Eve Sturridge is the head teacher extraordinaire at one of the most prestigious independent schools in the country. Boasting a rating of outstanding, Ivy House attracts the creme de le creme of the uber rich, including the latest recruits, the Sorensons. But just when it seems that the school’s landed the biggest coup yet, Eve begins to realise that Ivy House is failing to cater for those children with extra needs. With Eve’s eye on the ball at school, unfortunately her attention slips off matters closer to home and in particular her eldest daughter, Zoe, who’s got herself into a spot of bother. Kathryn Flett proves herself to be a skilled, versatile writer, particularly at home here with the social comedy of manners, as well as hugely adept at capturing her characters’ idioms, often with a incisively witty turn of phrase. Unfortunately though, the story and plotting lets this one down a bit. It’s a case of trying to do too much and as a consequence some of the storylines fizzle out without fully developing, and so too some of the characters. As much as I was hoping this one was going to be outstanding, unfortunately it fell a bit short, but nonetheless it’s clear that Flett is a born writer. (JC)
Outstanding, by Kathryn Flett, is a morality tale about mothers and daughters and how we raise our children. The summary says: "Eve Sturridge, a high-flying divorcee and mother of two girls, is head teacher of Ivy House, an Ofsted 'Outstanding' prep school in Sussex. Eve is passionate about her school and its pupils. When Danish power couple, Stefan and Anette Sorenson, jet in and choose Ivy House over other schools, Eve is justifiably proud. The Sorensons are A-listers who bring an aura of style and power to Ivy House. Zoe is Eve's pretty seventeen-year-old daughter. Unlike her mother, Zoe's not so keen on school. She prefers sending nude selfies to her boyfriend. When glamorous Stefan Sorenson proposes that Zoe interns at his company and invites her to accompany him to New York, Zoe is over the moon with excitement, while Eve is too focused on Ivy House to smell danger."