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Cuckoo in the Nest
It’s the heatwave summer of 1976 and 14-year-old would be poet Jackie Chadwick is newly fostered by the Walls. She desperately needs stability, but their insecure, jealous teenage daughter isn't happy about the cuckoo in the nest and sets about ousting her.
When her attempts to do so lead to near-tragedy – and the Walls’ veneer of middle-class respectability begins to crumble – everyone in the household is forced to reassess what really matters.
Funny and poignant, Cuckoo in the Nest is inspired by Fran Hill’s own experience of being fostered. A glorious coming of age story set in the summer of 1976.
When her attempts to do so lead to near-tragedy – and the Walls’ veneer of middle-class respectability begins to crumble – everyone in the household is forced to reassess what really matters.
Funny and poignant, Cuckoo in the Nest is inspired by Fran Hill’s own experience of being fostered. A glorious coming of age story set in the summer of 1976.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 26, 2023
29 people are currently reading
436 people want to read
About the author
Fran Hill
3 books41 followersHello! I'm an author and retired English teacher and I live in Warwickshire. I have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. My funny teacher-memoir 'Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean?', was published by SPCK in 2020 and my novel, called 'Cuckoo in the Nest' came out with Legend Press in April 2023. I love reading books about real people in real-world situations - I am not so keen on science-fiction or fantasy, for instance, but I can be persuaded!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
June 1, 2023
We're currently reading this at the new Indie book club, come join us! https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
December 1, 2022
Sweet and charming, and full of nostalgia for the 70's and the heatwave.
Never afraid to tackle tricky subject though, the first part especially, when Jackie is living with her father.
Her matter of fact attitude to life, and sense of humour as she battles an awful situation.
Jackie is quite the character, I could happily read a whole series of books about her.
Glad I stumbled across this one.
Never afraid to tackle tricky subject though, the first part especially, when Jackie is living with her father.
Her matter of fact attitude to life, and sense of humour as she battles an awful situation.
Jackie is quite the character, I could happily read a whole series of books about her.
Glad I stumbled across this one.
July 30, 2023
I always find books such as this, ones that involve situations I’ve come across in my job, highly emotional. This is a particularly sad book, dealing partly with addiction and it’s consequences, but it truly has its funny moments too.
Jackie is a wonderful character, resilient and self-contained, despite her tough childhood and teenage years. When she is fostered by the Walls, their own teenage daughter doesn’t make Jackie’s life easy, but it’s testament to Jackie’s “it’s not my place” attitude that she battles on.
Cuckoo in the Nest is packed full of emotion, but is also laugh out loud funny. Although it involves a story of grief, loss and retribution, it is also a beautiful tale of family and the power of believing in those who want to protect you. May have shed a tear…!
Jackie is a wonderful character, resilient and self-contained, despite her tough childhood and teenage years. When she is fostered by the Walls, their own teenage daughter doesn’t make Jackie’s life easy, but it’s testament to Jackie’s “it’s not my place” attitude that she battles on.
Cuckoo in the Nest is packed full of emotion, but is also laugh out loud funny. Although it involves a story of grief, loss and retribution, it is also a beautiful tale of family and the power of believing in those who want to protect you. May have shed a tear…!
May 1, 2023
Jackie’s life is tricky.
Cuckoo in the Nest is glorious – written with Fran Hill’s characteristic mix of emotion and humour that gets right to the heart of her characters and brings them into vivid life for her readers, laying bare their innermost thoughts, hopes and fears. Through this wonderful narrative Fran Hill explores the veneer of personality that we so often place over our true feelings and emotions to provide a persona to the world that belies our messy, flawed truths. She also illustrates to perfection why people behave as they do and how they can worsen situations whilst trying to atone for other perceived ills. This is such engaging, mature and intelligent writing. It’s funny too.
Equally evocative is the cultural 1976 setting for the story through such references of food, television, the hot weather and music for example. They transported me right back to being a teenager when I was a year older than Jackie in the story, because they are so perfectly observed. As the theme of fostering is so relevant to today, Cuckoo in the Nest feels simultaneously modern and nostalgic so that it tugs at the reader’s emotions in a perfect blend.
Jackie is a triumph. The way her experiences are depicted acts as a voice for all those whose lives are not conventionally lived in a warm and loving home. Through Jackie’s placement with her foster family the Walls, Fran Hill peels back the layers of ostensibly perfect society and reveals many kinds of dysfunction that are sensitively handled and brilliantly engaging to read about. Amanda in particular shows the pressures a teenage girl can experience. My heart went out to her every bit as much as it did to Jackie. There’s a fabulous authenticity within the narrative that made me recall youngsters I’ve taught whose lives were similar and this aspect makes the book all the more affecting.
As well as including engaging characters and a plot that examines real life, Cuckoo in the Nest has so many elements that add layer upon layer of enjoyment for the reader. Jackie’s witty speech, her poetry, Bridget’s domestic obsessions, Amanda’s eating and so on all add a perfectly balanced lightness of touch and depth of feeling that I thought was brilliant.
Having had possibly unrealistically high expectations for this book, I’m delighted to say I adored Cuckoo in the Nest because is warm, witty and wonderful. Don’t miss it!
Cuckoo in the Nest is glorious – written with Fran Hill’s characteristic mix of emotion and humour that gets right to the heart of her characters and brings them into vivid life for her readers, laying bare their innermost thoughts, hopes and fears. Through this wonderful narrative Fran Hill explores the veneer of personality that we so often place over our true feelings and emotions to provide a persona to the world that belies our messy, flawed truths. She also illustrates to perfection why people behave as they do and how they can worsen situations whilst trying to atone for other perceived ills. This is such engaging, mature and intelligent writing. It’s funny too.
Equally evocative is the cultural 1976 setting for the story through such references of food, television, the hot weather and music for example. They transported me right back to being a teenager when I was a year older than Jackie in the story, because they are so perfectly observed. As the theme of fostering is so relevant to today, Cuckoo in the Nest feels simultaneously modern and nostalgic so that it tugs at the reader’s emotions in a perfect blend.
Jackie is a triumph. The way her experiences are depicted acts as a voice for all those whose lives are not conventionally lived in a warm and loving home. Through Jackie’s placement with her foster family the Walls, Fran Hill peels back the layers of ostensibly perfect society and reveals many kinds of dysfunction that are sensitively handled and brilliantly engaging to read about. Amanda in particular shows the pressures a teenage girl can experience. My heart went out to her every bit as much as it did to Jackie. There’s a fabulous authenticity within the narrative that made me recall youngsters I’ve taught whose lives were similar and this aspect makes the book all the more affecting.
As well as including engaging characters and a plot that examines real life, Cuckoo in the Nest has so many elements that add layer upon layer of enjoyment for the reader. Jackie’s witty speech, her poetry, Bridget’s domestic obsessions, Amanda’s eating and so on all add a perfectly balanced lightness of touch and depth of feeling that I thought was brilliant.
