School at the Chalet

I read the abridged version of this book first, and was thoroughly charmed by the adventures of Joey and her sister as they begin a boarding school in the Alps. I love that you not only get the antics of a group of girls and the young women starting the school, but the adventure of travelling to a new country, and learning new languages and ways. The language flows beautifully, but is complex enough that I'd recommend it for ages 9 and up. I struggled a bit with it when I was nine, but gradually my reading ability caught up as I reread the books. They are complex and fun enough that I read them as an adult, for comfort reading. This book is unfortunately unabridged, but the abridgements are not noticeable to the reader if you don't know what you are missing, though they are frequent enough to warrant an unabridged copy (Girls Gone By Press has recently republished an unabridged edition) if you are a big fan. But this is absolutely an amazing book, and not to be missed on any account, even if you just get the abridged one. Truly a great start to the series and fine as a stand alone as well.

With this book, we take our first steps into the world of the Chalet School - a series that eventually covered almost 30 years of the life of Jo Bettany. In this book, you will find why Madge started the School, and the difficulties Jo has with settling down to life in a school environment. Enrol in the Chalet School, and discover a forgotten world.