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Your dad, my mum ISBN: 9780099413097
Townson, Hazel
Published by The Bodley Head, 2000
A nice case of mistaken identity leaves Alan and his new girlfriend Pru not realising that it is his mum and her dad who have become an item. Alan goes on hunger strike and Pru stops talking in order to convince their parents that their new relationships are not on. Alan's real dad, a wastral and lay-about, has gone off on a supposed round the world bike journey two years before, and his story is told parallel to Alan and Pru's diaries. Alan believes his dad to be a hero, but when he discovers the truth, he is willing to consider a new partner for mum. Similarly, Pru, who thinks her dad has forgotten her dead mother, comes to realise he needs companionship too. At the end of the story we have Alan organising a bash so that Pru's dad and his mum can get together - not realising they have been together all along. Unlikely? Well, yes, but funny too, and authentic so far as the young teenagers' feelings are concerned. Short and easily read.
Age: 10+