Having had possibly unrealistically high expectations for this book, I’m delighted to say I adored Cuckoo in the Nest because is warm, witty and wonderful. Don’t miss it!
February 16, 2024
⭐️ 5 ⭐️
I find that after I've read a book, more often than not, most of the characters just don’t stay with me (usually because I can’t remember them!). Every now and again, a book touches me, and a character(s) finds a place in my heart. That’s exactly what happened when I read Cuckoo in the Nest. Fourteen-year-old Jackie Chadwick is one character that will stay with me forever.
The story is set in the long, hot summer of 1976. Fran Hill has perfectly captured the era with wonderful attention to detail, which gently wrapped me in a warm, comforting hug of nostalgia. The book is beautifully written, with wit and humour balancing out the darker parts of the narrative.
Jackie Chadwick is such a special character; she's intelligent and caring, with a fantastic, sarcastic sense of humour that made me snigger and laugh out loud. I rooted for her throughout.
Cuckoo in the Nest is a moving, heartwarming story. It made me cry, but it made me laugh much, much more. It's firmly secured a place in my top reads of 2024.
I loved it and can't recommend it highly enough!
I find that after I've read a book, more often than not, most of the characters just don’t stay with me (usually because I can’t remember them!). Every now and again, a book touches me, and a character(s) finds a place in my heart. That’s exactly what happened when I read Cuckoo in the Nest. Fourteen-year-old Jackie Chadwick is one character that will stay with me forever.
The story is set in the long, hot summer of 1976. Fran Hill has perfectly captured the era with wonderful attention to detail, which gently wrapped me in a warm, comforting hug of nostalgia. The book is beautifully written, with wit and humour balancing out the darker parts of the narrative.
Jackie Chadwick is such a special character; she's intelligent and caring, with a fantastic, sarcastic sense of humour that made me snigger and laugh out loud. I rooted for her throughout.
Cuckoo in the Nest is a moving, heartwarming story. It made me cry, but it made me laugh much, much more. It's firmly secured a place in my top reads of 2024.
I loved it and can't recommend it highly enough!
March 12, 2023
This debut novel will be released on April 26, 2023. Legend Press provided an early galley for review.
I was a child of the Seventies, so the time period of this story really attracted me (in 1976, I was slightly younger than the main character Jackie). The cover design of the book also has a groovy vibe to it (the font, the colors) so it put me in the mood for a jump back to a past I know very well. Unfortunately for me, the story is set in 1976 in the UK, so I had to rely on looking up some of the references (others I got just fine).
The story deals with some very powerful issues like alcoholism, abuse and more. Hill uses her many years of wisdom to approach these topics in a very careful manner and keeps their darker tones at bay with her lighter dialogue and narrative. In a way, that very much reflects the era of the Seventies that I remember.
Overall, I think this novel would be well suited for both adult and teen audiences.
I was a child of the Seventies, so the time period of this story really attracted me (in 1976, I was slightly younger than the main character Jackie). The cover design of the book also has a groovy vibe to it (the font, the colors) so it put me in the mood for a jump back to a past I know very well. Unfortunately for me, the story is set in 1976 in the UK, so I had to rely on looking up some of the references (others I got just fine).
The story deals with some very powerful issues like alcoholism, abuse and more. Hill uses her many years of wisdom to approach these topics in a very careful manner and keeps their darker tones at bay with her lighter dialogue and narrative. In a way, that very much reflects the era of the Seventies that I remember.
Overall, I think this novel would be well suited for both adult and teen audiences.
October 16, 2024
this was gorgeous and i loved it as an audiobook
about fitting in, found family, the power of community & love
i would have liked an epilogue 4 years later but i did love the note it ended on
about fitting in, found family, the power of community & love
i would have liked an epilogue 4 years later but i did love the note it ended on
March 13, 2023
I adored this book from the very first sentence right through to the warm and satisfying ending.
Cuckoo in the Nest is told from the viewpoint of Jackie Chadwick, a highly-intelligent and perceptive fourteen-year-old who has been taken into care and is being looked after by the Wall family – who are new to fostering and all that it entails.
As Jackie’s life goes into meltdown, so does the weather. Against a backdrop of sweltering temperatures, Jackie tries hard to adapt to her changed circumstances, but the resentful and unwelcoming Amanda (the Wall’s own teenage daughter) is determined to make her life difficult.
Jackie is an utterly delightful and beautifully rendered character. Despite her difficult childhood, she maintains a positive and pragmatic outlook on life. She deals with her situation with a calmness and maturity that often renders her wiser than the adults who are supposed to be looking after her. Deep-thinking, creative and caring, Jackie continues to love her alcoholic father, despite his neglect. She worries about him, and remains hopeful that he will sort himself out so that things can go back to normal.
Meanwhile, as her stay in the Wall household unfolds, Jackie learns about a different way of life. On the face of it, the Walls appear to be the perfect family – but not everything is as it seems. As the summer heat intensifies, so do the tensions at 17 Hollybush Close.
In Cuckoo in the Nest, Fran Hill has perfectly captured that long, hot and unforgettable summer of 1976. Her descriptive details transported me right back to heat of that time, and stirred up long forgotten details and memories.
This is a poignant and uplifting novel, full of warmth, humour and nostalgia. The courage and resilience of Jackie Chadwick makes her totally unforgettable.
With thanks to Legend Press for providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
Cuckoo in the Nest is told from the viewpoint of Jackie Chadwick, a highly-intelligent and perceptive fourteen-year-old who has been taken into care and is being looked after by the Wall family – who are new to fostering and all that it entails.
As Jackie’s life goes into meltdown, so does the weather. Against a backdrop of sweltering temperatures, Jackie tries hard to adapt to her changed circumstances, but the resentful and unwelcoming Amanda (the Wall’s own teenage daughter) is determined to make her life difficult.
Jackie is an utterly delightful and beautifully rendered character. Despite her difficult childhood, she maintains a positive and pragmatic outlook on life. She deals with her situation with a calmness and maturity that often renders her wiser than the adults who are supposed to be looking after her. Deep-thinking, creative and caring, Jackie continues to love her alcoholic father, despite his neglect. She worries about him, and remains hopeful that he will sort himself out so that things can go back to normal.
Meanwhile, as her stay in the Wall household unfolds, Jackie learns about a different way of life. On the face of it, the Walls appear to be the perfect family – but not everything is as it seems. As the summer heat intensifies, so do the tensions at 17 Hollybush Close.
In Cuckoo in the Nest, Fran Hill has perfectly captured that long, hot and unforgettable summer of 1976. Her descriptive details transported me right back to heat of that time, and stirred up long forgotten details and memories.
