Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you’re all well.
A few weeks ago I wrote an article titled The Jacqueline Wilson Books that traumatised me. I knew I’d eventually write a part 2 to the original piece, Jacqueline has several books and I devoured every single one back in the day. I was supposed to meet her in September of last year in Bath, however, my second train was cancelled. My sister and I ended up stranded in Gloucester. Everyone in my office knew this happened, and my colleague very sweetly gifted me Project Fairy after getting my name for Secret Santa. I promised myself that I’d get tickets for her next meet-and-greet no matter how far away it was.
The meet-up I went to happened to be in Lewes. I live just outside of Birmingham, and getting to East Sussex meant three and a half hours on the train including a pitstop in London. Even Jacqueline couldn’t believe I’d travelled so far, though I later found out a fan from Australia had flown over to see her so I guess she was being kind. She was wonderful, just as lovely as you'd hope. I’ve listened to and watched so many podcasts and interviews with her over the years and she was just as gracious as she always comes across, making it a point to have an engaging conversation with everyone. She complimented my nail polish, my name and after listening to me ramble on about how much I admired her and how Jacky Daydream inspired me to be a writer, she proclaimed me her ‘Number One Fan’. What could be better than your Year 5 hero calling you that?
I stood behind her for my photo initially but she said 'Karisma, come sit next to me!' Perhaps that.
Going back to the books, I haven’t seen as many people talk about Secrets when Jacqueline’s novels are a topic of conversation. What attracted me to the book was the character India on the front cover - she had fiery red hair, as does my best friend Chloe who got me into Jacqueline's books in the first place. In Secrets, India lives on a wealthy estate with her parents. Her parents evidently love her, though her father’s alcoholism and her mother’s controlling behaviour make India’s home life very hard. She befriends Treasure, who lives in the despairing estate around the corner with her grandmother. Her living situation is new, a result of her mother’s boyfriend attacking her with a belt leaving her with a sizeable scar on her forehead.
There are several references to Anne Frank and her story throughout the book; India in particular has an affinity for the diarist, going as far as to address her own diary as ‘Kitty’ throughout the text. This was probably the only character trait I could relate to having recently read Anne’s diary. For those of you who haven’t, it’s an incredibly thought-provoking piece of work. Anne is a prime example of intrapersonal intelligence, hyperaware of her flaws and the impact she has on others. She’s also very analytical, observing the behaviour traits of those in hiding with her. Without sounding too self-centered, I believe this generation lacks a massive amount of self-awareness and has a tendency to blame anyone other than themselves for their hardships. From that frustration alone, Anne’s diary is a refreshing read.
India and Treasure bond over their dysfunctional families and realise they share an enjoyment for writing. There are similarities to Lola Rose; both books see the main characters running away from domestic violence. Secrets differs in that the likes of a custody battle are involved, and solved.
Dustbin Baby is by far Jacqueline’s most distressing novel. If the title doesn’t give enough away, protagonist April is abandoned by her mother shortly after her birth in a bin behind a pizza restaurant. She is called April due to the incident occurring on April Fool’s Day.
The plot is a cascading domino line of unsettling events, including but not limited to the suicide of April’s adopted mother, the divorce between her adopted parents and the physical and emotional abuse April encounters within various foster homes. Character-wise, April wears her heart on her sleeve throughout the text; crying is her response to almost everything, and she finds herself involuntarily doing so at inconvenient times. I find that trait very relatable now, having fallen apart in shopping queues a few times as a teenager. Whenever I reminisce with friends over how agonising Jacqueline’s texts had the tendency to be, Dustin Baby is always the one we agree was the most triggering.
My mum bought Lily Alone for me the week before my Year 6 residential, specifically so I’d have something to read on the coach trip to Cornwall. I finished the book in two sittings; the way there and the way back. The titular character Lily is eleven in the book, the same age I was when I read the text, but that was the only thing we had in common.
Lily and her four younger siblings, Baxter, Bliss and Pixie, are left home alone whilst their mother goes on holiday with her new boyfriend. Their mother puts together a convoluted plan for Bliss and Baxter’s father to take care of them but leaves for the trip without anything confirmed. Lily takes on a motherly role, trying to sort meals and enforce bedtimes, but everything falls apart when the kids accidentally lock themselves outside their house. They decide to camp out in the park until their mother returns with disastrous results - one of the children falls from a tree, breaking her leg, and Lily is forced to call emergency services.
Prior to this, Lily’s class teacher visits the house. The man gave me creepy vibes even as an eleven-year-old, and Lily’s classmates confess to her they find his demeanor unsettling. Lily however takes a liking to him and is flustered to see him on her doorstep. He uses the excuse of checking in, as Lily and her siblings have been calling in sick to school. It’s later revealed that he made the call to social services resulting in their mother's return and arrest. In retrospect, he should have turned himself in during the process.
Clean Break was one of my favourite books and I heartbreakingly left the book on a plane when I was nine. It’s one of those texts in which your opinion regarding the characters, their situation and the decisions they make changes entirely when you reflect as an adult. The protagonist is Em, a bookworm with two younger siblings. She lives with her mother, her grandmother and the father of her brother and sister. The book begins on Christmas morning when the father, Frankie, handing out gifts to the three children. Em receives an emerald ring which Frankie insists is real, a homage to the affectionate nickname he has for his stepdaughter. Later in the day, Em hears Frankie speaking to a woman on the phone, telling her he’s desperate to see her and that he plans to after Christmas. It’s apparent he’s having an affair.
I remember rooting for Frankie throughout the text, hoping he would eventually go back to the family and being delighted with the ending of the book. Whilst it’s not explicitly stated, it’s heavily implied Frankie returns to the family the following Christmas day. The grandmother expresses disapproval for Frankie throughout the text, insisting the family are better off without him. It’s easy for young readers to classify her as a villain and conventiantly, she is absent from the closing chapter. Looking back, she’s probably the only member of the family who was right.
Frankie makes fleeting returns throughout the text, at one point collecting the three children from school and driving for hours to take them to the seaside. The trip is disastrous, for the family arrive late at night with the majority of shops and resources closed. Eventually, the already-useless father makes it a point to avoid the children altogether. There's a moment when Em takes her ring to a pawn shop and the staff tell her the emerald is fake, which she refuses to believe despite knowing of Frankie's dishonesty.
One aspect of the book I always enjoyed was the character Jenna Williams, a parody of Jacqueline herself. When writing the book, Jacqueline wondered what kind of bookworm Em would be and whether she’d ever enjoy one of her own books. Several of Jacqueline’s previous texts are mentioned in the novel, such as Lola Rose, though Jenna’s version of the text is entitled Flora Rose. Em’s mother eventually takes her to meet Jenna, a chapter in which Jacqueline describes what her own meet and greets are like.
And after last week, I can assure you she’s truly wonderful.
Thank you for reading everyone!
Autumn is coming and I can hardly wait.
Be sure to follow me on Instagram @thethinkingtrain. See you in September!
Karisma
xxx