Dame Jacqueline Wilson, best known for popular children’s fiction series’ such as The Story of Tracy Beaker and Girls, is turning her pen to adult fiction with the release of her debut novel Think Again.
Jacqueline Wilson’s latest novel is an adult sequel to the best-selling Girls series, which follows the life of Ellie Allard, and her best friends Nadine and Magda.
Protagonist Ellie is all grown up and turning 40, so her story will be taking a more mature tone and adult themes.
The girls are now women and still the best of friends. But if they think they know what’s coming, they’d better think again…
Synopsis of Jacqueline Wilson’s adult novel Think Again
Adulthood isn’t quite what Ellie Allard dreamed it would be when she was fourteen years old. Though she’s got her beautiful daughter Lottie, her trusty cat Stella and life-long best friends in Magda and Nadine, her love life is non-existent and she feels like she’s been living on auto-pilot, just grateful to be able to afford the rent on her poky little flat.
But this year on her birthday, it seems it’s time for all that to change – whether Ellie wants it to or not. As she navigates new, exciting and often choppy waters, she’s about to discover that life will never stop surprising you – if only you let it.
Jacqueline Wilson with her partner Trish Beswick.
According to the author, Ellie, Magda and Nadine are all in relationships that traditional society wouldn’t expect from middle-aged women.
Think Again, could be considered a bit of a reflective exercise for Wilson as fictional character Ellie finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with a woman. This is very similar to the author’s own life story as she entered into a long-term relationship with a woman shortly after splitting up with her husband.
Jacqueline Wilson, 78, has been with her partner, Trish Beswick, for over 20 years now. Despite never shying away from ‘taboo’ topics in her writing, it’s only recently that Wilson has started to incorporate LGBT issues.
Her first gay character appeared in her 2020 novel, Love Frankie. Jacqueline Wilson has said she could have written a gay storyline much earlier in her career, but it’s only now that she feels comfortable doing so as it’s less of a big deal these days.
Jacqueline Wilson has sold over 40 million copies of her books in the UK alone and they have been translated into 34 languages.
Most of her books are aimed at children between seven and 12. They explore dark and tricky subject matter such as suicide, abandonment, neglect, and domestic violence.
While some may consider her writing to be to be controversial, others can read the sad reality between the lines – for many children in the world, childhood is not an idyllic fairy tale with a happily ever after. Many young children felt seen and represented in Wilson’s work which has sparked important conversations about the issues they face.
Wilson’s objective as she ventures into adult fiction appears to be much the same, to search for nuance, colour and the odd silver lining in life.
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Hannah McLaren I've worked at DC Thomson for six years! I began as an intern at My Weekly and The Scots Magazine, which was extended by a few months to help out at The People's Friend. I then covered maternity as Celebrity Editor for My Weekly, before I became Multimedia Journalist at The Scots Magazine. Currently I'm writing digital content across each title.
