Breakfast at Sadie's

Sadie’s best friend has moved to Australia and Sadie can’t talk to her mum either because they row so much about poor school results. It seems that no matter how hard she tries, she can’t do anything right. When her mother goes into hospital, Sadie and her aunt have to take over the running of mum’s B&B. However, at 21 Aunt Leona is much less mature than her 14-year-old niece, and abandons Sadie to run the B&B on her own for the last two weeks of the school year. Juggling home and school would be impossible were it not for some creative lying and help from the eccentric but gifted Marcus, the home-schooled ‘weedy little dweeb’ who lives next door. During these weeks, Sadie unexpectedly finds a new friend at school and gains a new appreciation of Marcus, of her year head, and most importantly of herself.

This is a lively and engaging book, humorous and full of incident. Perhaps the plot stretches credulity a little but the very varied characters are convincing and involving. A fast-paced and entertaining novel, accessible and enjoyable for a wide range of readers.