The Bad Mothers Book Club- My Book Review

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By Keris Stainton

This is another great mom read; I highly recommend it!

What is the story about?

The Bad Mothers’ Book Club is a fictional story about a group of mothers but focuses mostly on following the life of Emma Chance.  Emma and her husband, Paul, have two young children.   They have decided to move their family out of the city and into a smaller town.  Keris Stainton begins the book in Emma’s kitchen the morning before the first day of school.  The first day of drop off does not go well for Emma, but we get a glimpse into Emma’s personality.  As days progress and drop-offs continue, she begins talking and meeting new moms.  She finds out that there is one woman named Jools, who seems to run the town.  Jools also holds an exclusive book club for only some moms from the neighbourhood school.  From the outside, Jools seems like a very mean and egotistical woman, but, as the story continues, you see the struggles Jools is experiencing. 

A few chapters of the book are dedicated to some of the other moms Emma meets.  These women and their stories slowly intertwine with Emma’s.  Jools is one of the moms we learn more about; her story is very moving and emotional.  When Emma uncovers Jools’ secret, things between Jools and Emma completely change.  Maggie is another mom whose story is featured in a few chapters. Maggie’s story adds in another layer focusing on love, new love and the importance of loving yourself. 

One thing I should also note, the book barely includes any book club meetings.  The title is a bit misleading.  The Bad Mothers Book Club doesn’t even come up until the last few chapters.

My thoughts on the book…

This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will remind you that you are not alone in your motherhood journey. Emmas’ story shows the struggles she is experiencing as a stay at home mom, her absolute love for her children, the highs and lows of her marriage, and so much more. It was interesting reading about her insecurities as a mother, or the insecurities she began to feel as a wife.  I am sure these feelings have been experienced by mothers everywhere. 

As mentioned above, the book also focuses a few of its chapters on the other moms Emma meets.  I think Stainton does this for multiple reasons, one, to show the readers different motherly perspectives and two, to show how much people go through behind closed doors.  One of the most important lessons in this book is to remind ourselves that how someone appears on the outside is often very different from how they feel on the inside. 

I enjoyed this book, and if you are looking for an easy, quick, and fun read, this book is for you!

About the Author:

Keris Stainton is a best selling author who has written over 14 books. The genres she writes in include adult, romcoms and young adult. She is Canadian born but now lives in England with her two boys.

Some other books by Keris Stainton:

The One That Got Away 

The One who’s NOT the One

All I want for Christmas

Mom books

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There are so many parenting and mom books that it can become overwhelming and daunting to choose one that fits your personality. I was more interested in reading fun books about parenting and being pregnant; I wasn’t interested in books that gave me lists or “to do’s” to add to my already long mom to-do list. I looked for books that would help me through this new stage in my life and joke around about the new reality of motherhood. The books I have included on this page were fun books that include real stories about the ups and downs of motherhood. If you’re in search of a book and haven’t been able to find one that suits you, take a look at my mom book reviews and maybe you’ll find one you like!

I have to mention one thing first, if you’re a new mom… pace yourself! You will not have that much time to read, and when you do have downtime, you may not want to read (I laid on the couch and watched Netflix most times). But, whenever you are ready to begin reading again, I think this is a great list to start with!

How to Raise Successful People – Book Review

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By: Esther Wojcicki

My Rating- 5/5 Stars — Genre: Parenting, Education, Self Help — N. of Pages: 336

As a new mother, I felt very overwhelmed with the number of books about being a mother or parenting. I also didn’t have much interest in reading those books. I thought that I had a good idea of how I wanted to raise my soon to be baby and any other children I would have. Then one day, I stumbled upon an article written about a woman named Esther Wojcicki, and I was intrigued to learn more about her and her parenting tips. When I heard she was writing a book, I signed up instantly to buy it (and like I said, I don’t read books about parents or being a mom!). I am so glad I made the choice to give this book a chance because it was an incredible book!

This is the first non-fiction book I have ever read that I couldn’t put down. I wanted to continue reading and learning from this incredible woman. I think this book is one of the most important books for parents to read. I have vowed to myself to read it once a year, to refresh myself on her great ideas continually.

She begins the book by asking you, the reader, to reflect on your childhood. Whether your childhood was good or bad doesn’t matter but, being aware of the family culture that influenced your childhood is essential to understanding the parent you are aiming to be. She asks you to stop and answer her quiz to be more aware of how your parents raised you. I found this extremely interesting. It was interesting dissecting the good and bad of my childhood and understanding what I wanted to bring to my children and what I didn’t.

After the childhood exploration portion, she dives into her main parenting focus, which is TRICK. TRICK stands for – Trust, Responsibility, Independence, Collaboration and Kindness. She spends numerous chapters on each concept expressing its importance for children. This is what she stems her entire philosophy of parenting. She believes that these five pillars are the most important things to teach your children from a very young age. With this, your children will grow up to be successful adults, whatever path they choose in life.

Each chapter includes scientific research on the benefits of the specific pillar and how she instilled it in her home and how parents can do this in their home. She also expresses how many MANY mistakes will be made along the way because HEY were all learning, and we’re human and make mistakes. She reminds the reader of that often that she too made many mistakes, but luckily our children forgive us!

She ends her book with an emphasis on the importance of empathy and giving back to your community. She expresses how important it is to teach your kids this by taking part in community service by bringing them along to fundraisers by showing them to fight for what’s right. Teaching young kids this lesson is essential for how they grow into adults and treat other people around them. It was a very moving chapter.

This book is excellent!

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