Paradise Lodge

Paradise Lodge by Nina Stibbe, 274 pages

Fifteen-year-old Lizzie Vogel simply wants a bit of pocket money when she applies for a part-time job as a nurse's aide at Paradise Lodge, a convalescent home in Leicestershire. But after the manager abruptly leaves and Paradise Lodge begins to deteriorate, Lizzie starts spending more and more time at the home, becoming indispensable to the staff and residents, to the detriment of her grades. This is quite possibly the most British book I've ever read, and it was fantastic; the humor, the characters, the ridiculous situations, the overall tone was simply great. A lovely read.