This book chronicles the lives of two sisters who have been separated by an ocean. It unfolds
via emails sent between the women and their friends during a two-year period.
Nell and her husband Michael, along with their three kids, have recently moved from England
to Canada. They leave behind Nell's sister, Charlotte, her hubby, Dan, and their three children.
Charlotte is lucky enough to find several au pairs to help her out. Nell, on the other
hand, must muddle along on her own. Given the title, surprisingly little is written about
the au pairs.
This book is filled with highs and lows, with laugh-out-loud moments, as well as a few
sniffles. We experience everything from the extraordinary to the mundane, from the sublime
to the ridiculous. We go through everything from pregnancy to potty training and see moments
that every mother will instantly recognize. More than once I said, "Thank God my kids have
finally outgrown that stage!"
Not normally a fan of books in this format, I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable
it turned out to be. I hated to see this one end. One small drawback was the use of British
slang and abbreviations. Occasionally, the words were so foreign that even within the
context of the sentence I was unable to figure out what was being spoken about. Nonetheless,
I look forward to seeing more works by these new authors.