One day while Primrose's Dad was on his daily hunting trip in the harbor, a bad storm rolled in, and he didn't come back home at his usual time. Her mother, in desperation to rescue her father, set out in a rowboat to find the fishing boat in the midst of the storm. That is the day Primrose lost both of her parents, or at least that's what everyone else believes. Primrose has a gut feeling, deep down inside, that her parents are still alive somewhere. She believes they must have washed up on a nearby island and just haven't been found yet.
Meanwhile, after a month of babysitting fees had been drained from her parents' estate, she was placed in her only known relatives' home. This relative was named Uncle Jack. Uncle Jack is a single Navy man with no experience in raising children. Primrose is ok with the placement because she feels like her parents will be home any day now. One of her favorite places to go while at Uncle Jack's is a restaurant called The Girl in the Swing, a place that serves all of their food on a waffle. The end of each chapter features a short recipe for items mentioned throughout the story. 150 pgs, pb. ~ Brianna
Primrose Squarp simply knows her parents did not perish at sea during a terrible storm, but try convincing the other residents of Coal Harbour on that score. For all practical purposes, at least for the time being, Primrose is an orphan, and there's no great clamoring of prospective adopters.
After realizing the impracticality of continuing to pay Miss Perfidy (a mothball-scented elderly lady) an hourly wage to baby-sit her, the town council is able to locate a relative, Uncle Jack, who reluctantly takes Primrose into his care. Primrose does warm up to living with him and in his home, despite the eerie noises resembling a hockey game that haunt her in the night. But true sanctuary can always be found at a restaurant called The Girl in the Swing, where everything—including lasagna—is served on a waffle, and where the proprietor, Miss Bowzer, offers a willing ear, as well as sage advice. Through a mixture of eccentric humor and probing philosophy, author Polly Horvath makes Primrose's search for peace and understanding a most memorable one.
