Playing with the grown-ups

Kitty's mother, Marina, is both utterly beguiling and terrifyingly embarrassing, and more often than not Kitty can only gaze on her antics with awe and toe-curling trepidation. But as Kitty grows up it becomes clear that perhaps Marina isn't the most exemplary of parents, and that sometimes a girl might have to put herself first. Sophie Dahl writes with a keen eye, a warm heart and wonderful lyricism about a coming-of-age that's quite unlike any other.