A fun, light-hearted read with a bit of extra depth
Wilde Like Me is a fun, light-hearted read. It follows Robin Wilde, mum of six year Lyla who's life, in her eyes anyway, is a bit of a mess. She's trying to juggle being a single mum and desperately trying to live up to the perfect examples the other mums at her daughter's school seem to set, whilst feeling pretty lonely at times.
The story itself is easy to read and, at times, really funny. There were parts that really made me laugh, and parts that were a little more serious. The novel focuses a lot on main character Robin's emotions, which can often be quite up and down, and I liked that these emotions were not something to be excused or apologised for. However I wasn't sure that Robin's mental health issues were just due to her being lonely without a man in her life; this felt a bit too 'simple', and Robin was also so preoccupied with worrying that Lyla might be negatively affected because she's is a single mum which is a shame. I suppose that's what Robin feels is the opinions of society and I'm sure many other people sadly feel this pressure too (I don't have any kids so I guess I can't comment on this), but it feels a bit outdated.
Enough about the more serious parts - most of the novel is pretty light-hearted and humorous. Some of the story is unapologetic fluffy, and sometimes that's just what you feel like reading! Louise Pentland definitely has a knack for writing witty occurrences in an engaging way. There are some great situation that Robin gets herself into which really amused me, though sometimes she is far too hard on herself - she IS doing a great job as a mum, though she can be a bit annoying sometimes!
I lost interest a bit in some of the story in the second half, but overall I feel that it's a fun read which I enjoyed, and I think this will be a popular read.
The story itself is easy to read and, at times, really funny. There were parts that really made me laugh, and parts that were a little more serious. The novel focuses a lot on main character Robin's emotions, which can often be quite up and down, and I liked that these emotions were not something to be excused or apologised for. However I wasn't sure that Robin's mental health issues were just due to her being lonely without a man in her life; this felt a bit too 'simple', and Robin was also so preoccupied with worrying that Lyla might be negatively affected because she's is a single mum which is a shame. I suppose that's what Robin feels is the opinions of society and I'm sure many other people sadly feel this pressure too (I don't have any kids so I guess I can't comment on this), but it feels a bit outdated.
Enough about the more serious parts - most of the novel is pretty light-hearted and humorous. Some of the story is unapologetic fluffy, and sometimes that's just what you feel like reading! Louise Pentland definitely has a knack for writing witty occurrences in an engaging way. There are some great situation that Robin gets herself into which really amused me, though sometimes she is far too hard on herself - she IS doing a great job as a mum, though she can be a bit annoying sometimes!
I lost interest a bit in some of the story in the second half, but overall I feel that it's a fun read which I enjoyed, and I think this will be a popular read.