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gailm's review against another edition
2.0
Not much to it really. It certainly didn't keep me enthralled.
jacki_f's review against another edition
2.0
This is a semi-satirical novel about mums at a small primary school and about the way they revolve around the "queen bee" who runs the fundraising committee. We focus on a core group of 5 or 6 mums who all have their own place in the social standing: inside the clique, desperate to join the clique or immune to the clique. The story follows a school year as they go through their own individual dramas and the pecking order at school gets shuffled.
If anyone should have liked this book, it would be me, because I am highly involved in my children's primary school. I also think that it's a topic that's crying out for a novel. There was a recent article in Boston Magazine entitled "The Terrifyingly Nasty, Backstabbing, and Altogether Miserable World of the Suburban Mom" (you can find it on line) which shows how real and hurtful these kind of dramas are. But this book just doesn't work. We don't care about any of the characters, we don't explore any feelings in depth and the "queen bee" is so simplistically lazy and selfish that it's virtually impossible to believe that everyone wouldn't see through her.
Plus the "bee" metaphors drove me crazy. The analogy is clever but it gets rammed home again and again. Naming characters like Bea and Clover and Heather. Naming the school after the patron saint of bees. Frequent lectures from Rachel's Mum about how beehives work. Enough! I get it!
While there are amusing moments here and there, it's overall a tedious read. A friend described it to me as like "Fifty Shades of Grey without the sex".
If anyone should have liked this book, it would be me, because I am highly involved in my children's primary school. I also think that it's a topic that's crying out for a novel. There was a recent article in Boston Magazine entitled "The Terrifyingly Nasty, Backstabbing, and Altogether Miserable World of the Suburban Mom" (you can find it on line) which shows how real and hurtful these kind of dramas are. But this book just doesn't work. We don't care about any of the characters, we don't explore any feelings in depth and the "queen bee" is so simplistically lazy and selfish that it's virtually impossible to believe that everyone wouldn't see through her.
Plus the "bee" metaphors drove me crazy. The analogy is clever but it gets rammed home again and again. Naming characters like Bea and Clover and Heather. Naming the school after the patron saint of bees. Frequent lectures from Rachel's Mum about how beehives work. Enough! I get it!
While there are amusing moments here and there, it's overall a tedious read. A friend described it to me as like "Fifty Shades of Grey without the sex".
joweston's review against another edition
3.0
Mildly entertaining on holiday! Though all rather obvious and a bit silly!
doublearegee's review against another edition
3.0
Mean Girls for mommies? People are cast out of mommy cliques, new ones are formed, plots are hatched to oust the queen Bea, a new leader arises, single mom finds love. Like you do.
dianacanread's review against another edition
4.0
This book got me through 3 hours of an 11 hour flight, so that's an automatic 3 stars.
lm_henderson's review against another edition
5.0
I so loved this book and is easily my favourite read of the year so far.Anyone who has children at school will get the playground politics that go on to some extent & probably recognise afew characters!Brilliant. & I thoroughly recommend it!!
andintothetrees's review against another edition
4.0
Entertaining fiction about the politics of female friendships in a school environment. Click here to read the full review on my book blog.
margaret21's review against another edition
1.0
Actually I didn't finish it, I abandoned it. Perhaps I've left the school gate behind too long ago, but these mums didn't resemble any I knew. I found the book silly and pointless.
cpalisa's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun read...fairly predictable but still fun. The dynamics of the group of moms was pretty funny, and a bit over the top, but you can definitely find some familiar personalities in them. There were a lot of characters so sometimes it was hard for me to keep track of them. I kept getting some of the mixed up but it would eventually work itself out. The "queen bee" stuff was a bit overdone but good, nonetheless.
theconstantreader's review against another edition
4.0
I really quite enjoyed this book. It's a very easy read which was a welcome change after some of the non-fiction I've been reading lately.
When I started this book I had no idea it was about the parents at the school not the children. I had actually confused the book for Queen Bees and Wannabes which Mean Girls was inspired by. As a result I had to do a bit of a double take when I realised.
I liken this book to the reality shows of the TV world but it was fun, entertaining and indulgent as a result. I really liked Georgie and Rachel, Hornby did well to create them with authentic voices. At first I found her description of the other characters over-done and a little "try hard" but as you read on it ultimately enriched the pathetic shallowness that was them. Especially poor Heather, Hornby had me laughing out loud at some of the things she thought, said and did.
All in all, a nice light read and a good first effort for Hornby.
When I started this book I had no idea it was about the parents at the school not the children. I had actually confused the book for Queen Bees and Wannabes which Mean Girls was inspired by. As a result I had to do a bit of a double take when I realised.
I liken this book to the reality shows of the TV world but it was fun, entertaining and indulgent as a result. I really liked Georgie and Rachel, Hornby did well to create them with authentic voices. At first I found her description of the other characters over-done and a little "try hard" but as you read on it ultimately enriched the pathetic shallowness that was them. Especially poor Heather, Hornby had me laughing out loud at some of the things she thought, said and did.
All in all, a nice light read and a good first effort for Hornby.