To honour the release of Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson, mega fan Miriam Moore revisits and ranks a childhood’s worth of her books.

Content warning: some sensitive material, such as eating disorders and child abuse, is discussed. 

Last week, the heroine of tween girls all around the world, Jacqueline Wilson, released her first book for adults, Think Again. The books of Jacqueline Wilson fostered a lifelong love of misery lit, transporting me to a world where young girls triumphed over bullies, abusive step-fathers, rundown council estate housing, dead pets, lying adults, predatory teachers, foster homes, a world where absolutely everyone’s parents (if alive) were divorced.

Of course I had Think Again on pre-order from Unity Books. When it finally arrived I ripped through it in a day and was among the first 200 people on Good Reads to post my review (5 stars of course). Wilson knows her fans, and the book was for us – filled with easter eggs and references to books of childhood past. 

Think Again is a continuation of her young adult series, Girls, written in the voice of now-40-year-old Ellie Allard who is dealing with the familiar issues that have aged with us. Everyone’s parents are still divorced, but Ellie is now battling with almost-teen-parenting, single motherhood, ageing parents, figuring out her sexuality in adulthood and the worst trial of all – mansplainers. Twenty years later and Jacqueline Wilson still gets us. Even more so now she’s a queer icon: Jacqueline Wilson’s entry into LGBTQIA+ themes is refreshing in a world where certain childhood literary heroes have dived deep down the transphobia rabbit hole. 

Think Again transported me to the early 2000s; even prompted me to make the pilgrimage to my parents’ house (yes they are still together) to revisit my impressive Jacqueline Wilson collection. Here is my ranking of every Jacqueline Wilson book read until I turned 13 in 2005 and became “too old” for them.

30. Glubbslyme (1987) 

Too much slyme, not enough drama.

29. Buried Alive (1998) 

The sequel to Cliffhanger in the Tim and Biscuits series. I don’t remember it like I remember Cliffhanger, so I assume it was only OK.

28. Best Friends (2004)

I had to google the plot summary to see if I had read it. I had. Gemma and Alice are friends and Alice moves away: obviously I found it a bit meh. Features Biscuits from Cliffhanger!

27. The Dare Game (2000) 

This is going to be controversial, especially as she’s one of the author’s personal favourites – but I wasn’t a big fan of Tracy Beaker. She was a little too abrasive and arrogant for me. As an adult I now realise this is probably because she was going through some shit in that children’s home.

26. Lizzie Zipmouth (2000)

Lizzie copes with her mother’s new relationship by not speaking … until she realises that she is the only one who can help her Great Grandmother learn to talk again following a stroke. Short and wholesome.

25. Clean Break (2005)  

Only vaguely remembered this one. It’s about Em’s family and a cheating, absent stepfather. Most memorable feature is the self-reference to the “Jenna Williams” books: all the girls in Em’s class are obsessed with them, including Em herself as the books offer her solace and escape from her unstable home life. A beautiful nod to the way in which Jacqueline Wilson herself has impacted the lives of many.

24. The Story of Tracy Beaker (1991)

Don’t come for me! Maybe I need to try these books again. This one has a better plot than The Dare Game (above), but same goes. Nonetheless, I still associate “Justine” with the ultimate arch-enemy name.

23. Love Lessons (2005) 

This was the last Jacqueline Wilson book I read (until Think Again). After a lifetime of homeschooling, Prue finally goes to high school completely ill-equipped to deal with the social pressures that come with it. There is a memorable scene in which she wags tutorial, spending her tutorial money on a fancy set of underwear that the school kids tease her about in the changing room. The biggest drama is when she ends up fancying (and snogging) her art teacher, Rax. I had to rank it low because, spoiler alert, it’s pretty cooked that Prue ends up having to leave the school at the principal’s request to save Rax’s job. Note: Jacqueline Wilson has since said she wouldn’t write this plot nowadays. 

22. Girls in Tears (2002) 

My lowest ranking of the written-for-teenagers Girls series. Released a few years after the first three, this one isn’t as well-themed and therefore not as memorable.

21. Dustbin Baby (2001)  

Possibly too high on the trauma content. Found in a dustbin behind a pizza shop, April Showers is in and out of children’s homes and foster care her whole life. On her 14th birthday, she sets out on a journey to seek answers about her past. From shoplifting to suicide, this one really deals with it all and, dare I say, it was just too much for young me. In a nod to the fans, Dustbin Baby features Tanya from Bad Girls as one of the foster-home kids. Which leads me to…

20. Bad Girls (1996) 

Poor bullied Mandy befriends cool (and maybe a bit bad) Tanya, and takes up a life of petty crime. In a Jacqueline Wilson rarity, Mandy’s parents are together, but alas they are boring and dress her in babyish clothes which doesn’t help the bullying situation at school.   

