No one should have to help their own mother with her maths homework! Okay, so Katharine's mother wants to go back to school but did she have to choose HER school? Her friends all think Mrs Douglas is great, but Katharine feels embarrassed, especially when she hears rumours about her mother and hedgehog, the maths teacher. As if she hasn't got enough problems of her own to worry about! But then Katharine learns something about her mother which puts everything else into perspective, and unexpectedly brings them closer together. Theresa Breslin deftly deals with the kind of issues which preoccupy today's young people, ranging from hair, boys and clothes to the environment and sexism, with references ranging from Miss Haversham, the Free French, Macbeth and Michelangelo to dilithium crystals, calculus and the Body Shop. There are many enjoyable touches, warmly urbane up-to-the minute humour and repartee immediately identifiable with the style of Bill Forsyth and Gregory's Girl. - from Amzon