Jacqueline Wilson: Chronicling the World Through Adults' Lenses
Many of us who grew up during any decade from the 80s onwards likely devoured at least one Jacqueline Wilson book. This incredibly prolific children's author, now 78, has penned well over 100 novels. Her characters, from the iconic Tracy Beaker to the perhaps less familiar duo of Treasure and India in Secrets, have captured the hearts and minds of children for decades. Wilson's stories, known for their unflinching looks at subjects like divorce, mental health, and the foster care system, put children's perspectives at the forefront. These tales have been a comforting haven for young readers seeking validation and understanding. Wilson is indeed a literary gem.
So, the news of her writing a book specifically for adults is thrilling. Think Again, scheduled for release in September of this year, marks the fifth addition to her Girls series. This series, originally aimed at slightly older pre-teen and early teen readers, was published between 1997 and 2002. The upcoming book revisits the beloved trio of Ellie, Magda, and Nadine as they navigate the cusp of their 40th birthdays (a daunting prospect for many of us!).
Familiar characters later in life
Wilson has explored familiar characters later in life before. In 2018, My Mum Tracy Beaker revisited a grown-up Tracy tackling the challenges of raising her own daughter. This followed the original story by a considerable 27 years! Then, in 2023, The Best Sleepover in the World arrived as a highly-anticipated follow-up to the 2000 hit Sleepovers, centering on Daisy, her disabled younger sister Lily, and the struggles of finding that elusive "best friend." However, those installments still ultimately catered to younger audiences. Think Again is crafted for those of us who, like Ellie, Magda, and Nadine, have experienced the passage of time.
Wilson isn't widely recognized for her adult fiction; this new work breaks ground since her early literary endeavors in the 1970s. Traditionally, her charm has been rooted in a profound understanding of children's inner worlds - their joys, their dreams, and their heartbreaks. Think Again shifts the focus to a time in life more readily associated with authors like Candace Bushnell, Helen Fielding, or Zadie Smith. However, this move shouldn't be a surprise. Wilson's books have, at their core, always centered on the complexities of the adult world and its inherent challenges.
Most celebrated character
Take Tracy Beaker, perhaps her most celebrated character. At only 10, Tracy desperately yearns for a meaningful bond with her mother, who has a history of neglect and seems indifferent to building a relationship now. Tracy finds herself in a children's home (lovingly dubbed "the dumping ground"), where she adopts a tough facade while struggling to connect with staff and peers. Yet, beneath that bravado, she's sensitive and hurting. Tracy's coping mechanism is to tell everyone her mother is a glamorous Hollywood star, too busy for visits. Beyond its sensitive portrayal of Tracy, The Story of Tracy Beaker ultimately illustrates the stark clash between a child's emotionally raw experience and the often unyielding, bureaucratic "real world."
More directness
Wilson frequently delves into adult issues with even more directness. Take The Suitcase Kid (1992), where 10-year-old Andy grapples with being shuttled between her recently divorced parents' homes, offering a unique take on a familiar adult event. Or Lola Rose (2003), in which a struggling single mother strikes it big with a lottery ticket. She impulsively upends her life and her two daughters', only to be blindsided by a breast cancer diagnosis. Then there's The Illustrated Mum (1999), a personal favorite, narrated by Dolphin. Her beloved mother, 33-year-old Marigold, struggles with untreated bipolar disorder, culminating in a breakdown. Wilson's work includes portrayals of homelessness (The Bed and Breakfast Star, 1994), abandonment (Dustbin Baby, 2001), grief (Vicky Angel, 2000), and much more.
This unflinching realism has offered young readers a sense of security when facing the often bewildering world of adults. Her stories allow children to feel understood in the world around them instead of offering escapism (something much of children's literature, from Harry Potter to His Dark Materials to the work of Roald Dahl, does so skillfully). This deep understanding of adults' complexities makes Wilson an ideal candidate to explore that same world through the eyes of a grown-up.
The Girls Series: Grown-Up and Navigating Life
The Girls series had a significant influence on me as a young reader. I found Ellie's experiences with boys, friendships, and anxieties about her changing body both enlightening and relatable. She was 13, trying to find her identity while also straddling the distinct worlds of her six-year-old brother and her father and stepmother. Her dad and stepmum were themselves navigating grief, childcare responsibilities, and changing gender dynamics (notably, Ellie's dad grapples with jealousy over his wife Anna's sudden professional success).
The appeal of Wilson's new book is the chance to see Ellie reflect on those adolescent struggles with an adult's perspective. Perhaps she can now relate to her father's feelings more clearly. And with years behind her, she might also discover that navigating boys, friendships, and even body image doesn't magically become easier at 18, 25, or even 30.
Wilson's writing has always stood out because of its extraordinary empathy. Her books hold space for a fundamental truth: adults create and perpetuate many of the problems children must endure. Her stories provide insightful glimpses into those very challenges. Think Again promises to arrive just in time.