All the chapters are named for colours of the rainbow and the final (“Rainbow”) is basically a handbook on how to end bullying. Thank you for your service, Jacs.

19. Girls Out Late (1999)

This book tackles the hot issue of how friendship groups crack once you start dating: Girls Out Late sees Ellie finally get a boyfriend. Back when I first read it I knew that love-interest Russel was a bad egg. But reflecting on it now it’s properly concerning what Ellie, Magda and Nadine were getting up to at age 13, including jumping into a stranger’s van, but I suppose that was the thrill for us nerds who chose books over boys.

18. The Worry Website (2003)

A collection of short stories, this book is a total comfort read for me. Mr Speed’s class all submit their worries through a class website, a sure fire way for Jacqueline Wilson to squeeze as many traumatic issues into one book. From school crushes to alcoholic parents, this book has it all. The book ends with the tale of Natasha, who lives with a Motor Neuron disability, and her friendship with Lisa: the pair dream of performing on stage and so enter the school concert lineup and perform an original song about the Worry Website using the voice in Natasha’s ASL wheelchair. 

17. The Diamond Girls (2004)

Dixie has three sisters and her mum is pregnant with her first boy. However her mum actually gives birth to a girl but pretends it’s a boy and Dixie finds out by accident. Oh, and they live in a depressing, rundown council estate which falls short of the dream they’ve been sold. Dixie befriends Mary who lives over the back fence in the nice houses. Mary’s mum is evil and won’t let Mary play with Dixie because Dixie is poor. Dixie manages to save Mary when she jumps out a window. Just the simple stuff. 

16. Girls under Pressure (1998)

Ah, the eating disorder installment of the Girls series. Our famous trio line up for a modeling competition for Spicy magazine at their local mall (the Girlfriend Model Search of the Jacqueline Wilson world). While Magda and Nadine thrive, Ellie, mortified by even being in the line, overhears that she is too fat, leading her to restricted eating and dangerous dieting habits. A realistic portrayal of a phase of life too many of my peers have battled; this one was a teen classic.    

15. The Suitcase Kid (1992)

This story follows Andie whose parents are going through a divorce. She has to leave her home at Mulberry Cottage while navigating family lawyers and a pesky new step-family. I fondly remember this one because Andie’s comfort toy was a Sylvanian called Radish. As a huge fan of both Sylvanians and radishes this book holds a strong place in my heart. 

14. Cliffhanger (1995)

Off-brand for me to rank a book about a boy this highly, but really this is a book about a nerd. Tim is useless at all the activities at a competitive summer camp, making him a target for bullies. However, he triumphs through brain power in the final challenge when he figures out how to transport water across a ditch faster than the other teams, not with athleticism but through the clever use of a pipe. A win for the nerds and a win for my heart. 

13. Lola Rose (2003)

Jayni, along with her brother and her mother Nikki, move to London to escape Nikki’s alcoholic and gambling addict partner Jay. In London Jayni takes on a new name to go with her new start, Lola Rose. Navigating dark issues such as cancer, alcoholism, poverty and homelessness, the story peaks when Aunt Barbara fends off a vengeful Jay because she’s a professional practitioner of Muay Thai. 

12. The Mum Minder (1993)

My gateway drug to Jacqueline Wilson. Aimed at the younger audience, Sadie’s mum is a childminder but when she gets sick (just the flu, the issues are mild in this novel) Sadie instead goes to the workplaces of each of the four children that Sadie’s mum usually looks after. I still read it every time I am off work sick. 

11. Girls in Love (1997) 

The first and best of the Girls series. Which of us hasn’t invented a love interest at some stage in our lives? One might even say this book is the origin of the “I have a boyfriend but he goes to another school so you won’t know him” ruse. (Although, I don’t know how the kids these days pull it off in the era of social media). In this book Magda is kissing boys, Nadine is being used for sex, and Ellie invents dreamy Dan, a handsome version of a nerd she met on holiday. Nerdy Dan then turns up for real at a party and exposes her big lie. But he turns out to be a legend after he scares off some gatecrashers – chef’s kiss. 

10. Take a Good Look (1990)

Mary is blind and sick of being babied by her grandmother so she sneaks out to buy crisps and a coke. It goes wrong when she gets kidnapped. I never owned this book, but I got it out at least once a year from the Hataitai School library.

9. Double Act (1995)

Identical twins Ruby and Garnet live with their dad (you guessed it, mother is dead) until he gets a new girlfriend and they all have to leave town and their beloved grandmother behind to go move in with her. Ruby hates it and forces Garnet to audition with her for a TV show and go for a scholarship to the prestigious boarding school, Marnock Heights. Of course, only shy, bookish Garnet gets in, prompting Ruby’s resentment. I was team boisterous Ruby all the way with similar dreams of becoming an actor – and I did end up going to the Marnock Heights of Wellington.  

