Georgie Chancellor has worked hard to have a perfect life, and it is, on the outside. She has a beautiful home, successful husband and two wonderful children. Everything she dreamed about as a girl is hers. Not that she ever thinks about her past, anymore.
But when her family enters her into a stand-up comedy competition. Georgie finds on stage, only the truth will do.
Encouraged by Jaz, her handsome mentor, she riffs about her family and what life is really like behind the facade. Audiences love it, and Georgie's star begins to rise.
Will stand-up success destroy everything she has created?
As soon as I saw 'Mam' in the title, I knew I had to read The Stand-Up Mam to support a local author. Kay Wilson's debut novel is fabulous and a lot darker than you'd expect from the title, but it's filled with heart and north-east wit.
Georgie Chancellor feels invisible; she's like a house-slave for her family, preparing meals and doing laundry without a word of thanks or appreciation. It's quite a surprise when her family enter her into a stand-up comedy competition and I don't think they expected her to do so well and the joke is on them when it takes her out of the home and into the comedy clubs.
It's cathartic for Georgie to vent her frustration on stage, with her family life providing most of her material. Finally, somebody is listening to her and she can reveal her dark heart in all its nasty glory. As the competition progresses, so does the drama in Georgie's life and she has even more to talk about on stage. Her family are so self-centred and disinterested in what's going on with Georgie, other than how it affects them, so they have no idea what Georgie talks about on stage.
I loved seeing Georgie's confidence grow throughout the book and I was torn between thinking she should be honest with her family and thinking that it serves them right for taking her for granted. Set in comedy clubs, there is obviously a sprinkling of humour but there's a whole lot of drama when Georgie rencounters a face from her past.
Powerful, inspirational and very entertaining, The Stand-Up Mam not only encourages you to follow your dreams but also to tell someone you appreciate them. I loved it and would definitely recommend giving it a read.
I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating:
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About the author:
Kay Wilson lives in South Tyneside. Her novel features many of her own experiences of stand-up comedy - a bucket list ambition she achieved after surviving a near-fatal brain haemorrhage.
She has worked in PR for 30 years and won the New Writing North/Journal Flash Fiction competition. She has had short stories published in various anthologies.
"I would love my book to empower women to make each day the best it can be for them and, it might sound trite, to challenge themselves and follow their dreams."
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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