Alphabet Cousins

Kate, recently orphaned, is sent to live with her cousins in Devon; her reluctance to take up a different way of life is compounded when she's sent to - horror! - a state school, and, implausibly, demoted from secondary to primary. She decides, predictably enough, to run away; when this is thwarted she finds other ways of being unpleasant to her new family, even though she grudgingly finds herself appreciating and finally accepting the affection and concern they offer. A omewhat old-fashioned story of spoilt-little-rich-girl-makes-good; its strength is the depiction of chaotic, warmhearted family life.