It has been years since I’ve read my last Jenny Colgan book. However, when I saw the books in the “The School by the Sea” series, I knew I wanted to read them someday. Somehow, books set in boarding schools are always appealing to me and that’s no different here. I decided to listen to the Dutch audiobook for thsi first installment, Welcome to the School by the Sea.

About the book

Welcome to the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan
Series: The School by the Sea #1
Published by Avon on March 29, 2022
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9780063141711
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, General fiction, Romance

The first book of Jenny Colgan’s delightful new four-part series, set at a charming English boarding school on the sea.

Maggie went to the window and opened it wide, inhaling the lovely salt air off the sea. Why had she never lived by the sea before? Why had she always looked out on housing estates and not the little white hulls of trawlers bobbing off in the distance?

It’s gloriously sunny in Cornwall as the school year starts at the little boarding school by the sea. Maggie, the newest teacher at Downey House, is determined to make her mark. She’s delighted by her new teaching job, but will it come at the expense of her relationship with her safe, dependable boyfriend Stan?

Simone is excited and nervous: she’s won a scholarship to the prestigious boarding school and wants to make her parents proud. Forced to share a room with the glossy, posh girls of Downey House, she needs to find a friend, fast.

Fliss is furious. She’s never wanted to go to boarding school and hates being sent away from her home. As Simone tries desperately to fit in, Fliss tries desperately to get out.

Over the course of one year, friendships will bloom and lives will be changed forever. Life at the Little School by the Sea is never dull…

My review

My reading experiences with books by this author are okay. They are not outstanding or difficult, but rather enjoyable. These books are great in-betweeners you can read at any given time, but especially when you don’t want to think about anything whilst reading. I expected this to be no different for this book. From the blurb, I could arleady tell that this would be a multiple POV read, which I often find a bonus.

We follow multiple characters in this story. Therefore, it’s heavy on POV switching, but it’s really easy to follow. All characters have been written okay. They all have ttheir reasons to be at Downey house, whether they want it or not. Dr. Veronica Deverall is the head mistress and due to small glimpses, we get to know more about her. She keeps really private about her past, and slowly we find out why. Then there’s Maggie Adair, the English teacher who gave up her teaching job in Glasgow to gain new experiences. She has a hard time finding her place at the school and she also has no idea whether her relationship with her long-term boyfriend Stan will survive this change of scenery. I hated Stan to be honest, I didn’t understand why Maggie stayed with him. The other characters we follow are two students: the rich Fliss and the less fortunate Simone. They are totally different people and that shows. Due to quick POV switches, we get to know all these characters bit by bit, but not into much depth.

I think the writing is what you could expect from such a novel. It’s just a quick read with dito writing. It’s again okay, but it still makes you want to read more and more. Colgan’s books are therefore perfect for holidays or busy times. Not too difficult, but they still suck you in.

The storyline is really straight forward. We follow the characters during an entire school year on a boarding school. This involves lots of drama and intrigue, but nothing too extreme. Therefore, it’s such an easy feelgood novel to consume. I didn’t have issues with it, it’s just less emotional and such than what I have otherwise been reading so far this year. However, it’s a lovely change.

Welcome to the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan is such an easy, enjoyable read. It’s not too difficult, but heavy on POV switching. This is not inherently bad, just be aware of this. The characters are written fine for the storyline and the writing isn’t that spectacular either. However, it still manages to suck you in and makes you want to keep reading. Are you going on a getaway? This book will be perfect company.