A really funny great read.

I was laughing through the whole book. Oh my....what trouble an innocent night way from the little angels can turn into.

I'm glad I read it and I am definitely watching the movie. ( )

A really funny great read.

I was laughing through the whole book. Oh my....what trouble an innocent night way from the little angels can turn into.

I'm glad I read it and I am definitely watching the movie. ( )

A really funny great read.

I was laughing through the whole book. Oh my....what trouble an innocent night way from the little angels can turn into.

I'm glad I read it and I am definitely watching the movie. ( )

Mom's Night Out is the funniest book I have read this year so far. It's pure fun to read about a group of women out to wrangle some girl time while their husbands and guy friends take over on the home front. The theme isn't a new one, but for me, fresh and read-worthy all the same. The results of such an arrangement? Two sets of side-splitting hilarious fast-paced adventures, a comedy of errors, updated, but which never grows old. Find out what a biker gang, a buttoned-down pastor's wife, a man-child addicted to video games, a stressed teen Mom, a tattoo parlor, and a crazy bowling alley all have in common.

Allyson is a mom who loves her kids and loves her life, yet wonders why she's not happy. Her "moments" have been way too frequent. Sondra is a pastor's wife who does her best to hold everything together at church and at home, but she's putting on a show. Her beautiful teen, Zoe, is forcing her to face old nightmares. Bridget has had to grow up too quickly for her liking, and she's struggling to find a balance and maturity at the same time with a child in tow. Izzy is faced with an unplanned pregnancy while her husband is freaking out with the twins they already have. Dealing with a disappointing night out these women had been looking forward to a long time, however, was nothing when they all discovered baby Phoenix has gone missing. Now, they are on a mission.

I remember those days being a mom of little ones. And unfortunately I also remember the Mom moments tucked between the great memories. So I have a lot of empathy for the set-up in this scenario. Nights out are something we would live for, strive for, and yearn over. Life with small children is an unforgettable era in our lives. Parents look back on those early days with a mixture of feelings. The author of the book works this into the story so well. We laugh and poke fun at times when things went completely wrong. It's a strong premise for a book like this. I consider this book at the top of my list for funny adventures.

Second, there are some terrific teachable moments in this story line. For example, it's not unusual to feel like a failure as Mom, especially when there's pressure from so many directions in the family's life. We tend to focus on what to do to fix the problems we see around us, but it isn't always something we need to do so much as something we need to perceive. We can't always control the circumstances around us, but we can change how we view ourselves and the circumstances. This book is filled with examples of that principle.

The book and the movie are not preachy, but both are filled with great humor that doesn't depend of crudity or foul language to be funny. Underneath the humor are some terrific themes, some lessons we can all learn from and plenty of fun. I believe it will appeal to a wide range of readers, not just women or Moms. I highly recommend it for all age groups and interests.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from Netgalley on behalf of B&H Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” ( )

I think it must be really hard to write a novelization of a movie. After all, film is all visual, giving the viewer what you want him to see. Books allow the reader to add his/her own imagination to the story. I have not seen Mom’s Night Out, the movie, but I did read Tricia Goyer’s novelization by the same name, and I think she did a great job with it. Filled with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and some great aha moments, the story follows 3 friends and mothers looking to unplug from their busy lives. What ensues is definitely not what they expected, but perhaps it was what they needed.

Allyson is a mommy-blogger wannabe who feels the need to fix everything around her. Phobic about messes she is surrounded by them. Sondra is a pastor’s wife who feels the need to be perfect even if it means shutting down who she really is. Izzy is a mom dealing with a husband who doesn’t have a clue what to do with his twin children. All need a quiet night out to connect and relax. What they get is a missing child, a snooty restaurant hostess, and a biker/tattoo artist, among other things. There is non-stop action, plenty of noise and revelations of who they just might be in Christ.

I liked Mom’s Night Out. While my kids are past the baby and teenage stages, I could really relate to the women who are all things to all people, except themselves. For all the busyness, craziness and mayhem that accompanies life, the message that God has it all in His very capable and loving hands is clearly articulated. I recommend this book to all who have or haven’t seen the movie. (I did find the abundance of grammatical errors to be a bit of a distraction, but the book overall outweighs that.)

Recommended.

(Thanks to B&H for a review copy. The opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )