A Chalet Girl From Kenya
Synopsis:
Joey Maynard is astonished when a letter from Maisie Gomm arrives out of the blue. Joey hasn't heard from Maisie since she was at St Scholastika's at the Tiernsee, and yet it transpires that not only has Maisie named her only daughter Josephine Mary after Joey herself, but she is sending her to the Chalet School this term. Maisie and her husband Paul Scott live on a coffee plantation in Nyeri, Kenya, and the political situation there makes it too dangerous to have 14 year old Jo with them any more.
Jo is used to boarding school ways and soon settles down, becoming firm friends with Joey's other namesake, Josette Russell, and being co-opted into Mary-Lou Trelawney's Gang. Apart from a brief but nasty altercation with Ruth Wilson, the most overbearing of the prefects, everything seems to be going well for her. Then Joey Maynard hears on the radio that her parents have gone missing from their plantation after reports of terrorist activity in the Nyeri area. Given her position as Jo's 'unofficial godmother', Joey feels she must be the one to break the news to the child and take responsibility for her.
The doctors at the San have decided that little Leila Elstob, who has tuberculosis, may now be strong enough for her operation. Leila undergoes extensive surgery on her hip and comes through the operation but is left very ill. Although she is not a Chalet School pupil, the School at large has 'adopted' her and everyone is anxious to hear news of her.
As term wears on, the summer heat becomes intense and the girls are taken down to Lake Thun for regular bathing, much to their delight. Summer term also means traditionally an end of term show and after much discussion among the prefects, Barbara Chester's idea of floral tableaux, Jo Scott's 'girls of all nations' show and Mary-Lou's 'gymkhana' - without horses - are decided upon and make a delightful display for the School and its guests.
contributed by Christina Erskine, England __ working from a paperback edition
As the link suggests, it gives more of the story - without, of course
giving everything away!