Alice Mistlethwaite is being sent by her Aunt Patience to a school in the north west of Scotland, and she seriously doesn't want to go. Her aunt has had to sell the family home in London for reasons Alice doesn't understand, and she is convinced if her mum were still alive, the house would not have to go. Her mum had loved the house and was so jolly and fun that Alice is sure she would never have let the house and garden go, but four years ago when she died, everything changed, including Alice, who had become quiet and withdrawn and spent her time writing stories that only her father was allowed to read. Barney is away much of the time, but Alice depends on him for love and laughter and fun in her life, and she only half suspects that all is not as it should be with him. Aunt Patience is loving, but her love isn't the same, and so the house must go. The journey to Scotland on the train is an adventure due to Alice's meeting a boy, Jesse, going to Stormy Lock School too, and they become sort-of friends. The school is an unusual one, run by Major Fortescue, an eccentric chap who loves kittens and runs the school on his own rules. These rules give the pupils lots of space to do their own thing, but if they go too far, there can be 'Consequences' (always with a capital C). He also collects waifs and strays, but we don't find that out until later. It takes Alice time to find her feet in this new and strange atmosphere, but gradually she learns the system, even though occasionally she does things out of sync - like bombolating the gong for breakfast lots of times instead of the three she was supposed to do because of a sudden excess of emotion. She learns to love the beauty of the school, set by a lock, and she becomes fast friends with both Jesse and a rather know-it-all boy called Fergus. Barney, who is supposed to come with Aunt Patience to an open day, doesn't appear at the last minute, and Aunt Patience doesn't know why. This is typical of Barney, who is supposed to be an actor who travels a lot, but never tells them where. A mystery appears. Why has Barney sent Alice a parcel, telling her not to open it, and why has he also sent her a letter, telling her to meet him on an island where he used to spend time as a boy? To enjoy the adventure this takes Alice, Jesse and Fergus on means a considerable suspension of disbelief, but it's a great story with lots of sometimes very dangerous happenings, including being shot at by a famous woman thief and her henchmen, getting caught in a bog, Fergus getting seriously sick by eating raw oysters, and lots of escapes. Alice does find Barney on the island in the end, only to realise that he has got her into this situation because he is completely feckless and untrustworthy, as well as being a thief, and while she will always love him, she will not do his bidding any more. Because of the school and her new friendships - and the Major as well - she has come to know herself, to become the girl she once was before her mum's death - self-sufficient and full of life. It's a joyous, long novel, an un-put-downable read and one that children will enjoy whether they have lost a mum or discovered a father to be irresponsible or not. Great stuff!