The Bed and Breakfast Star

The Bed and Breakfast Star is a children's novel by British author Jacqueline Wilson.

Plot

The Bed and Breakfast Star is about a girl called Elsa, who is the narrator of the story. She is very cheerful and loves to tell jokes. Elsa lives happily with her mum until her mum falls in love with Mack the Smack, a Scottish man whom Elsa dislikes because he is extremely short-tempered and, as the nickname suggests, frequently uses smacking as a punishment. Elsa's mum marries Mack and they have Pippa, Elsa's now five-year-old sister. Mack has a job but loses it. Then Elsa's family move to her step-gran's (Mack's mother) house. After that, they move to another flat, because Mack had got another job. Later again, he gets another offer for a well-paid job and accepts it. Then they move to a lovely house and Hank is born. Mack then loses his job and they had to move in a bed and breakfast hotel ironically named "The Royal Hotel", which is a very untidy place with no management. One day a great fire breaks into the hotel (which Elsa discovers) and Elsa saves the people by waking them up because of her extremely loud voice. Elsa becomes a star and is interviewed by many reporters. Because of the damage caused by the fire, Elsa moves into "THE STAR HOTEL" a very well-managed place. The book ends with Elsa telling jokes to the readers.

Characters

Main

Elsa - A young girl who has experienced moving a lot when she was younger. She dreams of being a comedian when she is older, as she is always telling jokes, much to the annoyance of others. Elsa is good at looking after Pippa and adjusts to hotel life quickly. Her best friends are Naomi and Funny-face. Also she nicknames the hotel "The Oyal Htl" due to the missing lettering on the hotel front.
Pippa - Elsa's younger half-sister who is four, nearly five. Early on in the book she copies Elsa and follows her around.
Mack "the Smack" - Elsa's stepfather who is Scottish. Elsa calls him Mack the Smack because he frequently gets angry and hits her. After losing his job and being unable to find work, he and his family are forced to live at the Royal Hotel.
Elsa also refers to him as "The Big Twitty Scottish Berk in Room 608" and writes disparaging jokes about him in the bathroom.

Mum - Elsa's unnamed mother who gets very depressed after moving to the Royal and worries a lot about her appearance.

Naomi - Elsa's first friend and loves reading scary vampire books under the guise of Little Women and said she had been living in the Royal for six months, with her mother and younger brothers
"Funny-face" - A boy who is part of "The Famous Five", he laughs at Elsa's jokes and lives with his Mum on the fourth floor. He was never named.

Hank "the Hunk"- Elsa's baby half-brother who is overweight hence his nickname.

Other

The Manager - The careless manager of The Royal Hotel
The "Bunny" Recepetionist - She wears fluffy sweaters and flirts with The Manager
Mrs "Hoover" Macpherson - The cleaner who likes Elsa and Pippa because they help out
"Simple" Simon - A boy who tags along with the famous five. His mother is rude and he is five
"The Famous Five" - The gang which Elsa hangs out with and plays truant everyday
Ms Fisher - Teacher of the special class in the local primary school
Nicky, Neil and Nathan - Naomi's younger brothers
Naomi's mum - Naomi's mum who is a really nice cook
The Switchboard - Isn't very helpful and enjoys Jackie Collins and sweets

References