12 year old obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson books.. Aibu to think there is better out there?

If I was young I know I would be reading all the Jacqueline Wilson books. I don't think they are inappropriate at all, children usually like to read about characters and situations slightly older than themselves. Like others said, I read the Flowers in the Attic books at that age, which were seriously dark. And Judy Blume's Forever, and also I went through a phase of reading Jackie Collins Lucky books at not much older!

I don't like to try to control what my children read, and my mum never tried to stop me reading anything or expressed any opinion on it.

When I was 14 I started reading my dad's Edna O'brien novels.
He never said a word but they all disappeared from the shelf. 😆

Has your 12 year old experienced bereavement, blended families, the care system, eating disorders? Educational isn’t just about content on the curriculum, it’s about other people’s experiences, broadening your world view and why people may respond differently to situations than you. She’s reading books that are broadening her horizon and perhaps allowing her to grow emotionally.

I read JW books growing up, they helped me develop empathy. I also read Flowers in the attic (which I still don’t think my mum knows I read). But aged 8-9 I read goosebumps. After Jacquline Wilson I moved onto Junk and Malorie Blackman, which definitely aren’t light topics. It’s all about learning about how the works and how people view it differently.

I loved Jacqueline Wilson’s books at the same age. Her books opened me up to a whole world of struggles and showed me the different struggles many people faced such as homelessness in the bed and breakfast start, divorce in the suitcase kid and of course Tracey beaker living in a children’s world. I like to think reading these books at such a young age made me a more empathetic person and gave me a greater understanding of the real world. Also, as previous posters have said there’s a lot worse on tik tok.

Jacqueline Wilson has always been hated by parents and loved by some kids. She helps children at the beginning of puberty, think about adult themes that some children are grappling with. She also helps teenagers understand adult themes that their friends are grappling with.

It's sweet that she's found something she likes. I think a lot of girls like the fact that these books focus on girls and their lives and problems. I used to work in children's books and Cathy Cassidy and Fleur Hitchcock were also a hit with JW fans. Sarah Crossan's lovely books and the Haunting of Aveline Jones series were also successes :)
If she likes the historical JW, Emma Carroll's books could hit the spot too :)

Just to add, I was reading Lace, Thornbirds and Flowers in the Attic at that age. Remember them all with great fondness! I'm still a voracious reader.

It is brilliant that she has found an author that she loves, that she is loving reading in general, and is able to immerse herself in another world through words. JW has some great characters, great stories and lots about friendships and family relationships - and if you are a comfortably off, stable middle class family, it will raise your DD's understanding of and empathy for children from different backgrounds (eg. care system). She won't be reading JW forever. She'll move on to something else and then something else that hopefully she loves as much. In the future she may have treasured memories of this time and of reading these books.

DD was reading JW at 9/10. I thought they were jolly good. She also read the Ruth (sp) Lawrence Roman Mysteries, Michelle Paviour Wolf books and Lemony Snicket at about the same time. She read Atonement aged 11 or 12! Reading is good. A diverse selection helps make the reader aware of good and bad and what they like. Rather like wine!

She's now an English teacher and loves her subject albeit with sanitised texts.

Incidentally did just make me think DD (12) came home asking for a book called Dear Child that another Y7 was reading. I realised it wasn't a YA book so said I'd get it and read it and then decide if she could read it. It was in no way appropriate - all about kidnap, rape, abuse. It was a great read but in no way suitable for a 12 yo! So in comparison I'm sure JW is fine!

Had to look up Forever... as that one missed me by! Only Judy Blume I remember reading was Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
Blimey feel like I missed out massively!!

Mind you I was about 15 when I discovered Fanfic and oh boy is there some learning there!

It was also about then I was going through a Robin Hood fix and read Outlaw where someone graphically gets their tongue cut out sooooo

If she is a reader then she will probably read all kinds of stuff. I did at that age, lots of rubbish but also lots of classics. I wouldn’t worry about as she will grow out of the JW stuff very quickly.

My 12yo likes Dork Diaries! She has actually started to read some other things this summer. I remember reading Sweet Valley High! I think it's fine. By all means suggest other books but it's great they are reading.

Do you still read at bedtime? We do and I get lots of classics in there! Not exclusively classics but usually that and books I loved as a child.

At school DD always has to have a reading book and I let her have whatever she likes as they also read a 'more worthy' book once a week in form time.

My ten year old DD has been reading them for around a year. I just make sure that she doesn’t read the ones for older readers. On the back of the book it will tell you if it’s for older readers x

Well there's a useful contribution to the discussion. Would you like to get MN to delete that for you?

I read Flowers in the Attic at that age too...

I've read all of Virginia Andrews books as a teenager and beyond. Never left me scarred. Cant see the issue with Jacqueline Wilson either. My girls loved Tracy Beaker. What's wrong with it?

My daughter loved Jacqueline Wilson at that age, she now studies English literature at a top university.

I was reading JW books from age 8-13… I adored them. Thought they were brilliant. They teach you that not everyone comes from the same place you do in a really gentle way.

God you sound like a shit parent sorry.

its absolutely does make sense to me and I think its quite cleverly written.

yes I got an adult card (well it was tickets then) at 12.

At that age I was reading Fraser's Golden Bough and similar....now there is an innapropriate book!

I'm getting the feeling there are a lot of things you have an interest in not being a fan of??

I’m really not trying to be pedantic but whatever point you were trying to make in the above badly written sentence has been lost. It doesn’t make any sense.

God I remember my mum having a moan at me over what I was reading, it takes me back
Think it was point horror
Her suggestion for me was flowers in the attic
All I did was stop reading for a bit as she nagged at me constantly. Eventually I just explored the library a bit and read whatever I wanted as they gave me an adult card at 13