Reading Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes by Kathleen West was a perfect way to escape from staying home and to remember days gone by when children actually went to school and we could see each other in person. In this book, we meet several people—each of whom is imperfect in some way—and we grow to, if not like them, at least understand and sympathize with them ... The plot, the dialogue from teachers and parents, and the students themselves all ring true ... impressive. West deftly balances multiple perspectives and brings together Julia and Isobel in a completely believable manner. This is a book that needs to be read by book clubs, parents and, yes, even teachers.
... a biting, oh-no-she-didn’t commentary on the age-old pressures of academia, amplified by modern-day social media. Lest you think the whole scenario seems over the top, look no further than the Hollywood-adjacent Operation Varsity Blues, a true story of helicopter parenting and over-compliant teachers gone horribly wrong. This book might be fiction, but you can bet it’s all happening right here in 'Liston Heights.'... a biting, oh-no-she-didn’t commentary on the age-old pressures of academia, amplified by modern-day social media. Lest you think the whole scenario seems over the top, look no further than the Hollywood-adjacent Operation Varsity Blues, a true story of helicopter parenting and over-compliant teachers gone horribly wrong. This book might be fiction, but you can bet it’s all happening right here in 'Liston Heights.'
Though the characterizations sometimes come a little too close to caricature, West has expertly captured the high school culture of today in a novel that is at times cringe-worthy and eventually hopeful. Readers of Amy Poeppel’s Small Admissions and Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies will want this one.
A cutting and witty examination of modern parenting that excels in suburban relatability, West’s debut novel will pique the curiosity of fans of Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2012) and Jean Hanff Korelitz’s Admission (2009).
... humorous ... While many different characters flash by in short chapters, distracting from Isobel and Julia and staving off opportunities for emotional complexity, West successfully unpacks the problems of shaming and cancel culture with tight plotting and clean prose. West demonstrates a worthy talent for tragicomedy.
In a book that deals with dramas minor rather than major but is just as good as Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, debut author West offers a sharp, unflinching look at her characters: teachers and administrators trying to do—and keep—their jobs; busy, high-powered parents who buy the best they can for their families; helicopter mothers who see themselves as the omniscient beings who control their children’s lives; and the high school students themselves, who sometimes have to learn about kindness and mentoring, bullying and inappropriate behavior by judging their parents’ and teachers’ actions rather than those of their peers ... An excellent, nuanced exploration of the world of high school and the students and adults who live within it.
