
Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes
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Narrated by:
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Julia Whelan
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By:
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Kathleen West
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 their own families.
©2020 Kathleen West (P)2020 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"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." (Booklist)
"Just as good as Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies." (Kirkus, starred review)
"Helicopter parenting and high school politics at their worst--and funniest. A smart, fast-paced, and deliciously entertaining debut!" (Meg Donohue, USA Today best-selling author of You, Me, and The Sea)
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So much deeper than at first expected!
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Good read.
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Moms Behaving Badly
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Definitely enjoyed it
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Parents and teachers behaving badly. Nearly every adult in MINOR DRAMAS & OTHER CATASTROPHES is awful and the ones who aren’t terrible are only slightly above average. The kids behave more maturely than the adults, and they made the book listenable.
I had empathy for Isobel, she didn’t push the envelope beyond what a good English teacher would, though I can see why the heads helicopter parents would explode. I’d want my child to be taught by an Isobel.
MINOR DRAMAS & OTHER CATASTROPHES is an above average story only IF you have a high tolerance for privileges characters behaving badly.
Awful adults, great kids
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Delightful take on overzealous parents!
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Hit close to home!
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Great pace, never dull
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A reflection of my experience
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Were my comments of help?
No, Ms Whelan can not just read a Phone book to Me
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