Read in 2016 - 5: Seagulls in the Attic

The second book by Tessa Hainsworth about her family moving from London to Cornwall and starting a new life there was as enjoyable as the first one.

By now, we find the author fully settled in her work as a postwoman. Her children have made many friends and seem to go through their daily lives entirely trouble-free. Her husband still works at a café to make ends meet, but has also found work as an actor again. This takes him away from the family home for months, with only brief visits in between, but that does not cause any major problems, either.

In her spare time, Tessa works on her allotment, raises a baby seagull, tries to find her son's pet snake* and helps with the planning of a wedding.

There isn't a minute boredom in her life, and she greatly enjoys Cornwall's wonderful landscape and being so close to the Sea.

The reader meets again some of the characters that were introduced in the first book, but new ones also appear - some less pleasant than others.

In the first book, I liked the division into chapters according to the months of the year. This one is not quite so "neat", but we still follow the family for a whole year. They even manage to have a camping holiday together, but the year's highlight is certainly their friends' wedding, which is described in amazingly little detail.

Of course, the book leaves room for more, and I will soon read the 3rd one of the series.

*In my opinion, snakes don’t make good pets. I am just not convinced that the average family home can offer a suitable environment for a snake, in order for it to live its life the way a snake is supposed to. Also, as recommendable as it is from Tessa to try and overcome her snake phobia to make her son happy, maybe there would have been other ways to help a little boy developing his sense of responsibility and indulge his love for animals.