and respected teacher at Liston Heights, Julia Abbott is a parent who hovers, definitely involved
Isobel received a voicemail accusing her of anti-American and a liberal agenda. Now Isobel needs to find out who the voicemail came from and she thinks she knows who it was. She can't say for sure though.
So all of a sudden she is all over social media and not in a good way. She is eventually suspended from her job which is devastating to her, she loves to teach and that is why she wanted to work at Liston Heights.
Julia was so excited to find out if you son got the part she wanted for him, she pushed her way to the front of the line and accidentally elbowed a student. Someone made a video of it and it went viral, to her dismay.
I didn't much care for Julia, she, in my mind was not a very nice person but as I got further in the book, she just wanted to be admired by her family and community. Both Julia and Isobel wanted that but in different ways, and they went about trying to meet their own expectations in a different way.
What did I come away with at the end of this book? I found that social media can be a good but sometimes a horrible thing, especially when people shame, ridicule and humiliate other people because they either don't know that person or listen to rumors. Be nice people!
I enjoyed this book, there was a lot of humor, some nice and not so nice characters. But that is what makes a book good!
When Julia finds herself suddenly in the limelight on social media for an accident that occurred on the school, she suddenly finds she had fallen into the gutter in her community. Meanwhile, Isobel is a radical teacher who lives in the wrong part of town and who comes under scrutiny in this tough, privileged community. Although the students love her, all it takes is a few parents to stir the pot.
I loved this book and the ending makes it all come together in a uplifting way. Would love to read more from this autho
In Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes by Kathleen West we see what goes on behind school doors in a very real way.
Told in multiple perspectives, we are introduced to helicopter moms
Is mean really mean if the sole purpose is for good? To protect your family and those you love? Is being good keeping a stance for what you believe even when your career and family could suffer?
These and a multitude of other topics ranging from bullying to various levels of fraud are addressed here and make for one heck of a read!
Source: NetGalley and Berkley
My Rating: 3/5 stars
**MINI-REVIEW**
The Bottom Line: Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes is one of those reads that I finished and after 24 hours of reflection find that I mostly just feel ambivalent towards this story and
At first I thought I would not enjoy it. It is so different then the books I normally read. I thought it seemed kind of boring.
It takes place in a high school with the main characters being
I really started getting into this book about a quarter of the way through. The characters really started to get real for me and very interesting. This whole book seems like something that could really happen and it was so intriguing reading about the personalities of these people.
I so enjoyed this story and would defiantly recommend this book to everyone.
Don't judge a book by its cover or the first couple chapters. So glad I was able to read this book!