The Pain, my mother, Sir Tiffy, Cyber Boy and me by Michael Gerard Bauer
Omnibus Books, 2016. ISBN 9781742991504
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Adolescent. Family relations.Michael
Gerard Bauer is one of my favourite authors and once again he has
produced a highly entertaining and positive book that is sure to
appeal to his readers. Maggie Butt is faced with the Pain, the man
her mother is dating. She is determined that he won't take over
their lives and finds it very hard to put up with his weird sense of
humour. Then there's the formal that she needs a date for, the geek
Cyber Boy in the library and old Bert Duggan at the nursing home
that she has to talk to and life seems pretty dismal. Add a
bedraggled cat named Sir Tiffy and things begin to move along.
Laced with humour, puns and Macbeth quotes, this novel lifts the
spirits as Maggie Butt navigates through the stormy waters of
adolescence, gradually moving from being very self absorbed to
gaining an understanding of the needs and emotions of those around
her. Written in the first person, the reader gets to know Maggie
really well as she describes her life at home, and her encounters
with the Pain. Her attempts to strike up a conversation with Bert, a
very difficult man at the nursing home, are very amusing as are her
attempts not to become attached to the cat Sir Tiffy, the origin of
whose name will bring some wry smiles when it is revealed. I read
this book in one sitting, enjoying the light hearted way that it was
written. It would be a thought provoking and fun book to use as a
class novel or literature circle novel.
Pat Pledger