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Thursday 19 January 2012

Just Another Manic Mum-Day by Mink Elliott

Just Another Manic Mum-Day

Roxy, Jack and daughter Joey, three, are building a new life for themselves in sunny Sydney, Australia, but Roxy's finding it hard to settle down. When she discovers she's pregnant again, things become even more complicated - how will she cope with a second child? Frustrated at the lack of places for stressed-out mums to go, Roxy and her new friend, Shoshanna, set up Just Another Manic Mum-Day - a cafe catering exclusively for parents. But when an opportunity arises for Roxy to return to England, she realises just how much she's missed home...

Following the success of her debut novel, The Pissed Off Parent Club, Mink Elliott is back with another great book, Just Another Manic Mum-Day.

The main character in this book, Roxy, has recently moved to Australia with her husband and young daughter. She applies for a job, which she gets, however, also finds out she is pregnant. Unsure how she feels about the pregnancy, she starts her new job with a heavy heart, having to put her child in nursery, a Jewish nursery, the only nursery with spaces for her daughter.
However, both Roxy and her husband come round to the pregnancy and look forward to the future, when Roxy suddenly looses her job when the company she works for goes bust. Left with no job, Roxy and her friend from the nursery Shoshanna decide, during a chat about the lack of child friendly coffee shops to open their own - and 'Just Another Manic Mum-Day' is born!


I enjoyed this book, it was an easy read and one that I could identify with. As I am sure many mums know, going out with a child can never be classed as uneventful. When out with young children, finding somewhere for you all to have a drink and/or somewhere to eat can be difficult - children find it very difficult to sit quietly and still for more than five minutes. Mink Elliott has come up with a great solution and I hope these catch on in the UK!!


The book was well written and it was obvious that the author was writing about subjects she was knowledgeable on. It was easy to pick up in a spare five minutes. The characters were all likable and I would love to be part of a staff team who worked well together - well except Shoshanna's husband.


While reading the book I could identify with many of the thoughts and observations made by Roxy when her and Shoshanna were coming up with the concept and ideas for JAMM and I found myself nodding in agreement and thinking what a great idea. 


The story centres around JAMM and the day to day life within it, however, there  are other little stories intermingled with the book too! With Shoshanna's husband being the cafe's manager and a lack of funds meaning the bank could repossess the cafe and they could loose everything. 


I recommend that this book would appeal to people who enjoy chick lit although I think the subject content would appeal to mothers who know the trials and tribulations connected to children and public perceptions. 


Thank you to the publishers, Sphere Books, for sending me the book to review.

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