Navigating the World As "Grown-Ups"
So much of what we call "growing up" isn't about suddenly achieving clarity or inner peace. Rather, it's the messy and often bewildering process of realizing that those we once saw as the all-knowing, all-powerful "adults" are just flawed humans doing their best (or sometimes, not even that). Many of us, as children, desperately sought proof that someday things would make sense, that we'd figure it out. We eagerly awaited the day we'd hold the keys to the magical world of adulthood.
Wilson's work, even those books written for young audiences, never promises easy answers or a magical transformation upon hitting a certain birthday. Instead, characters like Tracy Beaker, or Andy in The Suitcase Kid, experience a kind of relentless friction as they confront the ways the adult world lets them down. In Wilson's stories, there are rarely knights in shining armor delivering the characters from distress. Rather, her young protagonists are forced to forge a personal kind of resilience within a sometimes indifferent and uncaring reality.
It stands to reason then, that Ellie, Magda, and Nadine's return in Think Again probably won't be a story about how they've finally solved all their problems. They're nearing 40, an age associated with a certain level of supposed 'having it together.' The reality for many women around this time is quite different. Midlife can mean grappling with changing bodies, career frustrations, relationship turmoil, the complexities of parenting (or perhaps the pain of childlessness), and the shifting dynamics of aging parents. These are heavy themes, but Wilson's talent lies in her ability to inject them with honesty while retaining a sense of hope and humor.
Paving the Way
Wilson's books have often been a source of comfort for children because they implicitly acknowledge a fundamental truth: being a kid can be really hard. Her work doesn't offer childish solutions or tidy endings. Instead, she champions children's resilience and their ability to make sense of their own lives even when the adults around them struggle to do the same. Now, as Ellie, Magda, and Nadine venture out as adults themselves, Wilson's work may strike a similar chord for their original fans. Think Again could be that rare book that transitions alongside its readers, offering a fresh lens through which to examine life's journey.
The Weight of Expectations
While Jacqueline Wilson's stories are steeped in realism, they also acknowledge something important: children have rich fantasies about what adult life will be like. This often results in a jarring mismatch between the idealized version of adulthood in a child's mind and the actual lived experience. Ellie, as a young teen in the Girls series, was no doubt forming her own projections of what it would be like to be a grown-up.
This clash of expectations is something many of us experience well into our 20s and 30s. The media bombards us with portrayals of adulthood that involve glamorous careers, effortlessly chic personal style, and flawlessly stable love lives. These images clash with the often far more mundane, messy, and even painful experiences many of us encounter.
Think Again seems likely to dive headfirst into these disconnects. Perhaps Ellie, now nearing 40, finds herself a far cry from her teenage dreams. Maybe she works a less-than-exciting job, still struggles with self-confidence, or wrestles with relationship disappointments. It's realistic to imagine that even with an adult's perspective, Ellie's path (and that of Magda and Nadine) won't be free of confusion and frustration.
This kind of unvarnished take on midlife for women is refreshing. Society places tremendous pressure on women to uphold unrealistic standards, yet books and media tend to shy away from the raw, sometimes difficult realities of women's journeys. Wilson's work, at any stage in her career, has never followed this trend.
Navigating Complex Relationships
The Girls series wasn't just about growing up in the traditional sense; it was a deep exploration of how friendships evolve - particularly female friendships. As young girls, it's easy to forge powerful bonds based on shared interests and the raw emotional intensity of that developmental stage. However, life pulls people in different directions. As Ellie, Magda, and Nadine mature, their values, priorities, and lifestyles could easily diverge.
Think Again offers a fascinating opportunity to portray how early friendships weather these changes. Maybe Ellie and her friends effortlessly maintain the carefree sense of connection they once had. The more likely scenario is a bit more nuanced. Perhaps they drift apart for periods of time, only to rediscover their value at certain life stages. Or maybe their relationships become strained under the weight of old rivalries or vastly different world views. The beauty of Wilson's work has always been its willingness to embrace complex and flawed characters, and that holds particularly true for relationships.
Additionally, Wilson often delves into family dynamics with a keen eye. Ellie's tumultuous connection with her father and stepmother in the original Girls series could take on new dimensions in Think Again. Perhaps now that she's older, Ellie sees her father through a more forgiving lens. Conversely, the challenges of caring for aging parents could lead to new layers of resentment or strain. And, if Ellie has children of her own, it adds a fascinating reflection on her childhood experiences as she raises her own family.
A Reflection of Our Times
One element to consider with Think Again is the socio-political context. Ellie, Magda, and Nadine would have come of age in the optimistic 90s, followed by the turbulent early 2000s. Now, as they near 40, they've experienced the financial collapse of 2008, the rise of social media and its impact on relationships, and now the ongoing uncertainty of the post-pandemic world. How might these real-world events have shaped them? Wilson might weave these broader elements into the fabric of the characters' lives, offering a generational commentary.
Beyond Nostalgia
There's an inherent risk for any author revisiting cherished characters. It's easy for this exercise to slip into a reliance on pure nostalgia, pandering to readers through familiar scenarios and predictable plotlines. However, everything in Wilson's body of work indicates that she won't fall into this trap.
