This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed By Amanda Keats
Review – Take it Like a Mom by Stephanie Stiles
Annie is a stay-at-home-mum with her son, three year old Robbie. But her life changes drastically when her husband is made redundant just as she learns that she is pregnant with their second child. But far from the normal chick lit dynamic of utter chaos and self doubt and drama, the couple deal with their issues with humour, realism and honesty. Finally!!! A book about a struggling mother who actually doesn’t think her husband is cheating on her and her child is the only thing in her world. (Breathes massively audible sigh of relief!)
And the brilliant thing about this book is you don't have to be a mum to enjoy it. It has all the trials and tribulations of everyday life, just written about a mum. When another mum at the nursery passes judgement on her child you get angry right alongside her whether or not you have a child of your own. And when she struggles to find a suitable outfit for her husbands work do that her heavily pregnant belly won't destroy, you sympathise – even if you've never been pregnant. Let's face it – every woman has had her share of days when you look in the mirror and everything just looks bad and every woman has felt the need to stick up for a friend or relative when they were being ridiculed or judged.
And there is no question that Annie adores her little boy and is completely in love with her husband but that doesn't mean she doesn't still wonder why her husband won't talk to her about what's upsetting him or get embarrassed when her son makes a picnic out of cigarette butts he finds on the ground. She feels ugly next to her friend who always looks gorgeous (even when heavily pregnant) and is shamed into buying too many cosmetics at the department store. Though she is happy in her situation, it takes other people to show Annie that she is more than "just a mother" and she realises that she has developed skills she never knew she had and starts to wonder what else she could achieve with these new supermum powers.
Some of the references were lost on me, this being a US book, but overall it doesn't really take away from the plot if you don't know what character she is talking about. And luckily, many of the shows she references made it to the UK anyway.
Throw in a Thanksgiving with the in-laws, a surprise visit from the jet-setting brother and a dog on dog attack in the park and you have a roller-coaster ride of fun, action and drama.
8/10