Lynne Reid Banks

On his ninth birthday a boy receives many presents. Two of them first seem to be less important: an old cupboard from his brother and a little indian figure made of plastic from his best friend. But these two presents turn out to be much more magic than the rest (imdb)

Jane, a young French woman, pregnant and unmarried, takes a room in a seedy London boarding house, which is inhabited by an assortment of misfits. She considers getting an abortion, but is unhappy with this solution. She falls into a relationship with Toby, a struggling young writer who lives on the first floor... (imdb)