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The Illustrated Mum
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Plot Summary of The Illustrated Mum
"Marigold Westward is unlike any other mother with her endless tattoos and eccentric personality. She drinks a lot at home, stays out all night and often runs out of money for food. Her two daughters, Dolphin and Star start coming to terms with Marigold's behaviour on her 33rd birthday in different ways; Star works hard at school and presseures her mother to become more normal and Dolphin wants Marigold all to herself despite the fact that Marigold is still pining for Micky, Star's father.
Star is popular at her school but Dolphin doesn't have any friends until she meets Oliver ('Owly') Morris (after trying to hide from bullies) and becomes friends with him. Dolphin still struggles at school, and she and her sister are becoming rivals very quickly.
The family turmoil heightens when Marigold finds Micky at a rock concert and brings him home. He and Star quickly strike up a father and daughter relationship, leaving Marigold and Dolphin out of the picture. When Star suddenly runs away to live with Micky and Marigold paints herself completely white, Dolphin is left to try and save herself and her mother."

Liza Rosette, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Illustrated Mum
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - depressed
Time/era of story - present (2000-2010)
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance: - rekindling lost love/marriage
Family, struggle with Yes
Struggle with: - Daughter
Is this an adult or child's book? - Age 11-14

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - unemployed
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental Yes
Eccentric: - eccentric - emotionally unstable
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Dumb

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
City? Yes

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Amount of dialog - mostly dialog
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Jacqueline Wilson Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Liza Rosette  

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