I bought this book on Amazon Warehouse Deals, which sucked me in with its bargains even though I had pledged not to buy physical books this year. I was supposed to borrow books from the library and, if I was going to buy fiction, buy it for the Kindle. Anyway, I only paid £1.27 for this book and I’m glad I didn’t pay any more than that because it wasn’t that good.

The writing is honest and sharp – I will give it that. But I saw the ‘surprises’ coming a mile off and I found the subject matter so trivial. I’d read reviews saying that this book tells the truth about the first year of motherhood so I was ready for something deep and affecting, possibly with a dark side. I’m not a mother but plenty of my peers are so I do glimpse into that world, even if I don’t have first hand experience. So some of the motherhood stuff was familiar. I had a problem with the main character though. She seems so selfish and superficial, especially the way she always notices people’s appearances. Her friendships with her friends mostly seem very shallow too, though there are a couple of touching moments.

I wanted to enjoy this book. Maybe I would have if I was a mother, but reading this book made me grateful that I’m not one. They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Well, if I’d paid attention to the cover (or at least the title) before buying, it would have registered that the books I love do not have covers like this. I don’t like books about women who don’t seem to think about anything apart from babies and relationships and bitch about other women. Perhaps chick lit is not for me.

(34th in 2012)