This week on After the Drop Off, we’re diving into The Names by Florence Knapp, a powerful, conversation-starting novel that explores motherhood, marriage breakdown, and domestic violence in a way that is simultaneously intimate and deeply real.

If you’re looking for a deep-dive book review of The Names, or a thoughtful book club discussion guide, Beth and Jess unpack the novel’s unique three-timeline structure and talk about what it tells us about identity, choice, and the invisible load carried by mothers.

The chicken book, the PE diagram… and everything no one actually explained

Puberty isn’t here yet for our kids… but we can see it coming.

And if our own experiences are anything to go by, we’ve got some unpacking to do first.

Because for a lot of us, “the talk” looked more like:

• a profoundly confusing book about chickens

• a very clinical (and weirdly arousing) diagram in a PDHPE class

• and a whole lot of unanswered questions we were left to figure out ourselves

In this episode of After the Drop Off, we’re reflecting on what puberty education actually looked like growing up: the awkward, the unclear, and the moments that weirdly stuck with us (sometimes as a full-blown sexual awakening… whether we were ready or not).

We chat about:

• What we were told vs what we needed to know

• The gaps in how our generation learnt about bodies, sex, and puberty

• How those early experiences shaped our comfort levels as adults

• Why it still feels awkward talking about it — even now

• And what we want to do differently with our own kids

This isn’t a how-to guide, it’s a conversation about awareness.

About breaking patterns, keeping what worked, and doing things more openly, honestly, and without the mystery.

Because before we prepare our kids for puberty…

we’re preparing ourselves.

🎧 Perfect for parents of young kids who know puberty is coming..just not quite yet.

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Keywords:

puberty education 90s kids, how we learnt about sex at school, parenting before puberty, preparing kids for puberty conversations, awkward puberty stories, parenting influenced by childhood experiences, talking to kids about sex and bodies, millennial parents puberty reflection

Margot’s Got Money Trouble is about to hit Apple TV+ this April but is the book actually worth the hype?

In this episode, we dive into our honest, unfiltered review of Margot’s Got Money Trouble the internet’s favourite chaotic read about money, motherhood, identity, and the lengths we go to when everything feels like it’s falling apart. We unpack what worked, what didn’t, and whether this is one you need to read before it lands on screen.

But it wouldn’t be book club without a few strong opinions…

We also share our takes on some of the most talked-about reads right now, including Good Material by Dolly Alderton, The Women and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, and Mad Mabel. Expect hot takes, questionable literary analysis, and the kind of honest mum-chat you won’t find in a Goodreads review.

If you’ve ever wondered whether a book is actually good or just BookTok good, this one’s for you.

🎧 Perfect for your post school drop-off walk, your solo Woolworths run, or hiding in the car for five minutes of peace.

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Keywords: Margot’s Got Money Trouble, Apple TV+, book club podcast, Dolly Alderton, Kristin Hannah, The Women, The Nightingale, Mad Mabel, book reviews, mum podcast, Australian podcast, books to read 2026