A Chalet Girl from Kenya (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

(Amazon UK link)

Somehow, even when they get samey, I can't stop reading 'Chalet School' books when I'm in the mood for them. Elinor M Brent-Dyer wrote several in the series that were remarkably similar. Yet she kept some overall plot lines going through the fifty-plus books in the series, and while I've read them all more than once, they're great for relaxation when I'm on holiday.

'A Chalet Girl from Kenya' features Jo Scott. She is a goddaughter to Joey Maynard, although Joey doesn't know about this at first. Jo turns out to be the daughter of one of her old school friends, with whom she had lost touch until, but an admittedly unlikely coincidence, they bump into each other.

Jo Scott is sent to the Chalet School while her parent are abroad. She settles in well, unlike some of the more difficult students in the series. She's a pleasant girl, who makes friends relatively easily.

Alas, life is not particularly kind to Jo. But when tragedy strikes, Joey Maynard takes her to her heart. I found this story very moving in places, and thought it one of the better books in the series.

Best to read after at least a few of the earlier ones, but definitely recommended as part of the series.

(You can also read my slightly longer review of 'A Chalet Girl from Kenya' written after I re-read it again, fourteen years later).