The Cuckoo Sister Summary
Vivien Alcock

Everything you need to understand or teach The Cuckoo Sister by Vivien Alcock.

  • The Cuckoo Sister Summary & Study Guide

The Cuckoo Sister Summary

The Cuckoo Sister treats questions of personal growth, as well as identity and isolation in a family first torn by loss, then shocked by a possible restoration. Preteen Kate Seton is faced with the sudden addition to her affluent household of a lower-class girl named Rosie, who brings with her a mystery.

Either Rosie is Kate's older sister Emma, kidnapped as a baby years ago, or she is an unwanted child turned over to a wealthy family by an impoverished woman who read about the lost baby in the newspaper. The gripping story comes alive as Alcock develops it in the form of a memoir by Kate.

Kate and Rosie struggle to adjust to each other, trying to overcome not only their social differences, but also the flawed adults in their lives. The process of accepting Rosie's presence especially delivers Kate from longstanding behavioral problems which are seen...

(read more from the Short Guide)