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Days Like These – Sue Margolis (2016)

 

When Judy’s daughter Abby and son-in-law Tom head off to join the relief effort after an earthquake in Nicaragua, she is left minding their kids – nine-year-old chess whizz Sam and five-year-old Rosie. With her hypochondriac mother moving in as well, it provides a welcome distraction for Judy, who is still sorely missing her late husband. But this grandmother is about to find out raising kids nowadays is a minefield – what with all their extracurricular activities, negotiating the school run and feuding with other parents. With some memorable and interesting characters, this is both a funny and moving story about families, loyalty and moving on – with a later-life romance thrown in for good measure.

Rating 7/10
 
 

Days Like These, by Sue Margolis, is about a grandparent who is thrust back into the parenting role. The summary says: "Recently widowed, Judy Schofield jumps at the chance to look after her two grandchildren for six weeks while their parents are out of the country. After all, she's already raised her own daughter - and quite successfully, if she may say so herself. But all it takes is a few days of private school functions, helicopter parents, video games, and never-ending Frozen sing-alongs for Judy to feel she's in over her head.
As weeks become months, Judy feels more and more like an outsider among all the young mothers with their parenting theories du jour, especially when she gets on the wrong side of the school's snooty alpha mom. But finding a friend in another grandmother - and a man who takes her mind off all the stress - almost makes it worthwhile. She just needs to take it one incomprehensible homework assignment and one major meltdown at a time ..." Days Like These is out in December 2016.

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