Think Again isn't merely a continuation of the Girls series—it's a maturation. While a sense of nostalgia might be present, expect Wilson to use it as the starting line, not the finish. Ellie, Magda, and Nadine will undoubtedly still possess traces of their younger selves, but they'll be grappling with an entirely new set of challenges that come with being adult women in the 2020s.
The original Girls series touched upon themes like body image, sexuality, class dynamics, and the pain of a changing family structure. These remain relevant, but take on new meanings when experienced through the lens of age and experience. For instance, teenage anxieties about physical appearance may morph into adult struggles with aging and the societal pressure to preserve youthfulness.
Likewise, those early brushes with romance and sexuality become far more complex within the realm of established relationships, potential divorce, or the difficulties of dating as a single mother. And while young Ellie may have seen her parents' issues as something she'd escape once grown, adulthood often serves to deepen intergenerational complexities rather than resolve them.
The Power of Women's Stories
Historically, novels about women's lives have often been relegated to a separate category—less 'serious' than stories about war, politics, and sweeping societal change. They're written off as domestic or frivolous. Yet, women's lives inherently contain these larger elements in more subtle and intimate ways.
Wilson has long embraced this idea, particularly in her stories focused on young girls' experiences. She understands that the personal is political. Think Again could serve as a powerful extension of this ethos. It has the potential to validate the experiences of an entire generation of women who grew up reading the Girls series, and subsequently, Wilson's other books.
This novel might explore everything from disappointments in love, to the struggle of balancing family and career aspirations, to the relentless pressure for women to conform. It could confront aging and the complexities of female friendships – all under the same unflinchingly real lens that made her children's books both heartbreaking and empowering.
A Testament to Resilience
Jacqueline Wilson's work, at its best, doesn't sugarcoat the challenges children face. Her novels provide a sense of solace by acknowledging that these difficulties exist while simultaneously reassuring young readers that they are strong enough to endure them.
Think Again seems poised to hold a similar mirror to adult women readers. In portraying the less-than-glamorous realities of approaching 40, readers might come to terms with their own disappointments and frustrations. More importantly, it might reignite the awareness that, however hard, life does go on.
And if Wilson continues her tradition of injecting her work with both honesty and a kernel of warmth, Think Again could serve as a timely reminder of the inherent resilience women possess – and how it takes new forms at every age.
The Unique Power of Wilson's Voice
While the media landscape is now filled with more diverse and unflinching portraits of women than when Jacqueline Wilson started her career, there's still something particularly potent about her voice.
Her ability to tap into the complexities of women's inner worlds started with her groundbreaking work focused on children. Young girls are often taught to prioritize being sweet and accommodating over being honest about their needs, wants, and frustrations. Wilson has always defied this expectation. Her characters can be flawed, messy, even sometimes selfish or unkind - but they are always true to the complex nature of being human. This is precisely what makes them both relatable and, ultimately, empowering.
Radical honesty
Think Again gives her an opportunity to extend this radical honesty into the adult realm. Women face a similar pressure to fit neatly into certain archetypes: the loving mother, the devoted wife, the effortlessly successful career woman. These narrow definitions are, of course, fundamentally restrictive. Wilson's characters might grapple with the internal pressure to 'do it all' while also confronting societal judgment for any perceived failure to fully embrace any of those roles.
Additionally, while books focusing on the specific trials and tribulations of mid-life women exist, Wilson's particular empathy and understanding of the inner lives of girls and women bring with it a unique potential. She might delve into how the traumas of childhood, no matter how seemingly small, can linger and manifest themselves in surprising ways decades later. Childhood anxieties don't magically vanish with age – they often simply evolve.
Generational Connections
There's something beautiful about the idea of Ellie, Magda, and Nadine confronting the complexities of approaching 40 alongside those of us who grew up reading about them as teenagers. It speaks to the lasting impact Wilson's work has had and the potential for her to forge a connection across generations of women.
Think Again could be an occasion for readers to reflect on their own evolution alongside these fictional friends they may have first known decades prior. It could open up space to examine how life experience recontextualizes what we thought we knew, both about the world and ourselves. Wilson possesses an uncanny knack for capturing universal truths about being a woman while also making each experience feel deeply personal. That might be her greatest strength as an author.
A New Classic in the Making?
It's still early to determine the cultural legacy of Think Again, as the book hasn't yet been released. However, based on the extraordinary body of work Jacqueline Wilson has produced, and the particular gap this new novel fills, the book has the potential for profound resonance. It might become a fixture on bookshelves next to works by Zadie Smith, Helen Fielding, and other iconic voices exploring the specific lives and experiences of contemporary women.
Ultimately, the value of Think Again will lie in whether it fulfills its promise by giving a voice to the multifaceted, messy, and even painful experiences of being an adult woman in the modern world. It's a testament to Jacqueline Wilson's skill as a writer that this prospect feels both exciting and comforting. After all, whether writing for children or adults, Wilson reminds us that we are never truly alone, no matter how complicated life becomes.
