'We're going to live on a Thames barge, Lydia, ' Dad said quickly. 'All of us.' 'Dad.' I said, finally, as calmly as I could. 'I hope this is one of your jokes, as that will absolutely, completely ruin my life. Sorry. No.' It's 1979, and Lydia has no idea how she'll cope when her dad announces that the family has to sell up and move onto a Thames sailing barge in Essex.

With Dad's girlfriend. And her three kids. Between trying to keep her clothes dry in a leaky cabin, disastrous hair-dye attempts, awkward encounters with local boys, and coping with her suddenly enormous and troublesome family, Lydia fears she'll sink rather than swim. But to her surprise, Lydia manages to keep her head above the water, even as her father drowns his sorrows in drink. With a little help from her friend Kay, Lydia finds she has the courage to face even the choppiest of waters. Mud is an achingly funny and touching story for anyone who has been thrown in at the deep end.