First published 2013
Marina lives in a cramped West London apartment with her fragile mother Laura and three elderly Hungarian relatives. At sixteen, she feels trapped by her family's rigid expectations and their fierce resistance to English ways. Their peculiar customs and unfamiliar meals mark her as different. She believes escape lies at Combe Abbey, the prestigious English boarding school her family has emptied their savings to afford. But arrival at the traditional institution only deepens her isolation. Marina discovers she cannot navigate the social codes of flirtation and belonging that come naturally to her classmates. Her mixed Hungarian and London identity leaves her suspended between worlds, fitting nowhere completely. Meanwhile, Laura struggles with her own displacement in England and confronts painful memories when an unexpected figure from her past reappears. As Laura becomes consumed by her personal crisis, she fails to recognize the serious troubles brewing around Marina at Combe Abbey.
Genres: literary-fiction, coming-of-age, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: West London, Combe Abbey
Period: 21st-century
288 pages · Paperback · Pan Macmillan Australia