A Tiny Bit Marvellous

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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. 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. In 2005, Eve’s mother retired from the business, and Eve had a break from cake decorating to raise her two children. She returned in 2007 as Cakes by Eve – producing tailor made cakes from her custom-built, Council approved home kitchen.

Oscar/ Peter - the son - and Dora - the daughter -were extremely one dimensional characters. The cliched attempts to breath life into these characters simply didn't work, and their cumbersome ways of self expression was extremely hard to read. She doesn't understand either of her teenage kids, which for a child psychologist is fairly embarrassing. This book is a terrible match for me. It's squarely and unashamedly aimed at middle aged women, it's full of stereotyped characters and irritating text-speak, has a plot that's largely predictable from the blurb alone, and a "twist" that's both obvious and pointless. The Teenage Girls’ Survival Bible The Teenage Girls’ Survival Bible has a title that grabs your attention. It is true that teenage girls are facing more pressures than every before. The social media networks drives them to tweak themselves into something they may not be. News and campaigns let them know that there are...

Books Multibuys

This is a tool to avoid using prose to set up scenes and describe the action, and it makes the book a bit like reading four different diaries at the same time. It's wonderful to hear Dawn reading the book too and expressing her own characters. I can't help wonder how much of it she bases on her own experiences. The book comes together beautifully for the finale. Oscar was probably the most thrilling character of all. I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed reading his poetic descriptions of some of life's most mundane moments. In saying that I probably also could not have handled an entire book full of Oscar's satirical attitude.

Dawn French is one of the very best TV Comedy writers of her generation. I love her TV work to bits. But sadly, transferring her skills to this format just doesn't work. Often described as warm, insightful, caring, and always hilarious; all of these qualities are reflected in Dawn’s works from her books and audiobooks, decades of experience on television, to her extensive experience with radio. If you are a middle-aged mum with a teenage daughter I suspect you are going to be reflecting on how true Mo's life is, with all the crisis management and day to day worries she faces.

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!

The scene between Dora and her grandma Pam about sex is delightful. My god I wish Pam was my grandma

Christmas Cards & Gift Wrap

I felt completely agitated whilst reading the excerpts from Dora. Yes Dawn French has a talent in capturing the essence and humour of teenage-talk, however she failed to discover other dimensions to Dora's character and so I was left disliking Dora through and through, even during her 'nicer conversion' period. There is a plot twist at the end that I did not see coming and that I definitely believe to be a tiny bit marvellous. Others have documented the style: it's a sort of modern take on the epistolary form, with different characters narrating each chapter in the first-person. And whilst others have become irritated by the writing styles, and particularly that used for Dora, I think it fits together quite well. I think the plot is really about individual members of families living in their own silos. I think so many do this partly due to the business and pressures of working life. Online activities also play their part these day in separating families. Some separation has to happen as we let our children fly the nest even when they are in it for now. Parents too are entitled to have their own lives a little more as children grow. Getting the balance is challenging and through a series of accidents this family reminds itself that it is a good and loving one.

Further Reading Suggestion: If you like the sound of this book, you may also enjoy Dawn French’s excellent autobiography Dear Fatty. 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 The novel is told in the voices of four members of the Battle family -- 50 year old mom having a midlife crisis; still-rivers-run-deep dad; 16 year old son with an Oscar Wilde fixation; 18 year old daughter Dora always about to hyperventilate in absolute, outright, oh-my-actual-god indignation. The story came together powerfully well in the last chapters and the ending was highly satisfying.A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French is a book that I managed to finish in just one week. For me that is quite an accolade. I used to read at quite a pace before becoming a wife and mother. Reading was one of those pastimes that got neglected for too many years with me juggling parenting, work, home education and housework. I have put that right but am still much slower at finishing books than I used to be. So you can take it as read (no pun intended!) that if I finish a book in a week it means I love it. A Tiny Bit Marvellous Made me LMAO on many occasions -- note to self mus learn to stop snorting out loud in public places -- people tend to stare