A Spoonful of Jam — Michelle Magorian

A rich and dramatic story of a young girl who manages to overcome many obstacles in her attempts to lead a normal life after World War II

The war is over, but Elsie is still fighting her own battles. She's bullied because she's the only scholarship pupil at the grammar school, and she has an awkward relationship with her father as he struggles to assume a normal life after fighting in the war. But when she begins working at the local theater, Elsie discovers she can escape . . . A Spoonful of Jam is the second of The Hollis Family books, following Cuckoo in the Nest.