This is a poignant and uplifting novel, full of warmth, humour and nostalgia. The courage and resilience of Jackie Chadwick makes her totally unforgettable.
With thanks to Legend Press for providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
December 16, 2022
It's the long, hot summer of 1976. Jackie magazine is on the shelves, people are openly wearing corduroy trousers and cheesecloth tops and, inexplicably, the Wurzels are topping the charts. Our heroine, fourteen year old Jackie Chadwick, is in a dangerous and painful situation, caught between the demands of her alcoholic father and the queasy realisation of her teachers that Something Needs to be Done. Jackie finds herself the occupant of a newly painted sunshine yellow room at the Wall family house, a reluctant foster child in a strange and confusing place. Surly Amanda Wall resents her foster sister from the minute she arrives, father Nick spends most of his time at work or hiding in the shed and brittle, OCD mother Bridget is desperately trying to keep the veneer of perfection gleaming as dark secrets lurk beneath.
Fran Hill has pulled off a rare feat with this remarkable novel. I don't do deeply buried painful family issues and 1970s reminiscing very well, yet I consumed this book in two greedy sittings. It is just so delightfully well written, funny, wry, full of sly jokes, sad, poignant and painful, all at once. I simply love Jackie, bright, funny, loyal and doing her very best in a horrible situation not of her own making. The depiction of the late Seventies is pitch perfect. I could almost smell it as I read.
There are few authors who can leave me laughing and simultaneously gazing at the perfect semi circle of nail marks on my palm. I so desperately wanted things to work out for Jackie who deserves a better hand than the one life has dealt her. There are no neat endings and tying up of narrative threads (thank God) but good things happen. I can't tell you how much I want to read more about Jackie. Please write a sequel Ms Hill!
Thank you to Legend Press for the ARC. I was under no pressure to leave a favourable review.
Fran Hill has pulled off a rare feat with this remarkable novel. I don't do deeply buried painful family issues and 1970s reminiscing very well, yet I consumed this book in two greedy sittings. It is just so delightfully well written, funny, wry, full of sly jokes, sad, poignant and painful, all at once. I simply love Jackie, bright, funny, loyal and doing her very best in a horrible situation not of her own making. The depiction of the late Seventies is pitch perfect. I could almost smell it as I read.
There are few authors who can leave me laughing and simultaneously gazing at the perfect semi circle of nail marks on my palm. I so desperately wanted things to work out for Jackie who deserves a better hand than the one life has dealt her. There are no neat endings and tying up of narrative threads (thank God) but good things happen. I can't tell you how much I want to read more about Jackie. Please write a sequel Ms Hill!
Thank you to Legend Press for the ARC. I was under no pressure to leave a favourable review.
May 3, 2023
I loved this book, to the point where I caught myself reading more slowly, to make the experience last. There is so much to savour in the story of Jackie, majoring in poetry and sarcasm in the hot summer of 1976. At one point our heroine discovers 'Catcher in the Rye' and falls in love with Holden Caulfield: the comparison is barely stated, but it's legitimate. Although the book is rarely laugh-out-loud funny, the sparkling flow of dry one-liners kept this reader chortling.
This may be Fran's first full length novel, but it doesn't feel like it. Most accomplished. More, please.
This may be Fran's first full length novel, but it doesn't feel like it. Most accomplished. More, please.
January 1, 2023
Wow what a story. Reminded me of The Trouble With Goats and Sheep. You can feel the heat of the summer, picture the fashion of the time and understand the trauma of each character. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants a good read.
July 17, 2024
The emotion conveyed in this book is done so in such a subtly brilliant way. None of it felt contrived; Jackie didn’t get a ‘happily ever after’ ending but the journey of finding her feet in a new foster family was more realistic, which gave the story absolute resonance.
It was perfectly written and I really enjoyed it ❤️
It was perfectly written and I really enjoyed it ❤️
July 22, 2024
This was an easy read even though it was concerning weighty sad topics. I can’t decide if it was really aimed at youth readers as the writing style was simplistic. It had a satisfying ending , not sugar sweet but nice. Would not deliberately read more by this author but if I was given another book by her then I would happily read it.
July 17, 2023
This is a delightful read. The characters are truly human showing both vulnerability and resilience. I loved the family dynamics (including the uncomfortable silences) and the tension between teenagers. The story develops to a satisfying conclusion.
April 7, 2023
Actually 4.5
During the summer heatwave in Britian in 1976 Jackie Chadwick moves in with foster family, the Walls. Jackie has been living with her grieving, alcoholic father, and desperately needs care and stability. This is offered to her in the form of the conservative, middle class foster family to which she is sent when life with her father finally becomes untenable. But are the Walls as stable and conservative as they might first appear?
At first I was uncertain of this book, I found the writing style to be quite terse, which is necessarily to my taste, and the first person perspective is written in present tense, which I don’t often get along with. Yet, as I continued to read the book I found myself warming to the writing style, and in particular the character of Jackie, our protagonist. I thoroughly enjoyed Fran Hill’s characterisation of Jackie, her voice and personality felt authentic, and her perspective was very interesting to read from. I found the other characters to be very well written and interesting as well.
In this book we follow Jackie, a fourteen year old who is sent to live in foster care due to her fathers alcoholism and his subsequent inability to adequately care for Jackie. Jackie is taken to a seemingly very settled and ordinary nuclear family with a daughter, Amanda, who is Jackie’s age. Jackie settles in quickly with the family, despite Amanda’s obvious suspicion and angst towards Jackie. Throughout Jackie’s stay with the Walls, the veneer of respectability begins to slide and some of the family's hidden secrets start to come to light. I really enjoyed this exploration of this middle class family trying desperately to hide behind their veneer of respectability, I thought it was well written and extremely believable.
Throughout the book there is a real sense of uncertainty, a sense that something is not quite as it seems and things are about to erupt, which it does do, secrets are revealed, and the family’s cohesion is shaken. I thought this was well done, however, it was slightly misleading, due to the name of the book. Cuckoo in the nest implies a different direction for the story than it actually went in, and so I found I couldn’t give it that final half star to bring it up to a full 5.
The ending was also quite abrupt, with no real conclusion being drawn, which is also why I have given this a 4.5, rather than a full 5 stars.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend it.
During the summer heatwave in Britian in 1976 Jackie Chadwick moves in with foster family, the Walls. Jackie has been living with her grieving, alcoholic father, and desperately needs care and stability. This is offered to her in the form of the conservative, middle class foster family to which she is sent when life with her father finally becomes untenable. But are the Walls as stable and conservative as they might first appear?
At first I was uncertain of this book, I found the writing style to be quite terse, which is necessarily to my taste, and the first person perspective is written in present tense, which I don’t often get along with. Yet, as I continued to read the book I found myself warming to the writing style, and in particular the character of Jackie, our protagonist. I thoroughly enjoyed Fran Hill’s characterisation of Jackie, her voice and personality felt authentic, and her perspective was very interesting to read from. I found the other characters to be very well written and interesting as well.
