Kate Long

Ally has everything she ever wanted: a husband, a child, a lovely house in a pretty neighbourhood. Her glamorous, dynamic next-door neighbour, Juno, is also her best friend. But Juno has made a surprising decision; she has signed up for Queen Mum, a reality-TV show. For two weeks, she will live with another family in another town, while her opposite number will be moving in next door to Ally. Juno is excited about the prospect of seeing life from a different perspective. Ally is nervous. She doesn't like change, and knows from bitter experience how something precious can be lost in a moment.Kate Long's new novel, written with her customary wit, empathy and incisiveness, is about friendship and love, recklessness and caution and about how the camera, while it sometimes lies, can also reveal uncomfortable truths. "Delicious" - "Red". "This is the perfect summer novel easy to read, but perceptive about the twists of fate that can change our lives" - "Glamour". "Long is as compulsively readable as ever" - "Time Out".

Anna is in her early forties. She is a teacher, although she isn't sure she wants to be any more, and a wife - she's not sure about that, either. She isn't a mother, which makes her sad, although it isn't a surprise; she knew from the beginning that Jamie, her husband, didn't want a family. But it wasn't, perhaps, the wisest course of action to embark on an affair with Jamie's brother, in the hope that she might get pregnant. She doesn't even like him very much. When Kali, a striking, intelligent and sparky fifteen-year-old, arrives in Anna's form, Anna feels a special connection with her at once. It seems clear that Kali has in some way been sent to her, to help her fill the void in her life and take control. But as their lives become more closely enmeshed, it becomes obvious that Kali doesn't see her role in quite the same way, and that in the end it is Anna who must face up to her responsibilities ...

The story of three generations of women - grandmother, mother and daughter - narrated from their separate perspectives, and showing the complex relationships that exist between them

A bestseller in the UK, THE BAD MOTHER'S HANDBOOK concentrates on the troubles and triumphs of three generations of women with tangled family histories. Karen gave birth to Charlotte when she was only 16--and now Charlotte, at 17, is pregnant herself. And Karen was adopted as a baby by Nan, who is now an old and very eccentric woman. All three live in the same housing project in the north of England, and all three tell their stories, alternating voices, as each one copes with her own particular generational--and individual--concerns.

Manual de la mala mare és la història d'un any de les vides de Charlotte, Karen i l'Àvia. Cap de les tres pot creure's les coses que els passen. Per qu&am

Tres mujeres protagonistas viven juntas en las afueras de Londres en un barrio de clase obrera: Karen, una madre soltera, que cuida de su madre, Yaya, y su hija Charlotte que se ha quedado embarazada. Charlotte decide no contárselo a su madre, además, el chico que la dejó embarazada se desentiende por completo. Otra trama que transcurre en paralelo en la novela es que Karen se entera de que Yaya no es su madre biológica; a partir de ese momento intenta averiguar la identidad de su verdadera madre. Por otro lado Yaya, se da cuenta de que su nieta está embarazada e intenta brindarle su apoyo y convencerla de tener el hijo, lo mismo que hizo con Karen 18 años atrás. Charlotte engorda y un día Karen descubre el embarazo y se enfada muchísimo porque tenía otros sueños y esperanzas para su hija. Aún así Charlotte decide tener el bebé. En medio de esta crisis familiar, Karen descubre quien es su madre biológica, una mujer encarcelada por homicidio. A pesar de esta noticia desea conocerla y descubre que es, odiosa y cruel y que no demuestra ningún amor por su hija. Mientras tanto, Charlotte sigue adelante con el embarazo, todo el mundo, excepto su madre, son más comprensivos de lo que esperaba: Su propio padre, del que su madre está divorciado, aparece en escena e intenta convencer al padre del bebé de su responsabilidad, pero la cosa acaba en pelea.Cuando nace el bebé, se inicia una nueva era de acercamiento entre todos: Karen ve que su hija le necesita más que nunca y está a su lado, al mismo tiempo, recuerda la primera infancia de Charlotte y le pide perdón por haber sido una madre tan imperfecta. Entre todos cuidan al pequeño Will, hasta que al poco tiempo Yaya tiene un derrame cerebral, pero su nieto le da nueva energía para seguir viviendo. Así el nacimiento del pequeño une a las tres mujeres de una forma muy sólida. Cuando por fin encuentran unos bonos de gran valor, deciden ingresar a Yaya en una residencia donde saben que estará muy bien atendida y cada una sigue adelante. Esta novela es mucho más que la historia de tres generaciones de mujeres, nos cuenta detalles sobre las relaciones entre madres e hijas, las relaciones sentimentales, la dificultad de comunicac