Selina's New Family

by Anne Pilgrim, Mabel Esther Allan

Selina is faced with adjustments when her mother remarries, and she gains a stepfather and step-siblings all at once.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

A pseudonym of Mabel Esther Allan.

Reviews

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Selina loves her life in Liverpool with her mother, so it is a shock when her mother tells her she is getting married again, to an irishman, and they will be going to live in Galway, where he keeps a bookshop. Selina hates leaving Liverpool and is resentful of her new stepfather and her stepbrother Connal. But gradually the charm of ireland works its spell on her, and she can't help loving Connal's beautiful dog Paddy O'Day. But she can't get rid of her jealousy and resentment at having to share her mother with others. This is a very enjoyable story of an unhappy girl learning to adjust to a new life, and having to come to terms with big changes.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been thinking about this one. As in most of her books, MEA's delight in the landscape and culture of a new place, Ireland in this book, is contagious. Selina is believable. But it's a bit of a slog to read, because Selina spends most of the book so angry with her mother about her new stepfather. Her black mood causes her to be cool even with her stepbrother's dog, which secretly she loves and knows loves her. It's page 158 of 200 pages before her feelings shift, and page 176 before she apologises to her stepfather (delay caused by a needlessly dramatic event). I think I'd have enjoyed it more if she'd got over herself earlier and we'd got more of her new life in Ireland.

The book is free on the Internet Archive.