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.
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Cuckoo In The Nest by Fran Hill was published in paperback on 23 April 2023 by Legend Press. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
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.
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Cuckoo In The Nest is her first full-length work of fiction.
She has written extensively for the Times Educational Supplement and lives in Warwickshire with her gardener husband.
Instagram @franhill123
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