Paradise Lodge

It's not easy being Lizzie Vogel. Following her attempts in Man at the Helm to civilize her dysfunctional relatives, now, in this stand-alone follow-up, in mid-1970s Britain at the age of 15, her horizons broaden. With a new stepfather on the scene, and at sea in her school, Lizzie turns her thoughts to securing the means to acquire such necessities as premium coffee and a dazzling array of hair care products. There's no turning back once she sees an advert for "outgoing, compassionate females of any age" needed at local care facility Paradise Lodge. We're not surprised when the name proves less than apt. Once on board, she unleashes her energy and sharp eye on the facility's unsuspecting residents and staff alike. The hodgepodge of misfits and eccentrics all have stories, and Lizzie soon finds in them an extension of her wacky and challenging family. When a spiffy new rival home opens, can Lizzie help to keep the leaky (in so many ways) vessel afloat?