Stay in Your Own Back Yard

Book excerpt: Two families are united in love and friendship, yet will ambition threaten their future happiness? Joan Jonker introduces Nellie McDonough and Molly Bennett, two of her most popular characters, for the first time in this heart-warming Liverpool saga, Stay in Your Own Back Yard. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Sheila Newberry. In her terraced house in Liverpool, Molly Bennett struggles to bring up four children on her husband's meagre wage. But Molly doesn't complain; she has an abundance of things money can't buy - and a home filled with love and laughter. When her eldest daughter, Jill, is offered a place at high school, Molly is racked with guilt. She needs Jill working to relieve their poverty. But Jill eases Molly's conscience by getting herself a job in a baker's shop while signing up for night school. Molly's best mate is Nellie McDonough; they spend hours laughing, gossiping and lending a helping hand to others. And when they discover one of their neighbours is being beaten by her violent husband, the friends roll up their sleeves and take action. Meanwhile, Jill starts dating Nellie's son, Steve, and both families are delighted. But Jill lands herself an office job that takes her into a world beyond the confines of their close-knit community and she and Steve seem to be drifting apart... What readers are saying about Stay in Your Own Back Yard: 'If you want a feel good factor book then get in your comfy chair and snuggle up. Joan Jonker will make you laugh, and she will make you cry. But she will leave you wanting more and more of her books' 'Great story and characters. A funny, friendly and lovely family story. You are carried away and become part of the family'