Book Review: Super Mom Saves The World by Melanie Lynne Hauser

What do you get when you mix a mild-mannered divorced mom of two, a Swiffer mop, and a whole load of cleaning products that probably shouldn't be combined? An ordinary mom who passes out while trying to clean the floor and who wakes up the defender of her corner of the suburban world, a bona fide superhero for the minivan set, Super Mom.

I was first introduced to Melanie Lynne Hauser's heroine Super Mom in her first book Confessions of Super Mom, and I'm thrilled that Super Mom, aka Birdie Lee, is back in Melanie's new book Super Mom Saves The World. There's nothing I like better than a story that leaves you with both a hopeful feeling as well as with the desire to know more about the lives of its characters, and that is exactly how I would describe Confessions. Now that Super Mom Saves The World is in my life, I'm happy to know what is going to become of Birdie and her love interest Carl. Is the strain of trying to combine two households and three teenagers too much for their middle-aged love? Will Birdie dump Carl for a man who looks (and smells) a lot like Mr. Clean? Or will Birdie's ex husband, Dr. Dan, reappear and try to win back her heart? All three? None of the above? You'll have to get the book to find out because I'll never tell.

Like most successful sequels, you don't need to have read Confessions in order to enjoy Super Mom. Melanie is careful to weave in back story in a manner that is helpful and not disruptive to the reader's experience. But you'll probably want to read Confessions, if only to spend even more time in the company of Birdie Lee as she interacts with her kids who went from toddler to teenager in no time flat, as she works the checkout at the Marvel Food and Fine Beverages, and as she fights evil doers with the power of twenty thousand Swiffers.

Birdie Lee is the superhero for those of us who struggle to stay awake during PTA meetings, who sit in the sun for hours on the weekend trying to sell bake sale items, and who sometimes feel that if we stopped cleaning up, the world would simply fall apart. Climb in Birdie's minivan as she attempts to solve the Super Secret Super Duper Swiffer Mystery and in the process remember why it is that no mom is just ordinary and every mom is truly extraordinary.

As I promised, I'll send the first person who comments on this post an autographed copy of Super Mom Saves The World. Good luck!