I really wanted to like this book, a sort of 'triumph against the odds' kind of thing, but it really didn't grab me at all sadly. If this is a true representation of society now, it saddens me. There was a lot of (in my view unnecessary) bad language, a lot of which was said in front of children, and the protagonist just came across as having nothing positive to say about anything. There's no denying she had a lot on her plate, but she gave off the vibe that she hated her life and moaned about EVERYTHING, so wasn't a pleasant or escapist read. One phrase which particularly stuck in my head was something like 'the sun was shining, which before would have meant going to the pub with my friends, but now I feel obligated to take my kids to the park'. My heart bleeds for her, how horrible must it be to have to take your own kids to the park?! If she couldn't cope with the reality of having kids, maybe she should have thought twice before having any. There was a lot of irresponsible heavy drinking, the after-effects of which often happened in front of the kids, like a pile of blue vomit on the rug. There were frequent disgusting parts, and as a whole, it's enough to put me off having kids. Not a book I'd read again, I persevered to get to the end the first time.