Old Friends, New Friends

A British college student and her birth mother each struggle with questions of love and loyalty in this novel set in the early 1970s.

Eighteen-year-old Debbie Hargreaves is heading to agricultural college in Leeds, England, where she'll be sharing digs with three girls she's never met before. Although they're all from very different backgrounds, Debbie soon becomes firm friends with shy Lisa, outspoken Karen, and cool, self-assured Fran. Over the coming months, the four flatmates will share tears and laughter, drama and heartbreak, and the excitement of new romance.

At the same time, Debbie's birth mother, Fiona Norwood, is struggling to cope with four young children and her duties as a rector's wife. The arrival of a new babysitter should be the answer to her prayers—but Glenda's open flirting with Fiona's husband soon sets tongues wagging. Is Fiona's marriage really under threat?

As Fiona worries that her marriage may be in danger, Debbie is loving her newfound independence—and the male attention she attracts. But the time may come when her roots back in Northumberland call to her . . .

This heartwarming novel comes from the author of Families and Friendships, about which Booklist commented: "Readers who found refuge with Father Tim in Jan Karon's Mitford series may also enjoy getting to know the people of Aberthwaite."