Cuckoo in the Nest, Fran Hill’s debut novel, is a coming-of-age tale set during the 1976 heatwave in the UK. Following her mother’s death, 14-year-old Jackie Chadwick looks after herself and her alcoholic father until school authorities intervene and place a reluctant Jackie into foster care. We meet her as she’s dropped off with the Walls, a family of three who poignantly mirror Jackie’s own family in better days. First-time foster parents[*] Nick and Bridget gamely take Jackie on short notice but their daughter, Amanda, resents Jackie’s intrusion.
Hill neatly sidesteps several typical portrayals of troubled youth, and the delightfully funny Jackie is a triumph for it. While Jackie’s clearly a good kid thrust into difficult circumstances, she’s still a snarky teen—one who wishes her once beloved father would act like an adult or even just answer a few questions of hers. Often forced to act the adult, Jackie is an interesting mixture of too mature for her age yet socially inexperienced, which is coupled with a good sense of self that lets her pursue her passion (writing poetry) and earn good grades. It’s a combination the elder Walls admire and puts her at odds with the more worldly if academically indolent Amanda.
Despite her less than warm welcome, Jackie works on navigating the Walls household, friendships, potential romantic interests, and school life. She discovers a kindred spirit in Nick (a new teacher at her school) who quickly becomes Uncle Nick. Yet secrets abound in Cuckoo in the Nest. As the temperature rises, Jackie, a sharp to hypervigilant observer,[†] senses some strange undercurrents in the Walls home that suggest they might not be the normal, stable family they appear to be.
Cuckoo in the Nest ponders dynamics of both found and genetic families and reveals the often messy realities of people who love one another and sometimes deceive each other—with potentially devastating consequences. However, Cuckoo is by no means a sad novel: Jackie is a resilient character and her determination to live her life is remarkable. Some sensitive situations are explored throughout this novel; however, Fran Hill keeps to the emotional heart of these moments without resorting to graphic depictions or language, making this book generally suitable for younger (YA) readers as well as adults.
Cuckoo in the Nest[‡] and Hill’s memoir, Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean?, can be purchased here: https://linktr.ee/franhill123.
NOTES:
[*]Hill makes an excellent choice in making both the Walls and Jackie new to fostering, as it puts them on equally uncertain ground, which immediately ratchets the tension (eg, veteran families would make Jackie feel more welcome by concealing that she wasn’t their ideal match or understand they get whatever are available).
[†]Hypervigilance is a common response to trauma, particularly in children who grow up in significantly dysfunctional/abusive homes.
[‡]Cuckoo in the Nest is available in United States in October 2023, but you can purchase it earlier from the UK like I did if you’re unwilling to wait.
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