In this book we follow Jackie, a fourteen year old who is sent to live in foster care due to her fathers alcoholism and his subsequent inability to adequately care for Jackie. Jackie is taken to a seemingly very settled and ordinary nuclear family with a daughter, Amanda, who is Jackie’s age. Jackie settles in quickly with the family, despite Amanda’s obvious suspicion and angst towards Jackie. Throughout Jackie’s stay with the Walls, the veneer of respectability begins to slide and some of the family's hidden secrets start to come to light. I really enjoyed this exploration of this middle class family trying desperately to hide behind their veneer of respectability, I thought it was well written and extremely believable.
Throughout the book there is a real sense of uncertainty, a sense that something is not quite as it seems and things are about to erupt, which it does do, secrets are revealed, and the family’s cohesion is shaken. I thought this was well done, however, it was slightly misleading, due to the name of the book. Cuckoo in the nest implies a different direction for the story than it actually went in, and so I found I couldn’t give it that final half star to bring it up to a full 5.
The ending was also quite abrupt, with no real conclusion being drawn, which is also why I have given this a 4.5, rather than a full 5 stars.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend it.
April 21, 2024
Rich in 70's nostalgia, this fish-out-of-water novel is written from the perspective of Jackie, a sarcastic teenage foster child. Full of witty asides, the book also has a strong emotional heart which had me tearing up a few times. A really enjoyable summer page-turner.
July 31, 2024
I loved the ‘voice’ of the protagonist, fourteen year old Jackie Chadwick, from the very first page, particularly her strength of character and sense of humour, manifest in often quite mature sarcasm, when placed with a somewhat disfunctional foster family.
June 7, 2023
This is such a heartwarming read, it shows not only the childs experience of fostering but the impact it has on siblings of the foster family.
I loved getting to know Jackie and how she dealt with her home life and adjusting to a new way of living. The book was also full of nostalgia within the food, music and TV they watched.
The book shows the importance of understanding, adaption, family and friends.
An absolute must read!
I loved getting to know Jackie and how she dealt with her home life and adjusting to a new way of living. The book was also full of nostalgia within the food, music and TV they watched.
The book shows the importance of understanding, adaption, family and friends.
An absolute must read!
December 11, 2023
I don't recall another book that managed to be both heart-breaking and hilarious, but 'Cuckoo in the Nest' does just that. Brilliant evocation of the hot summer of 1976, the perfect backdrop for boiling tension in the Walls' household when the family foster 14 y.o. Jackie Chadwick.
December 29, 2023
I really enjoyed this 70's coming of age story that dealt with some emotional subjects.
14yr old Jackie has not had the best life so far. Losing her Mum to cancer then having to look after her Dad who didn't respond well. When it all becomes too much, she is moved into a temporary foster home with the Wall family while her dad gets the help he needs, but the middle-class front they are putting on is soon put to the test.
This was an emotional read in places, but also funny and heartwarming. Jackie is a wonderful character and her resilience to carry on and do her best despite everything that has been thrown, and continues to be thrown at her was lovely to read about.
14yr old Jackie has not had the best life so far. Losing her Mum to cancer then having to look after her Dad who didn't respond well. When it all becomes too much, she is moved into a temporary foster home with the Wall family while her dad gets the help he needs, but the middle-class front they are putting on is soon put to the test.
This was an emotional read in places, but also funny and heartwarming. Jackie is a wonderful character and her resilience to carry on and do her best despite everything that has been thrown, and continues to be thrown at her was lovely to read about.
January 25, 2023
I really liked matter of fact Jackie. She had a rough go of things in the book but she had a real fun personality and sense of humor that was very charming. I could see this as a series where we dip in and see Jackie at very points of her life.
December 8, 2022
I found this a heartrending, funny and utterly captivating novel. Set in the heatwave of 1976 (which I myself remember well), the story is narrated by highly intelligent 14 year old, Jackie Chadwick, who opens her story with a deadpan, spare, stark account of the daily realities of her life with her disabled father, who, following her mother’s death, became a violent alcoholic. Jackie eventually accepts the help offered to her by the Social Services, and goes to live with a foster family, the Walls, supposedly on a ‘temporary’ basis. The Social Workers, first Bobbie, and later Cynthia, come over very well, doing their very best in the circumstances and showing sensitivity and compassion (as a similar character did in the book ‘My Name is Leon’).
Jackie herself is bright, perceptive, and full of wit, despite her tragic background. When she enters her new ‘temporary’ home she soon discovers that her would-be foster mother Bridget tries too hard, wants everything to be perfect, and borders on the obsessive compulsive; while Bridget’s husband Nick avoids conflict and hides himself away in his shed much of the time, restoring bicycles. Meanwhile, Amanda, their daughter, rude, surly and ungrateful, is deeply resentful of Jackie’s presence, and makes no attempt to disguise it. Throughout the dry, acutely observant and often very funny narrative, we, along with Jackie, take small incremental steps towards getting to know each family member more closely, their personal and emotional issues and relationship difficulties. The author keeps the momentum steadily rising with her incisive depiction of uneasy family dynamics, and the reader is held captive trying to anticipate the inevitable crisis point but with no idea when that is going to happen. Flashes of dry humour slip in unexpectedly often making the reader laugh out loud.
Jackie’s resilience and sarcasm carries her through all the provocations by the bitter and troubled Amanda. I found the accounts of Jackie’s attempted contacts with her father moving and very sad, and this aspect of the novel did remind me a little again of scenes in ‘My Name is Leon’, in which we see the unbreakable loyalty of a child towards an abusive parent. The adults around Jackie are clearly not coping at all, while she dispassionately observes and records what is going on.
Surprisingly as the novel progresses, I come to like Amanda, thinking I would probably feel just as he does, if I were in her place. Bridget’s obsession with putting up a perfect front backfires, and the family explode in open warfare; followed by a slight rapprochement between Amanda and Jackie. When Jackie visits her dad in prison, he makes a devastating confession. Then the family heads into an even great crisis with shocking revelations about the adults, leading Amanda and Jackie to start building a curious alliance. I loved the way the author handles the delicate transition for Amanda from open hostility to acceptance, and the edgy way the two girls navigate moving towards a new understanding of each other. This is an outstanding novel of family relationships and an uplifting tale of personal resilience which many readers will be able to identify with even if they have never shared Jackie’s tragic background.
