The Sick Girl by Alison Lennox

When Mary Lennox was sent to Missothwaite Manor, everybody said she was the most disagreeable looking child ever seen. The novel actually opens in India where nine-year-old Mary lives with her English parents. Her mother is a beautiful party animal who keeps her daughter a secret from her fashionable friends and doesn't really want anything to do with Mary. She's neglected and because of this is incredibly self-absorbed. But it's hard not to feel sorry for Mary because she is a product of her treatment and a lack of nurturing.