Opening Sentence: ‘…”It’s just not good enough, Sadie; you need to apply yourself more.”…’

Sadie is thirteen, her dad died four years ago, and she lives alone with her mum in their seaside B&B (bed and breakfast). Sadie just can’t seem to please anyone. She is getting bad grades at school and her mum thinks it is because she is not trying hard enough, and her teachers think she is just plain lazy. But lazy she is not – Sadie tries so hard to get her homework right, but she is tired as she helps her mum with the chores in the morning before school; and then again after school before homework time. Her aunt Leona is also visiting, which adds to the workload rather then easing it.

Sadie comes home from school to find her mother has collapsed; she is rushed off to hospital where she is diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Sadie’s mum pleads with her sister to stay and run the B&B for the three months that she has to stay in hospital. Without the income she will lose it all. Aunt Leona has other plans though, after a disastrous first day she runs off to the Canary Islands leaving Sadie alone. Sadie now has to run the inn with no cash, and keep up at school without letting either her mother or the school authorities know what is going on.

Sadie doesn’t believe she is good at anything, even though she tries so hard, however, with the help of a young home-schooled neighbour, the techno-geek Marcus, and her new friend the brainy Milly, Sadie manages to keep the B&B running and realises just how strong she really is and that she can stand up for herself.

Despite the seriousness of Sadie’s situation, the book is a fast, light read. It is a story of courage, mateship and character growth. The dialogue is realistic, and the story is funny, touching and a really good read. ( )

Sadie is an underachieving cut-up in Breakfast at Sadie's. Her mom is always bugging her to get her grades up, telling her she'd do better if she just worked harder. Her friends automatically hand over their homework for her to copy and make cracks about how dumb she is. When Sadie's mom is diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and has to spend several months in the hospital, unable to move, Sadie is left in the care of her young aunt. When Aunt Leona flits off on vacation, leaving Sadie by herself, Sadie takes over the bed & breakfast and quickly learns that she's hard-working and creative. She knows she can handle it, but she's afraid of what might happen if the authorities find out she's on her own, so she has to keep it a secret that she's the one running things. It's a fast-paced story and I kept turning the pages to find out if Sadie could really pull it off. Recommend this one to young entrepreneurs and for further reading about take-charge girls, hand them Joan Bauer's Hope Was Here and Catherine Murdock's Dairy Queen. ( )