... not to like Cathy Cassidy books?

[Jourdain11]

I get that her messages are generally supposed to be empowering and positive, but they just feel "off" to me. Like a bit try-hard. Or that you have to be kooky and quirky and alternative in order to be of any value to the world. What's wrong with being a bit boring and ordinary?

Honestly, I like Jacqueline Wilson far more. Even though some of her books are really bloody weird 😃

I agree. But then I suspect other people do too. Jacqueline Wilson books are significantly more popular!

Good point!

I'm just bemused by the fact that they seem soooooo promoted, by schools, by bookshops, in libraries. The dialogue is always incredibly clunky and unrealistic. And everyone is so alternative and misunderstood! There's never anyone who's just kind of ordinary with no special creative talents or outlandish interests

I’ve not heard of her! The covers look pretty ‘zany’.

Lots of children really enjoy them. She’s visited our school a couple of times and is absolutely lovely - makes time for all the kids who want to speak to her/get autographs etc.

That's nice to know!

I do like her first book ("Dizzy", I think?). It rings true in a way that somehow the others don't...

She is ok. I liked Gingersnaps but she isn't a patch on Jacqueline Wilson!

I have read a few. I quite enjoyed them. I like some of the newer Jean Ure ones too (she has books going back donkeys years). I tried a few by Hilary McKay but found them a bit rambling.
I like pre teen/teen books that are fairly easy to read and set in 'normal' lives. When I was 12/13 I was all about the American authors - Judy Blume, Paula Danziger, Caroline B Cooney etc. I always fancied being the British equivalent. Thankfully authors like Cathy Cassidy, Jacqueline Wilson, Jean Ure etc did it for me because my novel writing skills turned out to be not that great.

I like Jean Ure (although she seems to have stopped writing). Cathy Cassidy is of a younger generation and I guess one could feel that her "voice" is more contemporary. But I can never imagine her stories happening in real life (with a few exceptions - probably Dizzy and Gingersnaps) whereas with Jean Ure and even Jacqueline Wilson, I can.

Partly what I like about Jean Ure is the undramatic nature of her books. For example, there is one about a girl who is kind of slipping into an eating disorder and her siblings all pick up on it and together they realise that their family life is not well-balanced. There's no dramatic crisis or resolution, and it feels quite "relatable".

According to the internet Jean Ure has a new book out next year !!
Jourdain11 did you ever read Ruth Thomas books? The Runaways, The Secret, New Boy? I really liked those but they are all out of print now.

I love her books! I think they are fab, really enjoyed them (maybe more than DD did)