Don't Try This at Home

by Katie Pearson

A sparkling new domestic comedy that reminds us home wasn't built in a day ...When fate nudges Dot into a corner, she decides to give up her successful job and take on a new career as full-time mother. So what if her daughters can barely remember who she is - how hard can it be?However, a thumb through 'The Secrets of Happy Children' doesn't prepare Dot for the drama of children's parties, accident-prone hamsters and a nanny turned novelist. As if that weren't enough, an old flame makes a guest appearance and a serious illness is in danger of staging a comeback. All in all, it's a miracle Dot ever manages to get out of bed, let alone tackle the school run.But amid the fears and flirtations, the gossip and the grubby hands, can Dot find a way to reach the gold at the end of her rainbow?

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Novels

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 18, 2003

Reviews

[Jelen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't usually dislike books, but this one I do. The idea is great, a business woman leaves her job to spend more time with her children not knowing that being a full-time mom is not such an easy job. There are so many potentially funny and interesting situations, and there are some that made me laugh a little bit, but sometimes they went so over the top that, instead of being funny, they were just lame.
And I like the idea of the whole book being written in form of e-mails, but those e-mails are way too unrealistic. I keep reading them and thinking "who the hell writes e-mails to friends like that?" I understand that it's important to explain to readers who is who in the book, but not in such way that the main character (I have already forgotten her name because I gave up on this book a long time ago) explains to her friends who their acquaintances are.
And translation to Croatian was done by someone who obviously doesn't know Croatian, really, really bad and full of mistakes.

[Ika · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really love the cover, but the story is too complicated for me. I get bored. I do not know about you.

[Rahmadiyanti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can't finished it. Too many blablabla. Got bored.

[Nur Wulan Nugrahani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kinda ruined with the email-format novel because the point of view is only from the writer's side, and I have to assumed what the reply was. However, the story line wins! It tells about a post-working-mum syndrome: Dot has just relieved from breast cancer, and decided to take full break as producer. Many against her decision; but her reason is to be close with her two-awesome-daughters.

This book gives me another perspective of how after grad's life: working first or married first? Still, balance is always a better option.

[Smitha Vasudevan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has used emails as a format for the entire story, and as it was written quite a while back, this looks a little unrealistic for the current times, however, it may have been novel in its time. The premise is interesting, having braved cancer, a working woman decides to prioritise her young children. She is simply out of water, trying to understand the mysteries of young children, a husband who does not want her to be home, and friends who also deserve a bit of time and attention. Life has a way of surprising the best, and this one too proves the point.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy read but concepts in it quite dated, understandable as it’s from 2003

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Սկզբից անսովոր էր, որ գիրքը բաղկացած էր միայն էլեկտրոնային նամակներից, այն էլ միայն գլխավոր հերոսուհու գրածներից, բայց հ

[Irene J. Meiske · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buku ini masuk kateogori Chiclit. Biarpun temanya ringan, tapi cukup menghibur kok. Dialog lewat e-mailnya juga kadang lucu-lucu sinis. Boleh lah buat dibaca pas lagi iseng-iseng.

Ini cerita tentang Dot, seorang ibu dari dua anak. Dia baru aja sembuh dari kanker payudara. Selama ini, dia wanita karier yang ambisius. Tiba-tiba, karena "kecelakaan, akhirnya dia memilih resign dan jadi ibu full-time. Siapa nyangka, ya.. ternyata jadi ibu full-time lebih susah daripada jadi pekerja kantoran. Anak-anaknya ternyata jadi tambah nakal begitu dia di rumah. Sementara dia juga setengah mati mengatur pengeluaran, mengingat sekarang ini penghasilan hanya bersumber dari suaminya.

Untungnya, Dot masih punya sahabat-sahabatnya yang sayang sama dia. Tapi, ada juga rekan kerjanya yang selalu bikin susah, tapi entah kenapa Dot ga bisa lepas dari dia. Bersama semua kekalutan yang terjadi di sekitarnya, Dot berusaha untuk menata kembali hidupnya. At the end of the day, dia menemukan bahwa untuk mengarungi sebuah perubahan dalam hidup, dia harus mau meninggalkan nilai-nilai, perilaku, serta asumsi lama yang selama ini dia pegang. Dia harus mau memahami, mau mengerti, bahkan mau menurunkan standar. Jangan pernah berharap orang lain akan selalu menerima kita dengan 'baju' yang sama, atau malah mengharap mereka 'mengganti baju' mereka dengan yang kita mau. Kitalah yang harus jadi agen perubahan itu, bukan hanya sekadar jadi penonton.

[Hotelier777 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is written from Dot's point of view as the lead character. At first, I kinda bored with the story. Dot seems like a person who pity herself, while her husbands and daughters doesn't seems to care about her. His 1/2 part is kinda boring. Then a tragedy happened, and Dot's character seems to grow, and much more likeable. Not only her, but also her family and friends. The story about Dot and Alex is quite touching, and at some point, makes my eyes teary. Oh well ;) it's kinda weird that every email is sent from Dot to others. I think if Katie tries to write it as an emails that sent between each character, the story will be richer and funny. Because everyone have a different style in writing, right? If i can summarize, this is the story that can connect with women with a family, women whose have struggles in relationship, not only husband, but also with the kid.

[Livia Winata · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I love fall since everything fall apart, same with me. So I'll hold on and cheer up again after winter because my family would gather and everything's gonna be alright"

I REALLY should remember to reread it when I got self insecure of my marriage later on. I cannot stop reading it from half of the book! Well, the first half of the book is so bad! Boring as long as I could hold on to my curiousity. But after those boring pages, I found myself attracted to Dot, Matilda, and Daisy. They're imperfectly figured in perfect way (that's really a strong thought of Pearson's telling about the main characters).

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did I zipped through it.
It's written entirely in emails written by the main character Dorothy, to her husband, friends, mother etc.
She is a busy career woman who decides to quit and stay home with her 2 children. She writes of the joys and monotony, infidelity,her recovery from cancer and other trials of life.
It reminded me of "The diary of Bridget Jones". British and in little snippets of info (email instead of diary) that kept your interest.

[Esti Cahyani · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a Momlit. The theme is about modern woman. Generally, it told us about Dot's dilemma, was she did a right decision by quiting her job and being a full-time mother. This book is unique in the way Katie told us the stories. From the beginning until the end of the page, we only read Dorothy (Dot) e-mail which is sent to her friends or family. We won't get the reply from them directly, but Dot will review it on the next e-mail. If you like chicklit and have time, maybe you can read this.

[Artha · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad laaa

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical chick-lit book but better than the average!

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 1 out of 5]

729 - 2012

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Run of the mill chick-lit but it was on my shelf and i was in the mood for an unchallenging read.