Rating: 
Summary: Some of you obviously don't get it...
Review: I loved this book. As a working mother who travels weekly and who works many hours over 40 when not traveling, I identified strongly with Kate. The issue with most critics seems to be portrayal of the more technical aspects of her job or the book's ending. The point is that not everyone can make the same choices, work, travel, stay home, adjust your career for children, but we all have choices to make. Perhaps for a season or perhaps for a lifetime, women are in charge of their choices and need to realize what is important. The book would have been boring indeed if it just reflected the technical facts of Kate's job. I still think in the end, the character remained true to her innermost struggle and came out with the best resolution for herself and her family. Would that everyone could have such an outcome. I highly recommend to every woman, young and old, those who work inside and outside of the home and with and without children. I think we can all find areas to identify with and at least learn about someone else's struggles.
Rating:
Summary: Read and see if you can find out how she does it...
Review: Kate is a mom who works outside the home - and boy, does she work. But, she feels that she has to prove not only is she an outstanding employee (she's a fund manager in London's City) but she's also Supermom. Hilarious and also sad episodes follow. Very poignant, yet humourous look at a working mom's life.Wow - what a great book! I read this just after I finished Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate and though the tone and writing styles are polar opposites, the message is essentially the same. As a late twentysomething with no kids, I am devouring these books about women who are trying to "have it all". I certainly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This is the best book that I have read in a LONG, LONG time! It's wonderful in a Bridget-Jones type way for working mothers. If you enjoyed Bridget Jones, Good in Bed and other similar type novels you will love this book!
Rating:
Summary: Loved the book-it spoke the (exaggerated) truth
Review: I was unable to put this book down. For this type of genre, it is a five star read. As the mom of a 20 month old boy, I have felt many of the same pangs as the protagonist Kate Reddy. Some of it is so real (her son pronounced eyes (ayz) the same way my son did at the time I read the book. While the book is somewhat of an exaggeration, and I cannot imagine any mother of two young children could possibly keep up Kate's schedule, I was a bit disappointed in her at the end. Without giving it away, I felt like she sold out, at least for a little while. Despite that minor criticism, I found myself laughing out loud at some things and nodding in agreement with others. The observations of how differently men and women who leave work for child-related reasons are preceived was right on. My book club may consider this one, but I am cautious as the group is made up of working moms and stay at home moms. I fear the book might ignite a debate that could stray to the unfriendly side of things. If you are a mom who works outside the home, I strongly recommend this book. (I read the British version, purchased off the Amazon UK site and loved it-the U.S. edition may have been "Americanized")
Rating:
Summary: So funny, I laughed out loud. So dead-on, I cried.
Review: When I started reading this book, it took me a while to "get into it," mostly because I was disappointed that it was written from a British perspective. I want the exact same book, rewritten from an American mom's perspective. Don't get me wrong, I loved it. It's just that I couldn't always relate to nannies, nappies, wellies, and other brit terms that didn't jive with my Midwestern upbringing. ANYWAY, the book itself was a masterpiece of modern mommy angst. As working women, we kill ourselves to make our lives better for our children, yet in the process, we're robbed of the things we hold most dear: time and memories. I read till 1am last night, putting aside baths, books, and backpack prep, just to find out what Kate Reddy did in the end. Would she choose work? Or would she choose mommydom? I just wanted THE ANSWER to make my own life easier. I found out, there is no easy answer. Kate's choice wouldn't work for me, but at least she got me dreaming about the possibilities.
Rating:
Summary: Laughed and Cried
Review: I completely enjoyed this book. Although it was an extreme
exageration of being a dual role person, I felt it brought
to light the situations you end up in and emotions you feel
as a working mother. Unlike alot of books I have read lately
it has a strong plot, characterizations, and an enjoyable
writing style. It is a book of the times and even is somewhat
ahead of its time by using e-mails to tell the story. It is
nonjudgemental in its message of the right thing to do work vs. stay home. I especially liked the realism in her relationships
with her nanny and husband. The english writers seem to be a
step ahead in their wit and have seemed to capture a sense of the times that the american writers have not. I say on with
the British writers and thank-you to them for capturing everyday
life and making it seem so humorous.
Rating:
Summary: Always juggling .
Review: You read the book feeling breathless, you do not have air and all you want is for Kate to have some rest - but does she really want to rest? do you? and what will your life look like if you did? You think that this book is not going to give you any surprises and yes, it is what you expect - you are acquainted with the daily routine - but there is an added value. The book is funny, sad, makes you angry, is thought provoking - and is also able to put into words all the things you know in heart but are often not able to word to yourself (you don't have time...). These are the issues of all your discussions with your girlfriends and any other women. I think by the way that the book is relevant to all mothers, not just the working mothers. The guilt feeling is a close partner of all of us and is a central theme in the book. I waited anxiously for the ending to see what is - and can there be - a solution. I have to say I was somewhat disappointed. Some of the ending (and also the Bunce case) are not totally realistic, I think that a realistic ending is a continuous struggle with the price you have to pay (your own health for example). Nevertheless I give this book a 5 stars rating because it was so enjoyable, so relevant to me and my friends and so stays with me for a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: Bridget Jones Does Motherhood
Review: I love all of the British ladies we are meeting and Kate Reddy is no exception. She is a businesswoman, a mother, and a wife (in that order!). She takes her job as the 'main breadwinner" very seriously, perhaps a little too seriously to get her home life in order. Kate is constantly going off on business trips and leaving her small children with their nanny, Paula, who Kate is very jealous of.
I didn't relate very much to Kate in terms of motherhood since I have no children. However, I did relate to Kate and that want to succeed that she has. She has the personality that you love and want to succeed. She is funny, successful, jealous, and just a little sad. It angered me how sexist the workplace was in the roles of gender and parenthood. It really brought the light to my eyes.
I think that Pearson did a wonderful job showing the journey that a working mother takes. She lets someone else into her home to raise her kids, she obsesses about her job, she tries so hard to be there for kids, and she lets her marriage slide a little along the way. As a woman who dreams about having a family of her own one-day, I envision what my life will be like. I just hope it is less stressful thank Kate's experiences.
Great book for a first time novelist and I can't wait to read the next book Pearson writes.
Rating:
Summary: must read -for every working moms
Review: This is an excellent book that I would recommend to every working moms who have been juggling between life and work. Despite different life scenario, the similarity between Kate's and my feeling and thoughts constantly strikes me throughout the book. The scnario is so real and sadly, applicable to my own life. It could replace my own dairy! This book was recommended by my career counselor, now I would like to recommend it to you.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining read about a not-always-likeable heroine
Review: In this novel, we go along for the ride as yet another woman discovers you can't have it all. We're not with an average working mother, though; Kate Reddy is a high-powered careerist who can relieve stress by buying designer shoes and a slinky dresses without bothering to look at price tags. But in constant, stressful overload she is, and for this reason she grabs our interest and manages to keep it -- though there are times the reader is likely to hold the book at arm's length. Take her self-pity at not being able to manage lunch with a friend, for example, or at not having time to get her hair highlighted. Author Alison Pearson does build suspense, however: How long will Kate be able to juggle it all? What will go wrong next? Will she risk her husband for a self-indulgent affair? (One obvious question not addressed: if she has too little time for her kids, husband and job, where will she get the time and emotional energy for an affair?) One more quibble is the "court of motherhood" passages; these sound forced and don't add anything we couldn't do without. But despite its faults, this is an enjoyable novel of modern angst and overall, very entertaining. On those nights when you fall into bed as tired as Kate, you could do a lot worse than this read.
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