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Chapters (58)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Abbi Waxman and her novels
  3. Berkley Titles by Abbi Waxman
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Summer
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. TWENTY-ONE
  28. TWENTY-TWO
  29. TWENTY-THREE
  30. TWENTY-FOUR
  31. TWENTY-FIVE
  32. TWENTY-SIX
  33. TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. TWENTY-NINE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. Fall
  45. THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. THIRTY-NINE
  47. FORTY
  48. FORTY-ONE
  49. FORTY-TWO
  50. FORTY-THREE
  51. FORTY-FOUR
  52. FORTY-FIVE
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  55. Readers Guide
  56. Questions for Discussion
  57. About the Author
  58. What’s next onyour reading list?

“Abbi Waxman’s warm, quippy novels explore familial dynamics with sarcastic wit and plenty of heart. . . . Being a teenager—or parenting one—is tricky territory, but Waxman steers her characters through it with compassion, snappy dialogue, and the right dose of zany humor. Things may (or may not) get easier for the Burnstein women, but the ride, literal and otherwise, is highly enjoyable.”

—Shelf Awareness

“Waxman shines at creating characters that feel like best friends, inspiring compassion, laughs, and cheers, and fans of Katherine Center and Linda Holmes’s Evvie Drake Starts Over will adore this.”

—Booklist

“Waxman expertly navigates the fraught shoals of college admissions in this spot-on tale. . . . Waxman’s alternating first-person narration from Jessica and Emily rings true, while a memorable supporting cast . . . provide excellent support. . . . This sweet treat doesn’t require a college-bound child to enjoy, though anyone who has helped their offspring weather the admissions process will definitely appreciate this sharp send-up.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Funny and insightful.”

—Book Riot

Berkley Titles by Abbi Waxman

The Garden of Small Beginnings

Other People’s Houses

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

I Was Told It Would Get Easier

Adult Assembly Required

Dedication

This book is for my mother, Paula, who gave me a childhood free from scorn and filled with encouragement. Every time I came up with some harebrained idea, she would say, That’s awesome . . . let’s go find a book on it. Thanks, Mum.

It is also for Emily, Ruth, Shannon, Daniela, Amanda, and Megan, who have helped my family and me with so much skill and generosity that it feels like we got better on our own, which we 100 percent didn’t. Therapy is the gift that keeps on giving, even if it is hard to wrap.

And finally, and sadly, in memory of Liz Newstat, who made Chevalier’s Books in Larchmont even more wonderful in real life than it is in fiction. She is sorely, sorely missed.

Epigraph

When two people meet, each one is changed by the other so you’ve got two new people.

—John Steinbeck

Summer

ONE

Liz Quinn, the manager of Knight’s, one of the few remaining independent bookstores in Los Angeles, was not someone you’d describe as softhearted. Yes, she had adopted a stray cat who’d had kittens in the store, and yes, she had a new relationship she sometimes blushed over, but generally speaking she viewed humanity with a jaundiced eye.

However, even Liz was having a hard time not feeling sorry for the customer standing in front of her.

To start with, the young woman was wet. It doesn’t rain very often in Los Angeles, particularly in August, but it does rain, and ten minutes earlier the clouds had challenged themselves to dump as much rain as they possibly could. Liz had discovered a puddle in front of Douglas Adams and tracked it along the shelves to P. G. Wodehouse. There she found the Homo nimbus and spoke to her.