Fire! Their whole world goes up in smoke. Mum, boyfriend and daughter gamely face the future - but that will not stop life's complications - each must cope in their own way: escape, reminiscences, snacking. Until Lou gets her hands on Mum's dairy...

Lou shares her year, detailing its high points like Christmas. She celebrates these with her mum in a Paris flat which looks, well, "lived in". Please don't laugh at her awkward first steps in the dating game: Valentine's day starts well, until schemes begin to unravel ...Lou! won the 2005 Angouleme award in the 9-12 year category for author Julien Neel.

Furry underpants - who dares to wear? Mum's holiday is an author tour, so Lou vacations with a friend, whose parents are conventionally bossy and clueless. As mate-hunting starts in earnest, SOMEONE is going to get burned, big time ...

Party time ...only home is too small, Mum is getting her novel published, Lou's new friend is being rejected by old friends and she just can't find the right words to write to this guy she met last holidays. The pressure is too much, and the solutions is ...a bus pound?