The Woman Who Upped and Left

Forget about having it all. Sometimes you just want to leave it all behind.
Audrey is often seized by the urge to walk out of her house without looking back – but she can’t possibly do that. She is a single parent. She is needed. She has a job, a home, responsibilities…and a slothful teenage son’s pants to pick up. But no one likes being taken for granted – Audrey least of all – so the time has come for drastic action. And no one’s going to stand in her way…

Lisa's Review - 3 out of 5 stars

I think the phrase 'never judge a book by its cover' (or synopsis!) fits this book perfectly! So from the synopsis I was given of this book, I assumed that Audrey was a housewife with a demanding family who were taking her for granted, so she walks out. Nope, no where close! I couldn't have been more wrong!
So Audrey is mum to Morgan, who to be honest, is the worst written teenager ever, I mean, every teenage stereotype has gone right into this character! He is like the teenager everyone is terrified to have! Stuck in her own home which has been taken over by Morgan and his girlfriend Jenna, this is when Audrey begins to infuriate me already - I mean, I am a mum to a teenager, and ok it isn't the easiest job in the world, but there is no way on this Earth would my teen get away with the stuff Morgan does. And I don't know many parents that would be such walkovers as what Audrey is. Anyway, I'm on a rant...back to the book.
Audrey wins dinner lady of the year, and has a selection of prizes to chose from. At the last minute, she decides to turn down the cash prize and takes up a 5 day cookery course at a fancy hotel - far from the bizarre relationship with her 'boyfriend', Stevie, who only meets her at motorway hotels for quickies. I actually enjoyed this part of the book, as I thought something was going to come out of Audreys stay at the hotel and the cookery course, but instead it seemed to go nowhere. In fact this was the part of the book where Audrey 'upped and left' yet it felt like filling to make the story longer.

The second half of the book saved the whole thing, and I enjoyed the rest of it after Audrey went home much more than the part where she had actually left. Audrey seemed to grow a back bone more and put her foot down now and then and not let people take the mick. Having to go home and deal with some more serious situations seemed to do more for the characters growth than her having left for a while!

The Upped and Left part of this book wasn't appealing at all to me, and it was only the direction the book headed in after Audrey gets back that led me to giving it 3 stars, in fact that part was so much more enjoyable than the first half I couldn't put it down. I would have awarded it higher if the first half of the book hadn't seemed almost pointless in the end.

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