Renovating Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck Published by: Baker Book House (2007) 320 pages Rating: 9/10 Buy it Now:    Also by Sharon Hinck: The Secret Life of Becky Miller The Restorer The Restorer's Son The Restorer's Journey

In The Secret Life of Becky Miller, Sharon Hinck introduced us to a "supermom" with her head in the clouds. Finally grounded in real life, Becky started facing her problems with a more realistic viewpoint at the end of that novel.

But now she's back, and so is the amusing schtick of having each chapter begin with a daydream in which Becky imagines herself in the lead role of everything from Gladiator to Mary Poppins.

This time around, Becky is growing increasing stressed out by her (supposedly) part-time job at church, a growing distance between her husband and herself, and the potential of moving into a new house that needs major work. Meanwhile, her mother-in-law moves in, her sister comes by for an extended visit, and her best friend suddenly isn't returning phone calls.

Once again, I'm impressed by how REAL this family feels. Their struggles are real, their personalities are real, and their reactions to the things happening around them are real. In fact, I was flabbergasted when Kevin (Becky's husband) revealed his feelings in one crucial moment and I realized... "I've felt EXACTLY like that." Despite what authors might hope, that's not something that happens to me very often, at least not to this degree.

The daydreaming scenes are amusing and well-placed, except, again, toward the end of the story, when they seem more like interruptions. Ending a chapter with a serious emergency and then beginning the next with a daydream really doesn't work well. I skipped over one or two and came back to read them later. But the vast majority of the time, they do add to the story and help portray mindsets and attitudes.

This is a great book about family and the pressures that a mother feels. And most importantly, it's not a book that preaches about those things - it just portrays them in a totally realistic (yet fun) way. Highly Recommended.