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.
Fran is a Warwickshire-based author and probably-retired English teacher who wrote short pieces of fiction, non-fiction and poetry before deciding to make a little more effort. 'Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean?', her funny teacher-memoir, was published by SPCK in 2020 and 'Cuckoo in the Nest', her first full-length novel, came out with Legend Press in April 2023 in paperback, e-book and audio.