Fiona Tyler was disappointed when she learned that swimming was not allowed at Sea-Haze House, a school on a wild, rocky coast. Fiona also learned that Marina Brown, another pupil, was a mermaid who had “run away” from the sea to become a schoolgirl. Fiona was the only person who shared Marina’s secret.
Gertie Barrett was a fifteen-year-old Liverpool orphan. In the year 1905, she travelled six thousand miles to Otavi – in West Africa —to be housekeeper to Colonel Hartman and his two daughters Helga and Heidi.
Inga, a slave girl of Viking times, was sailing with Harald Strongarm and his band of Norwegians in search of new lands when she became a castaway on the English coast. She then met Padric, a friar, and his tame raven—Tuc. Padric thought that Harald was steering for islands off the north of Scotland, and offered to accompany Inga on her long and hazardous trek in order to catch up with Harald.
Vivian Stark, an absent-minded author, looked after his orphaned nieces and nephews —but the welfare authorities did not consider him capable of looking after the children and had decided that they must be taken from his care. But Uncle’s secretary rescued him and the children, and took them to her own house, where she defended them against the welfare lady.
Susan Johnson spent five years at an orphanage, after her parents were killed in an accident. Then, shortly after Susan’s fifteenth birthday, her father’s step-sister wrote to offer Susan a home. Susan wants to train as a nursery school assistant, but her aunt puts a stop to that, as she expects her to work in the family cafe and do all the housework. Then Susan sees a competition with Star Holidays, to travel all over the world as a junior hostess entertaining children. The competition involves several tests with merit stars rewarded to the winner of each test. She also has competition from her cousin Gwen, who is not pleased to see Sandra doing so well.
Poor orphan, Violet Trewley, was a new pupil at Grayswell, a small exclusive boarding school for girls. Beneath Violet’s sweet, demure manner was a calculating mind, and she quickly wormed her way into the girls’ lives, finding out their secrets, which she held over them for her own gain.
Karen Manders always followed the advice of her horoscope—especially when it concerned boyfriends!
Three hundred years ago , Joseph Smithson brought to justice the Blandingham witch, who swore that the number thirteen would bring about her revenge on the Smithson family. Thirteen generations later, on Tina Smithson’s thirteenth birthday, the witch’s stuffed cat disappeared from its glass case in the town’s museum . . . and an identical cat mysteriously attached itself to the Smithson household!
Jenna, a young gipsy girl, lived in the grounds belonging to the Duchess of Wexland with her old horse, Noah. In return, she tended the Duchess’s gardens. Jenna loved running and had just discovered that she could run faster than any other girl at Bradton Athletic Club—but she deliberately slowed down so that she would finish the race in third place! She did this because she wanted the third place prize of a tree, to give to the Duchess. Unfortunately through misunderstanding the Duchess now believes she was wrong about Jenna’s running potential.
While June Rose’s grandfather was in hospital, the new PT manager at Greenfield Hall gave June and her mother notice to quit their cottage on the estate. June’s mother arranged for them to live with June’s Aunt Margo in the city, but June hated the idea of leaving the country and her beloved garden. She brought her grandfather’s special begonias with her, planning to find someplace to grow them and enter them in a Horticultural show.