Many thanks to Net Galley and to Legend Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Jackie herself is bright, perceptive, and full of wit, despite her tragic background. When she enters her new ‘temporary’ home she soon discovers that her would-be foster mother Bridget tries too hard, wants everything to be perfect, and borders on the obsessive compulsive; while Bridget’s husband Nick avoids conflict and hides himself away in his shed much of the time, restoring bicycles. Meanwhile, Amanda, their daughter, rude, surly and ungrateful, is deeply resentful of Jackie’s presence, and makes no attempt to disguise it. Throughout the dry, acutely observant and often very funny narrative, we, along with Jackie, take small incremental steps towards getting to know each family member more closely, their personal and emotional issues and relationship difficulties. The author keeps the momentum steadily rising with her incisive depiction of uneasy family dynamics, and the reader is held captive trying to anticipate the inevitable crisis point but with no idea when that is going to happen. Flashes of dry humour slip in unexpectedly often making the reader laugh out loud.
Jackie’s resilience and sarcasm carries her through all the provocations by the bitter and troubled Amanda. I found the accounts of Jackie’s attempted contacts with her father moving and very sad, and this aspect of the novel did remind me a little again of scenes in ‘My Name is Leon’, in which we see the unbreakable loyalty of a child towards an abusive parent. The adults around Jackie are clearly not coping at all, while she dispassionately observes and records what is going on.
Surprisingly as the novel progresses, I come to like Amanda, thinking I would probably feel just as he does, if I were in her place. Bridget’s obsession with putting up a perfect front backfires, and the family explode in open warfare; followed by a slight rapprochement between Amanda and Jackie. When Jackie visits her dad in prison, he makes a devastating confession. Then the family heads into an even great crisis with shocking revelations about the adults, leading Amanda and Jackie to start building a curious alliance. I loved the way the author handles the delicate transition for Amanda from open hostility to acceptance, and the edgy way the two girls navigate moving towards a new understanding of each other. This is an outstanding novel of family relationships and an uplifting tale of personal resilience which many readers will be able to identify with even if they have never shared Jackie’s tragic background.
Many thanks to Net Galley and to Legend Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 28, 2024
I have to own up that this book has been sitting on my shelf for a very long time. I am not sure why it has taken me so long to pick it up, but, oh my goodness, I am so happy that I've finally read it. I have a copy of the follow up; Home Bird, which will be published in March next year, and it's now firmly on my Christmas reading list.
Many years ago, at the beginning of the 2000s, I became a volunteer mentor, working with young people who were either in the care system, or were at risk of being taken into care. I then went on to get paid employment with the same organisation and spent four years managing a project, recruiting and supporting volunteers to work with young people in the care system. I continued to work directly with them too. These were both the happiest, and the most emotional and challenging years of my career. Whilst it was my job to try to teach the young people, I also learnt so much from them. I will never forget some of them, their stories, their situations, their lives.
Fran Hill uses her own experience of being fostered to create a wonderfully rich novel that is filled with warmth, humour and charm.
Jackie is fourteen years old. Her mother died of cancer and she lives in a terraced council house with her father. Her Dad was a fireman, many years ago, but more recently he has just been a drunk. He lives his life through the bottom of a whiskey glass, slobbing around in dirty underwear, too lazy to climb the stairs. Jackie does her best, sometimes he is forced to steal food to make sure that they have something to eat. She tries to care for her Dad, but really she wants to be cared for herself. Jackie is intelligent, funny, sarcastic and loving. She is vulnerable and covers that by uttering hilarious one-liners and writing poetry.
Things cannot continue though and her teachers have noticed the bruises. Jackie is to be fostered and her social worker takes to her to meet the Walls family. Parents Bridget and Nick and their own fourteen year old daughter, Amanda.
What follows is a beautifully written coming-of-age story that will pull at the hardest of heart strings. As Jackie tries her best to fit in with her new family; welcomed by the adults, but derided by Amanda, she has many challenges to overcome.
The Walls have their own secrets, skeletons in the cupboard, firmly being hidden by Bridget's constant preparation of food, Nick's escapes to his shed and Amanda's increasingly destructive behaviour.
Throughout the novel, Jackie carries on. She takes things in her stride, rarely exposing her own feelings, unless it is in the form of a poem, but still managing to create new friendships, whilst constantly worrying about her Dad, especially when she is told that he in now in prison.
Set in the searing hot summer of 1976, which I also remember very well, this is a brilliantly written novel. The characters are vibrant, colourful and realistic. The 1970s setting, with the food, the TV programmes and most of all, that overwhelming heat adds so much to what is already a evocative and nostalgic novel.
Highly recommended by me. I'm really looking forward to finding out more about Jackie in the next novel.
Many years ago, at the beginning of the 2000s, I became a volunteer mentor, working with young people who were either in the care system, or were at risk of being taken into care. I then went on to get paid employment with the same organisation and spent four years managing a project, recruiting and supporting volunteers to work with young people in the care system. I continued to work directly with them too. These were both the happiest, and the most emotional and challenging years of my career. Whilst it was my job to try to teach the young people, I also learnt so much from them. I will never forget some of them, their stories, their situations, their lives.
Fran Hill uses her own experience of being fostered to create a wonderfully rich novel that is filled with warmth, humour and charm.
Jackie is fourteen years old. Her mother died of cancer and she lives in a terraced council house with her father. Her Dad was a fireman, many years ago, but more recently he has just been a drunk. He lives his life through the bottom of a whiskey glass, slobbing around in dirty underwear, too lazy to climb the stairs. Jackie does her best, sometimes he is forced to steal food to make sure that they have something to eat. She tries to care for her Dad, but really she wants to be cared for herself. Jackie is intelligent, funny, sarcastic and loving. She is vulnerable and covers that by uttering hilarious one-liners and writing poetry.
Things cannot continue though and her teachers have noticed the bruises. Jackie is to be fostered and her social worker takes to her to meet the Walls family. Parents Bridget and Nick and their own fourteen year old daughter, Amanda.
What follows is a beautifully written coming-of-age story that will pull at the hardest of heart strings. As Jackie tries her best to fit in with her new family; welcomed by the adults, but derided by Amanda, she has many challenges to overcome.
The Walls have their own secrets, skeletons in the cupboard, firmly being hidden by Bridget's constant preparation of food, Nick's escapes to his shed and Amanda's increasingly destructive behaviour.
Throughout the novel, Jackie carries on. She takes things in her stride, rarely exposing her own feelings, unless it is in the form of a poem, but still managing to create new friendships, whilst constantly worrying about her Dad, especially when she is told that he in now in prison.
Set in the searing hot summer of 1976, which I also remember very well, this is a brilliantly written novel. The characters are vibrant, colourful and realistic. The 1970s setting, with the food, the TV programmes and most of all, that overwhelming heat adds so much to what is already a evocative and nostalgic novel.
Highly recommended by me. I'm really looking forward to finding out more about Jackie in the next novel.
