Lizzie's leaving - Joan Lingard

Lizzie's parents were teenagers when her mother became pregnant, and her father didn't want the responsibility of a small baby. She has grown up with her mum, step-father and half-sister and is fed up with the pandemonium that always seems to reign at home. She jumps at the chance to go and stay with her real father and his family, only to discover that her step-mother just wants her to stay and act as babysitter for her new step-sister. Lizzie learns that there is more to be said for home thanshe had realised.

Joan Lingard was born in Edinburgh and grew up in Belfast where she lived until she was eighteen. She is particularly well-known for her quintet of young adult titles about Kevin and Sadie and their love across the religious divide during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The series begins with THE TWELFTH DAY OF JULY.
In 1998 Joan was awarded an MBE for distinguished service to children's literature. She lives in Edinburgh and is married, with three children and five grandchildren.