Most traumatic Jacqueline Wilson book?

[Msblueskies]

Lighthearted… those who grew up on JW books in the 90s and 2000s which book was the most traumatic for you?

In my early 30s now and I absolutely adored all my JW books. But looking back a lot of the content was pretty dark 😅 I think for me Dustin Baby wins the prize for darkest and most traumatic at all. I read it at age 10!

Not traumatising, but I never realised till I was older how dark "Bad girls" was. Then I didn't know what the word suicide meant 😂... All the girls in love/tears etc books are quite iffy (eating disorders etc) loved them all though lol

Love Lessons, The illustrated mum and the Girls in Love series!

Vicky Angel and Illustrated Mum

My sister Jodie 🥲

I never read that one, I'd outgrown them by the time that one came out. Is Jacqueline Wilson still writing?

The Cat Mummy [dead cat stored by child in bottom of wardrobe, 'embalmed' in bath salts] gave me the shudders.

My eldest had My Sister Jodie and recommended that I read it as it was so good but warned me it was a bit sad.

She was of course referring to the pet hamster? dying rather than the huge sad thing that happened. Trying not to spoil it!

Totally went over her head and I realised that the JW books were not what I thought they were!

Vicky Angel or Dustbin Baby

Or there’s one I dimly remember about a girl who has to change her name and go into hiding from her mums abusive partner?

@riotlady I think that was Clean Break

Lola rose was one of my favs ! Can’t remember if it was traumatising though haha

Literally wtf.

One called Secrets (I think) where 2 girls from different backgrounds become friends and the rich pal ends up having to protect the poor pal from her abusive stepfather.

Also My Sister Jodie is horrendous! Obviously the Big Tragic Event is big and tragic - but even things like a fourteen year old and a nineteen year old dating?!

The Girls in Love series basically gave tips on eating disorders.

It was Lola Rose, I remembered the name when another poster mentioned it! She changes her name to Lola Rose when they all run away from the dad. Clean Break must be a different abusive dad 😂

I think her older books aimed at teenagers (mostly written in 70s and 80s) were much harder hitting them her more recent ones. Not that the subject matter is any more gritty, but I think children and young people were treated less gently by parents and teachers and left to get on with it .

It is hard to choose but I think the one which got to me the most was Falling Apart which deals with childhood trauma (sibling loss) a first love affair and a suicide attempt. Deep Blue did have some sort of resolution at the end.

For the more recent books I found Cookie traumatizing for personal reasons (hit too close to home).

Love Lessons is a problematic one . It could be very triggering for a young person who had experienced sexual grooming and been blamed for it . I like Jacqueline Wilson a lot but I think she could have at least put an afterword in explaining that although the adults around Pru blamed her for what happened with the teacher , this kind of thing isn't the fault of a child and they should not blame themselves. I get the impression the book was meant to be written in the 2010s but the attitudes of the adults in many ways seem to mirror the kind of attitudes of adults in Jacqueline Wilson's own generation (I get that Pru's parents were meant to be kind of old fashioned so it's not so much them but the teachers).

Baby Love is very sad and what makes it so hard is that of course is that illegitimate mothers were treated horribly in the 60s.

Love Lessons had a relationship between a 14 year old girl and her teacher, and the 14 year old was blamed for it and asked to leave the school so the teacher wouldn't get sacked!

Dustin Baby for me too, I still find myself thinking about it and I haven't read it for 20+ years.

I was an adult when I became aware of JW's books. I cried a lot when I read Vicky Angel!

The one with the name changes was Lola Rose, I think.

The mental image of the mum pouring emulsion over her skin will always stay with me, from the Illustrated Mum.

Re-read it with my eldest and the themes are certainly heavy! Mental illness, child neglect etc.

WTF to the max:

"Verity adores her cat, Mabel, and is desperately sad when she dies. Remembering her recent school lessons about the Ancient Egyptians, Verity decides to mummify Mabel and keep her hidden. Verity's dad and grandparents can't bear to talk about death, having lost Verity's mum..."

Dead pets, dead parents, the whole shebang.

Dustbin baby was the worst. I know it’s supposed to be gritty and dark but realistically would one person really have ALL that bad luck that April has?

The Cat Mummy! Funnily enough I remembered that one as being one of the more ‘lighthearted’ ones for younger readers, but in hindsight it was a bit messed up.

Vicky Angel.. would like to reread that as an adult. Was Vicky supposed to be real or imaginary? 🤔

I did reread some of Secrets a while ago and definitely viewed it through different lenses as an adult, especially with how messed up both of the girls family situations were and what a letdown all the adults in the book are.

Never read Midnight, I think that came along after my JW phase had ended!

God this thread brought back some memories. The dead cat in the cupboard bothered me so much. I'd read so many JW books by then but I think that's where I stopped.
Which one had the twins, Ruby and garnet?

I reread them as an adult as I loved them growing up. Kind of ruined them for me!

Midnight was one that made me feel uneasy, it kept referring to 'games' her brother liked to play with her but which she didn't like, always wondered whether it was meant to be insinuating SA?

@SirenSays that was double act!

There is one called Lily Alone, where their mum goes off on holiday to Spain with her current boyfriend and their oldest daughter is left responsible at home for the other three younger siblings. The ending is horrendously sad!

Lola Rose was my fave. Mum gets breast cancer, they have to run away from their dad, but the ending is generally happy