August 13, 2023
This story follows Jackie, a young teenager who, in the long hot summer of 1976, is taken away from her alcoholic father after the death of her mother and placed with a foster family, the Walls. But her new family environment, if materially much better than her old one, proves to be a difficult adjustment – especially since the Walls turn out to have significant issues of their own, not to mention a daughter who quickly takes a dislike to the new “cuckoo in the next” and proceeds to add to our heroine’s problems. And things go from bad to worse when Jackie’s father gets himself into even more trouble.
If that sounds a bit grim, then it is up to a point. Certainly the story pulls no punches about Jackie’s precarious, curtailed existence, the tragedy she’s experienced in her short life and the constant threat (and periodic reality) of abuse from a father who’s making a very bad job indeed of parenthood. And then the loneliness and dislocation she experiences in her new home, missing her dad despite everything – and the memory of her loving mother a constant source of pain. Her foster parents try their best, but some dramatic domestic revelations threaten to tear apart her new home too. But with her dad unable to take her back, where would she go then?
Despite the heavy issues tackled here, the book does so with a light touch. This is partly thanks to Jackie’s gloriously sarcastic sense of humour – it’s been a while since a book has made me chuckle out loud as often as this one did. Of course it’s sad in places too, but never overly sentimental. All the characters are well drawn and believable – I even found myself sympathising with Jackie’s dad in the end, after spending the first few chapters becoming increasingly furious with his utter irresponsibility and self-pity (no spoilers, but what happens to him, although very bad in one way, turns out to be a blessing in another).
And Amanda Walls, the foster-parents’ teenage daughter with big issues of her own, is also realistically and sympathetically portrayed despite the fact that she spends most of the book being a total pain in the backside – selfish, jealous, immature and vindictive hardly begins to describe her behaviour. But I believed in her utterly, and was even starting to root for her by the end. Well, almost.
There is also a nice sub-plot around Jackie’s love of poetry and her small but loyal circle of friends – and a possible romance in the offing.
This is a moving and funny book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I understand it’s the author’s first full length work of fiction, and I certainly hope she writes more.
If that sounds a bit grim, then it is up to a point. Certainly the story pulls no punches about Jackie’s precarious, curtailed existence, the tragedy she’s experienced in her short life and the constant threat (and periodic reality) of abuse from a father who’s making a very bad job indeed of parenthood. And then the loneliness and dislocation she experiences in her new home, missing her dad despite everything – and the memory of her loving mother a constant source of pain. Her foster parents try their best, but some dramatic domestic revelations threaten to tear apart her new home too. But with her dad unable to take her back, where would she go then?
Despite the heavy issues tackled here, the book does so with a light touch. This is partly thanks to Jackie’s gloriously sarcastic sense of humour – it’s been a while since a book has made me chuckle out loud as often as this one did. Of course it’s sad in places too, but never overly sentimental. All the characters are well drawn and believable – I even found myself sympathising with Jackie’s dad in the end, after spending the first few chapters becoming increasingly furious with his utter irresponsibility and self-pity (no spoilers, but what happens to him, although very bad in one way, turns out to be a blessing in another).
And Amanda Walls, the foster-parents’ teenage daughter with big issues of her own, is also realistically and sympathetically portrayed despite the fact that she spends most of the book being a total pain in the backside – selfish, jealous, immature and vindictive hardly begins to describe her behaviour. But I believed in her utterly, and was even starting to root for her by the end. Well, almost.
There is also a nice sub-plot around Jackie’s love of poetry and her small but loyal circle of friends – and a possible romance in the offing.
This is a moving and funny book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I understand it’s the author’s first full length work of fiction, and I certainly hope she writes more.
December 6, 2023
Rating: 4/5; Spoilers included
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This novel is quite memorable and touching. This is simply the story of one girl finding a safe home and reconnecting with her parents. The novel is peppered with observations she makes on the adults in her life. These observations give us some insight into her mental maturation and the way she is reorienting to her new circumstances.
I think other people have covered the many good things the novel offers. What I can add is this: There is something off about the narrative voice of Jackie. She is supposed to be a 14-year-old girl, but comes off far too mature. The author appears to have written this novel loosely inspired by her own life after retiring, so I cannot help but think that time may have tempered her memories and smoothed out some of the edges. Jackie appears like a Mary Sue character who can do no wrong. Even her faults are somewhat harmless and cute. I understand Jackie's family circumstances might have forced her to mature early, but she is TOO mature.
Poor Amanda does not receive the same treatment, and we see the girl in a very negative light throughout. I think this especially unfair because Amanda was struggling with things too, and if readers don't pay close attention, we miss out on this entirely. Amanda has issues connecting with her friends in school. Her parents -- while friendly and caring -- are also not content with their own lives and family. Amanda is compared very cruelly by her parents to Jackie. When she starts eating too much to handle her emotional problems, rather than helping her to change her mindset and lose weight in a healthy manner, her parents shame her. Her mother is viscerally disgusted with her and says so, quite possibly remembering her own past obesity. Her father tells her he wishes she was more like Jackie and did better in school, instead of helping her with her schoolwork or helping her find her passion. Neither parent had much excuse for this behaviour either, considering Bridget (the mom) is a housewife and Nick (the father) is a substitute teacher. They have plenty of time for their hobbies. Amanda deserves help. I think if the narrative voice had been more true to that of a real 14-year-old girl, we may have seen that the disparity between Jackie and Amanda is not so great.
Is the novel worth reading? Yes! For sure. It is a sweet story about finding family. And what is more heartwarming than that? But if the novel had introduced us to some of Jackie's struggles with being a good daughter and sister too, instead of a suffering marytr, I think the novel could have been great.
=================================
This novel is quite memorable and touching. This is simply the story of one girl finding a safe home and reconnecting with her parents. The novel is peppered with observations she makes on the adults in her life. These observations give us some insight into her mental maturation and the way she is reorienting to her new circumstances.
I think other people have covered the many good things the novel offers. What I can add is this: There is something off about the narrative voice of Jackie. She is supposed to be a 14-year-old girl, but comes off far too mature. The author appears to have written this novel loosely inspired by her own life after retiring, so I cannot help but think that time may have tempered her memories and smoothed out some of the edges. Jackie appears like a Mary Sue character who can do no wrong. Even her faults are somewhat harmless and cute. I understand Jackie's family circumstances might have forced her to mature early, but she is TOO mature.
Poor Amanda does not receive the same treatment, and we see the girl in a very negative light throughout. I think this especially unfair because Amanda was struggling with things too, and if readers don't pay close attention, we miss out on this entirely. Amanda has issues connecting with her friends in school. Her parents -- while friendly and caring -- are also not content with their own lives and family. Amanda is compared very cruelly by her parents to Jackie. When she starts eating too much to handle her emotional problems, rather than helping her to change her mindset and lose weight in a healthy manner, her parents shame her. Her mother is viscerally disgusted with her and says so, quite possibly remembering her own past obesity. Her father tells her he wishes she was more like Jackie and did better in school, instead of helping her with her schoolwork or helping her find her passion. Neither parent had much excuse for this behaviour either, considering Bridget (the mom) is a housewife and Nick (the father) is a substitute teacher. They have plenty of time for their hobbies. Amanda deserves help. I think if the narrative voice had been more true to that of a real 14-year-old girl, we may have seen that the disparity between Jackie and Amanda is not so great.
