My Mother is a French Fry and Further Proof of a Fuzzed-up Life, by Colleen Sydor

Eli Smyth…she’s hard to figure out. Does she really have such a bad home life or is she just being a really obnoxious teenager? Check out the girl who can’t bring herself to swear (hence her use of the letter z) but who can be SO cruel to her mother…is that a contradiction or what? Eli is mortified by her mother’s behaviour. Their furniture is often “reclaimed” from garbage cans in the neighbourhood. Eli never knows who her mother will drag home or what she will wear out in public (especially the French fry costume she wears in her new job). How embarrassing!!! Unfortunately, there are deeper issues than anyone realized and these threaten to consume Eli. What started out as a fun, light read turns out to be a really good read for teenage girls. Grade 8 up.