Review: Part Three of the Diary of a Father Series
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 6, 2014
The Diary of An Inexperienced Father is the third book in a series by Pete Sortwell which focuses on Graham -- a guy that is a new father and is in a bit over his head.  As with the rest of the series, the book is told in diary format with Graham making periodic entries that detail the story.  This book shifts the focus of the story a bit in that Graham begins to get his life and career moving in the right direction.  In the first two books of the series, Graham is in a dead-end job working in a small restaurant.  This novel focuses on his move to a new job that is more in line with his interests.  In addition, although there are setbacks, Graham seems to make progress in his relationship with the mother of his child.  Overall, the book is an average read.  On the positive side, there's an evolution in Graham, a guy that in the first book was difficult to like due to his immaturity and poor decision making.  He doesn't quite fully overcome that in this book, but certainly makes strides in the right direction.  Additionally, an interesting element is added to the story in which Allison (the mother of Graham's child) finds his diaries and reads through them  which is an interesting twist.  On the downside, however, there's a real lack of any poignant moments between Graham and his son.  For example, in the second novel, he focuses on the question of whether to introduce his child to religion or not -- a topic that could have been expanded on (or further considered in a diary format).  Instead, a significant portion of the book details Graham having to deal with a speeding ticket and take a safety course as a consequence -- while the author attempted to introduce humor in this section, the overall subplot just fell flat and seemed out of place.  I would have rather seen less of that and more introspection as in the second book.