Is the novel worth reading? Yes! For sure. It is a sweet story about finding family. And what is more heartwarming than that? But if the novel had introduced us to some of Jackie's struggles with being a good daughter and sister too, instead of a suffering marytr, I think the novel could have been great.
June 18, 2023
Jackie is 14 years old, and life has knocked her down and given her a bit of a kicking. She doesn't seem to have much going for her - her poetry, her hard-won knowledge of when it's best to keep her mouth shut, and a dark, sardonic wit that helps her over the worst times. Being moved to a foster home might seem like a step up - after all, anything's got to be better than having to shop-lift to eat - but she soon starts to discover that the family she's moved to has its own issues. And her being there might be making them worse.
Fran Hill's writing style is very smooth, you slip easily into Jackie's story, but then find yourself tightly gripped by her life and her attempts to cope with it. The family relationships are sharply observed but subtly revealed, until all the flaws and failings are exposed - but with compassion, and with hope for healing.
Plus which there's a sense of humour so dry you could ride a camel through it. (Which seems fitting, considering the well-evoked heatwave that provides the sweaty backdrop for the story). My favourite line is a good example: 'By the door to the dining room, the school secretary shook the clanging metal bell that signalled the end of lunch and, for those who ate the tapioca, the beginning of indigestion.'
I've been a foster parent myself, and although we're talking about a different child in a different time and in different circumstances, there were things here I could clearly identify with. When you bring a damaged, hurting and vulnerable person into your home and your life, that life doesn't just continue unchanged. You learn things about the child that aren't on any Social Services report, and you learn things about yourself that you didn't know as well. That's why I felt the authenticity of this book very deeply. The characters may be fictional, but their lives are real.
Fran Hill's writing style is very smooth, you slip easily into Jackie's story, but then find yourself tightly gripped by her life and her attempts to cope with it. The family relationships are sharply observed but subtly revealed, until all the flaws and failings are exposed - but with compassion, and with hope for healing.
Plus which there's a sense of humour so dry you could ride a camel through it. (Which seems fitting, considering the well-evoked heatwave that provides the sweaty backdrop for the story). My favourite line is a good example: 'By the door to the dining room, the school secretary shook the clanging metal bell that signalled the end of lunch and, for those who ate the tapioca, the beginning of indigestion.'
I've been a foster parent myself, and although we're talking about a different child in a different time and in different circumstances, there were things here I could clearly identify with. When you bring a damaged, hurting and vulnerable person into your home and your life, that life doesn't just continue unchanged. You learn things about the child that aren't on any Social Services report, and you learn things about yourself that you didn't know as well. That's why I felt the authenticity of this book very deeply. The characters may be fictional, but their lives are real.
July 11, 2023
Phew! It’s a tricky situation when a friend writes a book. How do you write an honest review? Luckily Fran has made it easy for me because I loved it. “Cuckoo in the Nest” is set in 1976. The year when the country melted because of THAT heatwave. As a lady of a certain age, I appreciated the 70’s cultural references that are peppered throughout the novel. The oppressive weather provides the perfect background to the story of Jackie Chadwick, our main character who’s thrown, like a hand grenade, into a new foster family. Her addition is a catalyst that exposes the cracks within the family, as secrets are slowly revealed. It’s a very interesting point of view as we see through Jackie’s eyes that, despite appearances, adults are nt always the perfect role models that they like to portray.
Jackie is not a character to be pitied. I enjoyed how she interacted with her foster family, her social workers and her dad. She has an unbreakable quality to her character that means she can meet life’s challenges with a sarcastic wit and resilient charm.
Fran has the unique ability in her writing to make her readers laugh (a rare gift for a writer) and then in a few short sentences completely floor you with a poignant observation or comment. I don’t think I ve read a better description of that toe curling embarrassment that teenagers feel so acutely when their family life and those outside the family circle collide. I had forgotten how hideous that can be. I also appreciate that Jackie is seen in a sympathetic light which is sometimes missing in other writers’ work. She is more complex than a stereotypical moody teenager. I have recommended this book to all my friends and I m so pleased with their positive responses. “Cuckoo in the nest” is a very readable book which explores a serious topic, brilliantly written.
Jackie is not a character to be pitied. I enjoyed how she interacted with her foster family, her social workers and her dad. She has an unbreakable quality to her character that means she can meet life’s challenges with a sarcastic wit and resilient charm.
Fran has the unique ability in her writing to make her readers laugh (a rare gift for a writer) and then in a few short sentences completely floor you with a poignant observation or comment. I don’t think I ve read a better description of that toe curling embarrassment that teenagers feel so acutely when their family life and those outside the family circle collide. I had forgotten how hideous that can be. I also appreciate that Jackie is seen in a sympathetic light which is sometimes missing in other writers’ work. She is more complex than a stereotypical moody teenager. I have recommended this book to all my friends and I m so pleased with their positive responses. “Cuckoo in the nest” is a very readable book which explores a serious topic, brilliantly written.
July 11, 2023
When people use the word 'heartwarming' about a novel, I usually avoid it. However, Cuckoo in the Nest is, indeed 'heartwarming' but the feelgood stuff is lifted by the dark wit which runs through it.
The protagonist, Jackie Chadwick, subverts the stereotype of the foster child; she attends the local grammar school and is keen on writing poetry. Her new foster sister, Amanda, however, is the sort of troubled, disaffected teenager that is more usually associated with children in the care system, despite being the adored daughter of Jackie's hapless foster parents, Bridget and Nick. And this is the strength of the novel - the dynamic between Jackie and Amanda. Which of them really is the cuckoo? Jackie seems to fit straight in with her new foster parents whilst Amanda increasingly seems like a stranger in her own home.
The other twist is that the foster family clearly have as many secrets as Jackie's family home, dominated by her alcoholic and violent father.
Hill keeps her chapters short and creates tense set pieces out of small domestic dramas such as shoplifting and infidelity. This makes the book whiz along and it would be perfect as a holiday read. The dialogue is often very funny and the 70s detail is terrific - although I'm going to suggest that if you were the kind of teenager who liked Abba, you would be very unlikely to also like Showaddywaddy and Slade. But maybe that's just me.
The setting is pretty much the same as The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, although with better period detail, and covers similar territory to My Name is Leon, although more believable.
