Jacqueline Wilson

I re-read girls under pressure for the first time in probably about 16 years. Still as descriptive about binge eating and bulimia as I remember

capriallie said:

I re-read girls under pressure for the first time in probably about 16 years. Still as descriptive about binge eating and bulimia as I remember

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It's an awful way to portray EDs in a 13 year old (who acts about 17) then aiming it at adolescents. Ellie's very suddenly 'cured' at the end too, so unrealistic.

Jasmine's Dad in Midnight seems to be an alright character from what I remember? (Not Violet's, he was awful)

Millennial Pink said:

Is it just Dick and Fanny together that are deemed unacceptable?

I used to know a Dick in real life, but he was at least 50. Never met a Fanny.

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Fanny is weirdly not an uncommon name as a shortening for Frances in France and other European countries. I’ve met a couple of Fannies and it stops being funny once you’re used to it strangely Fell out of use in the UK for obvious reasons but surely the slang’s been around since the 50s or 60s?

Just did a fanny search on linked in, they’re just randomers not my contacts

When they filmed Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazon they changed Letitia's name (in the books she was known as Titty).

It makes me wonder which names we have now will end up being slang in a few decades - imagine a fairly inoffensive name like Jess coming to mean penis

bcfc999 said:

It makes me wonder which names we have now will end up being slang in a few decades - imagine a fairly inoffensive name like Jess coming to mean penis

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I dont have children but choosing names must be a minefield

bcfc999 said:

It makes me wonder which names we have now will end up being slang in a few decades - imagine a fairly inoffensive name like Jess coming to mean penis

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A modern example is “Karen”

bcfc999 said:

It makes me wonder which names we have now will end up being slang in a few decades - imagine a fairly inoffensive name like Jess coming to mean penis

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The name Corey already means penis where I'm from

I hate the fact it’s a trend on TikTok atm today her books were sooooo traumatising how were kids even allowed to read them???

As a child who grew up in an abusive home I devoured them! They weren’t traumatising, they were real. Every other book had perfect families and it was just not relatable for me. Her books made me feel normal almost? Like I knew other children at school had these perfect families and it was nice to know I wasn’t alone

LaBlonde said:

i know!! the times where she does try and make them “nice” they turn into absolute wet blankets (to my memory anyway ) i’m desperately trying to remember a decent JW man now.

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The dad in Candyfloss

Bruce from The Diamond Girls (I think?)

I was a bit too old for most of JW’s books, but I did love a couple of her earlier books - one called This Girl, which was about a girl called Coral who goes to work as a nanny for a very middle-class family, and a short series called something like Is There Anybody There? which was about a teenage girl who keeps being possessed by the spirit of a Victorian girl. I remember really loving those although the first one was quite ‘adult’ in its themes.

Wynonna said:

The dad in Candyfloss

Bruce from The Diamond Girls (I think?)

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My daughters reading Diamond Girls as her school reading book ATM. Not loving it myself but we aren't that far in.

scouseconstantine said:

I hate the fact it’s a trend on TikTok atm today her books were sooooo traumatising how were kids even allowed to read them???

As a child who grew up in an abusive home I devoured them! They weren’t traumatising, they were real. Every other book had perfect families and it was just not relatable for me. Her books made me feel normal almost? Like I knew other children at school had these perfect families and it was nice to know I wasn’t alone

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Exactly this, I had a really dysfunctional childhood and her books felt comforting.

I think they’re quite a safe way to introduce children to various social and domestic issues.

I will say some of her books aren’t too clear which are for teens and which are for children, and I did read some of the teenage ones when I was probably a bit too young, but it didnt

scouseconstantine said:

I hate the fact it’s a trend on TikTok atm today her books were sooooo traumatising how were kids even allowed to read them???

As a child who grew up in an abusive home I devoured them! They weren’t traumatising, they were real. Every other book had perfect families and it was just not relatable for me. Her books made me feel normal almost? Like I knew other children at school had these perfect families and it was nice to know I wasn’t alone

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i totally agree with this. one of the first JW books I read was the Suitcase Kid at a time when my parents were going through a very messy divorce & didn't know any other kids at the time whose parents were divorced - or certainly not due to an affair, and then court battles and arguments - it was awful, but reading that book made me feel less alone, and help "normalise" the idea of parent's divorcing and the horrible situations it can cause, and reassured me that it as just me going through it.

and the same with the topic of the majority of the dads in the stories being abusive or just pretty nasty guys - again, I really related to that, as it fit with the behaviour of my own father. and while many of her hooks have certain similar themes, she covers such a wide range of topics that it is very likely that there will be a book that had a relatable storyline ot most children, whatever they are going through or issues they are having in their home life etc. her books are not "traumatising" - many kids have traumatising experiences in their childhood and JW's books can help your process stuff that is/has happened, and give you that comfort in feeling less alone.

CatCafe234 said:

I was a bit too old for most of JW’s books, but I did love a couple of her earlier books - one called This Girl, which was about a girl called Coral who goes to work as a nanny for a very middle-class family, and a short series called something like Is There Anybody There? which was about a teenage girl who keeps being possessed by the spirit of a Victorian girl. I remember really loving those although the first one was quite ‘adult’ in its themes.

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Oh gosh I remember This Girl. It’s noteworthy because it ended with the protagonist in a relationship with another woman, in the early 80s and almost 40 years before Wilson came out!

I read This Girl recently, I thought the storyline was so good. It completely threw me off the way it was written however, like a weird mix of 3rd person/1st person. Still brilliant though. Id love to read some more of her older books

witchofwestbyfleet said:

Oh gosh I remember This Girl. It’s noteworthy because it ended with the protagonist in a relationship with another woman, in the early 80s and almost 40 years before Wilson came out!

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i love that, in the way that at the time she was still married to her now ex-husband and potentially used her writing as a way to explore how she was feeling in regards to her own sexuality in a "safe" way, if that makes sense. like at the time, it wouldn't have been as socially acceptable if she had come out, and who knows at what point in her life she realised she was attracted to women, so in the same way that her children's books explore topics that kids who relate to them likely felt alone in experiencing, it's like she wrote a book that helped her explore or express how she was feeling - and then went on to actually live it out and marry a woman!