The birthday present Floss would like most would be for her parents to be a family again. But what she gets from her mum and her new step-dad, Steve, and her baby half-brother, Tiger, is the fact that they are all moving to Australia for six months so Steve can take on a new job. Floss soon realises that this means leaving her dad behind and she must make a choice between going and staying. It isn't at all easy, but she chooses to stay with her inept, loser of a father, who loves her to bits and makes life huge fun. What she doesn't realise is that dad is about to lose his run-down cafe, where he makes 'the best chip butties in the world', and that they will soon be homeless. In this long and often complex novel, we see Flossie coping with separation from her well-loved mum, being positive about her dad's money problems, learning that her so-called best friend Rhiannon is actually an unpleasant, name-calling bully, and that quiet, bright Susan makes a much better friend. She and dad also become part of a fairground troop and take on a new life, with a possible new relationship for dad - at least for the summer season. What will happen when mum returns isn't clear, but Flossie and her dad seem capable of coping with whatever life throws at them so long as they can cope together. Highly readable as always with Jacqueline Wilson. Flossie growns up considerably and comes to terms with her split family and her own emotions.