The protagonist, Jackie Chadwick, subverts the stereotype of the foster child; she attends the local grammar school and is keen on writing poetry. Her new foster sister, Amanda, however, is the sort of troubled, disaffected teenager that is more usually associated with children in the care system, despite being the adored daughter of Jackie's hapless foster parents, Bridget and Nick. And this is the strength of the novel - the dynamic between Jackie and Amanda. Which of them really is the cuckoo? Jackie seems to fit straight in with her new foster parents whilst Amanda increasingly seems like a stranger in her own home.
The other twist is that the foster family clearly have as many secrets as Jackie's family home, dominated by her alcoholic and violent father.
Hill keeps her chapters short and creates tense set pieces out of small domestic dramas such as shoplifting and infidelity. This makes the book whiz along and it would be perfect as a holiday read. The dialogue is often very funny and the 70s detail is terrific - although I'm going to suggest that if you were the kind of teenager who liked Abba, you would be very unlikely to also like Showaddywaddy and Slade. But maybe that's just me.
The setting is pretty much the same as The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, although with better period detail, and covers similar territory to My Name is Leon, although more believable.
August 21, 2023
This is such a good book, I enjoyed it right from the beginning to the end.
Jackie is 14 years old and at the beginning of the book lives with her Dad. After Jackie’s mum died, life with her Dad was difficult to say the least. He has a drink problem and Jackie spends most of her time trying to stay out of his way when he’s had too much to drink, looking after him and the house and generally trying to make ends meet as he drinks away what little money they have.
It’s not long before school starts to pick up on the fact Jackie might be having problems at home and bring in social services. As things hit fever pitch and even Jackie has had enough, she’s placed into foster care. Just a temporary measure, Jackie is assured, just until her Dad admits he has a problem and gets himself some help.
And so she goes to live with the Wall family - mum, dad and their daughter Amanda who is a similar age to Jackie. It’s perhaps not quite as bad as out of the frying pan and into the fire, but even so life with Amanda, in some ways, is almost as bad as life with her Dad. Amanda has taken great exception to welcoming Jackie into the family and makes it very obvious she’d rather she wasn’t around.
Despite the themes of the narrative, this is quite a humorous story. Told in the first person by Jackie, she has, unsurprisingly given her background, an old head on her shoulders and is mostly unfazed by the often tense atmosphere within the Wall family household. Whilst you might expect Jackie to have gone off the rails somewhat after everything she’s gone through in her short life so far, it is in fact Amanda Wall who you need to be concerned about. There is often tension between Amanda and her parents, and it felt like poor Jackie was walking on eggshells trying to keep the peace and stop the family from tearing each other apart.
There are some poignant scenes in the book, but overall it is quite a light read. I liked all the characters. So many emotions to feel. Jackie is brilliant, funny, quite sensible and very deserving of the reader’s empathy. You feel for the foster parents with their dreadful teenage daughter, and the family dog had a character of his own too and was often referred to. A fabulous book which I enjoyed very much.
Jackie is 14 years old and at the beginning of the book lives with her Dad. After Jackie’s mum died, life with her Dad was difficult to say the least. He has a drink problem and Jackie spends most of her time trying to stay out of his way when he’s had too much to drink, looking after him and the house and generally trying to make ends meet as he drinks away what little money they have.
It’s not long before school starts to pick up on the fact Jackie might be having problems at home and bring in social services. As things hit fever pitch and even Jackie has had enough, she’s placed into foster care. Just a temporary measure, Jackie is assured, just until her Dad admits he has a problem and gets himself some help.
And so she goes to live with the Wall family - mum, dad and their daughter Amanda who is a similar age to Jackie. It’s perhaps not quite as bad as out of the frying pan and into the fire, but even so life with Amanda, in some ways, is almost as bad as life with her Dad. Amanda has taken great exception to welcoming Jackie into the family and makes it very obvious she’d rather she wasn’t around.
Despite the themes of the narrative, this is quite a humorous story. Told in the first person by Jackie, she has, unsurprisingly given her background, an old head on her shoulders and is mostly unfazed by the often tense atmosphere within the Wall family household. Whilst you might expect Jackie to have gone off the rails somewhat after everything she’s gone through in her short life so far, it is in fact Amanda Wall who you need to be concerned about. There is often tension between Amanda and her parents, and it felt like poor Jackie was walking on eggshells trying to keep the peace and stop the family from tearing each other apart.
There are some poignant scenes in the book, but overall it is quite a light read. I liked all the characters. So many emotions to feel. Jackie is brilliant, funny, quite sensible and very deserving of the reader’s empathy. You feel for the foster parents with their dreadful teenage daughter, and the family dog had a character of his own too and was often referred to. A fabulous book which I enjoyed very much.
October 8, 2024
I loved this book! Its characters will stay with me. The narrator and protagonist, Jackie Chadwick, is a teenager of remarkable resilience and maturity. Her character and voice are vividly rendered and highly believable, in addition to being distinctive and engaging. The central figures around her also are depicted with wonderful humanity and feel thoroughly three-dimensional. The setting jumps off the page: England during the hot summer of 1976, complete with its music, magazines and TV programmes, fashion, and more.
Jackie handles a whole gamut of situations – from heartrending ones such as her father’s alcoholism and its consequences, to uncomfortable ones such as perceiving the secrets of members of the Wall family, who foster her – with a relatable mixture of empathy, care, self-possession, positivity and humour.
Indeed, in Fran Hill’s hands, humour reinforces the story’s poignancy. The author does not shirk from tough issues, but she does so with both a depth of feeling and a lightness of touch that feel natural because that combination perfectly befits Jackie’s character. So, sad moments alternate with laugh-out-loud ones, always (and movingly) threaded through by the protagonist’s emotions and discoveries. Jackie grows as the story unfolds, but so do the adults around her, as well as Amanda, the Walls’ teenage daughter. I loved the ending: a saccharine resolution is eschewed in favour of a satisfying, well earned evolution. Can’t wait to read more from Fran Hill.
Jackie handles a whole gamut of situations – from heartrending ones such as her father’s alcoholism and its consequences, to uncomfortable ones such as perceiving the secrets of members of the Wall family, who foster her – with a relatable mixture of empathy, care, self-possession, positivity and humour.
Indeed, in Fran Hill’s hands, humour reinforces the story’s poignancy. The author does not shirk from tough issues, but she does so with both a depth of feeling and a lightness of touch that feel natural because that combination perfectly befits Jackie’s character. So, sad moments alternate with laugh-out-loud ones, always (and movingly) threaded through by the protagonist’s emotions and discoveries. Jackie grows as the story unfolds, but so do the adults around her, as well as Amanda, the Walls’ teenage daughter. I loved the ending: a saccharine resolution is eschewed in favour of a satisfying, well earned evolution. Can’t wait to read more from Fran Hill.
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