Thirteen-year-old Katie lives in a small village in Oxfordshire, England. The town is so small, that she can barely turn a corner without running into a relative! She is the middle child in her three child household, she wants to be in love, and she thinks she has her mom all figured out. So much so that she created a diary of instructions on controlling your parent. Too bad sometimes it seems like mom has gone off script. Four years after Katie's father died, her mom is dating, and Katie and older sister are most unhappy. Her younger brother Jack? He seems to be as in love with the Yellow Tie Guy as her mom! What's a girl to do? As Katie outlines adult behavior, how to strategically manipulate that behavior to your advantage, and then reports on her sometimes unanticipated results, she shares her life which is sometimes fantastic and sometimes terribly embarrassing. Will Katie make it through parent training? Does she learn some very important lessons about life? You bet. Jenny Smith does an excellent job of creating the mind of a thirteen-year-old girl and the many challenges she faces. Students in middle school will enjoy the story and commiserate with Katie when some of her plans don't exactly turn out as anticipated.