Mo, a successful child psychologist, is about to turn 50 and is writing a book on her chosen career. However, Mo is somewhat lost, unsure of who she is as she faces this milestone of a birthday and is about to do something particularly foolish that will surely mean consequences for all her family. She thinks she has this wonderful understanding of her children thanks to her chosen career, but of course she really hasn’t a clue. At first I warmed to Mo, finding her narrative light hearted and amusing, a character I could find empathy with. But soon she started to irritate me as she really does have the blinkers on when it comes to her family and becomes increasingly self-centred.

I loved how the chapters were short and sweet. Each one shows us the thoughts and feelings of Mo, her daughter Dora, her son Peter or her husband Den. The vast majority of the chapters are told from the point of view of Mo or her children. There are also some scrumptious cake recipes at the end of the book which is quite a bonus! Characters I could empathise with Mo trying to juggle it all and to work out to what extent her teenagers still needed her support. With one son aged 18 overseas and two other teenagers aged 13 and 15, I really do know how complex it can be to let them go and carry them when they need you to. Mo is feeling her age so when an apparent knight in shining armour turns up with the promise of romance she is tempted. I can empathise with that one too! Although I've left Israel, I hope to continue participating as a member of my beloved Jerusalem-based book club thanks to the blessings of technology. Only one of them is on goodreads so Randi, if you're reading this, I'll try to be a little nicer in the meeting but here I'm going to be brutally honest. This book was crap.Beautiful ice cream and cakes I recommend the vanilla its smooth and creamy.” – Evil Theadore Cakes By Eve Cakes By Eve

The teenage son who thinks he's Oscar Wilde is totally ridiculous without being funny. What teenagers nowadays have ever heard of Oscar Wilde? Anyway the joke falls flat and is then carried on throughout the book. Dora is about to hit the big 18 . . . and about to hit anyone who annoys her, especially her precocious younger brother Peter, who has a chronic Oscar Wilde fixation. The scene between Dora and her grandma Pam about sex is delightful. My god I wish Pam was my grandma A lot more dysfunctional than most families, but there is still the echo of truth about family life and the misunderstanding and judgement between different generations Dawn has appeared in dozens of TV series, theater productions, and films. You will be able to catch her as Miss Bowers in the Hollywood adaption of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, available to stream today on HBO Max and Hulu or Disney Plus in some regions. Miss Bowers was previously immortalised on screen by Academy Award winner Maggie Smith in the 1978 film adaptation.Over the years I have become something of a Dawn French fan. She has consistently entertained and quite frankly made my sides split with laughter as an actor, comedian, and most recently as a writer with her wonderful autobiography Dear Fatty. So when I saw her first novel ‘’A Tiny Bit Marvellous’’ waiting for me on The Bookbag shelves I thought here’s another treat from this remarkable entertainer. Further Reading Suggestion: If you like the sound of this book, you may also enjoy Dawn French’s excellent autobiography Dear Fatty. Book Review of Destinations by Sheila O’Flanagan After reading and reviewing the Missing Wife, I was keen to seek out author Sheila O’Flanagan again. I went off to a second-hand book shop hoping to find one of her novels. Sadly the only book they had available by her was a collection of short stories called Destinations. I... The Silver Moon Storybook by Elaine Gunn The Silver Moon Storybook is a beautiful book that would make a great gift for any age from younger children to adults. It consists of seven short stories of the fairy tale variety weaving timeless themes into its wonderful stories. What I loved about the book The book is lovely... Meet Mo Battle, about to turn 50 and mum to two helpless, hormonal teenagers. There's 17-year-old daughter Dora who blames Mo for, like, EVERYTHING and Peter who believes he's quite simply as darling and marvellous as his hero Oscar Wilde. Somewhere, keeping quiet, is Dad . . . who's just, well... Dad.