8. The Bed and Breakfast Star (1994)

A family who lived in a hotel? The dream. Please note: I don’t think I quite understood they didn’t live in a hotel by choice. Protagonist Elsa tries to boost everyone’s spirits by practising her jokes on her journey to becoming a comedian. This book is also ranks highly because of the part where Elsa makes a sugar sandwich which prompted me to give it a try. Again, I don’t think I appreciated that this was because they had no food and she was desperate. 

7. Midnight (2003)

Violet loves her fairy books by author Casper Dream so much that she writes letters to Casper and delicately handcrafts each fairy herself. As a wannabe creative, I loved this infatuation. But Violet’s life gets messed up when her half-brother Will kisses her hip, outgoing friend Jasmine. This incident gave me an irrational fear that when I went to high school my Year 9 friends would want to kiss my Year 13 brother. Thankfully, neither of us were cool enough for it to be an issue. Great book though. 

6. Vicky Angel (2000)

Quiet Jade’s outgoing best friend Vicki dies after being struck by a car on the way home from school. Vicki’s spirit lives on as Jade navigates the trauma of grief. On the one hand, this book shaped me by fostering a lifelong advocacy (and career) in designing safer streets, but on the other hand, I chose it as my reading for a speech and drama exam (where the examiner chooses the segment) and the word “anorexia” appeared. I couldn’t pronounce it nor did I know what it meant and so was told the book was too advanced for me. Either way, profound impact. 

5. The Illustrated Mum (1999)

This tale centres on Dolphin, who lives with her cooler, older sister Star, and their mother Marigold, who is covered in tattoos. Marigold faces severe mental health and alcohol issues, and yes, it all gets worse when Marigold reconnects with her abusive partner Micky. There’s a traumatic scene where Marigold covers herself in toxic white paint to hide the tattoos, which puts her in hospital and Dolphin in foster care. It deals with some pretty heavy issues but one of the best reasons to love this book is that Reform politician Ann Widdecombe once rated it as her “most hated book” because it “promotes” a mother whose two children had different dads. This comment prompted Jacqueline Wilson to write Diamond Girls (see 17) which features five daughters to five different dads. Go off, Queen. 

4. Secrets (2002)

Treasure has an abusive stepdad, an aunt who is younger than her, and she lives with her Gran in a Council flat. India lives in a luxurious estate, but all is not as lush as it seems with her fat-shaming mother and miserable au pair who India suspects is pregnant to her father. Treasure and India meet unexpectedly and India, who is inspired by The Diary of Anne Frank, hides Treasure in her attic. This novel inspired me to read The Diary of Anne Frank at ten years old, which I loved (and found was a stark contrast to the Jacqueline Wilson Diary of Miriam Moore – excerpt in photo below). 

3. Sleepovers (2001)

God I loved this book. I never owned it but every time I handed it back to the library I put it on my reserves list again (which took months due to its popularity). Firstly, how cool was it that Daisy’s friend group all started with a letter from A-E so they could call themselves the Alphabet Girls. They each have turns hosting sleepovers for their birthdays, but when it’s Daisy’s turn to host she’s nervous that bitch-friend Chloe (who made them all watch a horror movie that she’d hidden in a 101 Dalmatians video case) would be mean about her disabled sister Lily. Of course Chloe was mean, but it finally gave everyone reason to friend-break up with her. 

2. The Cat Mummy (2001)

Verity finds her cat dead and, unable to accept it, she mummifies it. To mask the smell she uses lavender bath salts. I didn’t know what lavender bath salts were so naturally this book inspired me to put them on my birthday wishlist. This book is very special to me as I had it signed when Jacqueline Wilson came to speak at St Patrick’s school hall in 2001. I queued with hundreds of girls to have my book signed, and when the time came I froze, handed her my book and mumbled “my cat died too”. I hope she remembers me fondly.

1. The Lottie Project (1997) 

The crème de la crème of Jacqueline Wilson books. Charlie’s world comes crashing down when she gets a new teacher who is mean, and her single mother starts seeing a new man who has a toddler. She finds escape in her school project on the Victorian Period and creates a character (Lottie) based on herself: the book alternates between Charlie and Lottie’s lives. I can’t pinpoint why this book has such a chokehold on me. Maybe because getting lost in school work is actually something this nerd could relate to? Because of this book, “Lottie” remains high on my “future children’s names” list which, amazingly, is precisely mirrored in Think Again when grown-up Ellie calls her daughter Lottie after this very same book.

I’ll say it again, Jacqueline Wilson just gets us. 

Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson ($38, Transworld) is available to purchase from Unity Books.