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

[Breakdancing]

My 12 year old has come back from the library with another stack of Jacqueline Wilson books. I've flicked through some & they are mildly inappropriate but are in the young readers section.. I love that she is a bookworm but aibu to be annoyed with her obsession with Jacqueline Wilson?

I lived on a diet of Judy Blume and Babysitter’s Club when I was that age. Forever by Judy Blume was quite the summer education 😳 I moved on to other stuff when I’d read them all as I’ve no doubt your daughter will. She’s reading, it’s age appropriate and it’s getting her into good habits. There’s plenty of time for academic reading when she’s back at school.

If it’s content you’re worried about look at some of the classics - Shakespeare, Wuthering Heights, Dickens etc. Full of sex, drugs, child neglect and abusive relationships but on many a study curriculum 😉

I loved JW books and they taught me so much about a world I didn’t know about, that not everyone came from supportive families, the care system, divorce and step-families for example. Her books have stayed with me through adulthood and honestly I think they taught me great empathy and understanding of people less fortunate than me. The Illustrated Mum was such a powerful book! I would be delighted to have a 12 year old passionate about Jacqueline Wilson- if she’s encouraged to read books she love she will naturally branch out. And like other posters have said it’s a million times better than TikTok

I thought JW books were aimed at younger kids generally (8-11 maybe). She does a few though that are for teens though.

I’ve not read any JW in decades, but I’m really surprised by all the negativity! The reason we loved her books then was her writing about people who didn’t have perfect aspirational lives. You could recognise aspects of your own life or friends lives. Reading about single parents, blended families, bereavement, bullying, eating disorders was true to life and so different to the other stories we could find in the library.

I think I read her at primary school predominantly (Tracy Beaker, Double Act, Suitcase Kid etc) and then her YA “Girls in Love” series when I was in year 7 or 8.

Have the topics changed that she writes about now? Why don’t PP want their kids reading the books?

I think we tend to underestimate what children that age are already exposed to from hearing about their friends' lives, and from just living and experiencing the world as it is.

I was reading all sorts of inappropriate stuff at that age; I can still recall a fair few raised eyebrows from the librarians as I'd take another few books from the adult section home and consumed them.

It's no different from many of the things they'd see on TV, either.

My 9 year old is obsessed with the Beast Quest books at the moment. In my opinion they look like every book is the same and they look dull but I'm not reading them.

I ask her what they're about and she shows me the pictures of all the beasts. They make her happy and she reads every day.

I love Jacqueline Wilson. I am currently re- reading the "Girls in..." books ready for the adult sequel out soon.
If she wants to read similar style books there's the authors Cathy Cassidy, Jean Ure or Hilary McKay.
Sophie McKenzie has a mix of real life ones but also ones slightly different (like a teen finding out they are a clone).
Does she like the historical Jacqueline Wilson's ? (Hetty Feather etc). She could look at other historical novels. I always loved anything WW2 set (Carrie's War, Goodnight Mr Tom).
I have also recently read classics that I never read as a child thanks to reading the Jacqueline Wilson modern interpretations.

My 12 and her mates have all read all of The Hunger Games series and Noughts and Crosses series. I haven't let her watch the movies / TV adaptation. Top of her list to buy is https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200338241-the-dixon-rule
Described as "hot" and "steamy" I'm still probably going to let her buy it.
Are 12 JW is fine! I like the historical fiction ones. Some of them are a bit "junk food" but probably less harmful than actual junk food.

I was reading JW when I was 8 or 9. I'd have thought 12 years old was more than old enough to handle the grittier content!

Would recommend the Cherub series to her, also quite gritty but perhaps not as inappropriate. Great YA books!

Cherub is definitely grittier than JW! I don't recall JW writing graphic depictions of terrorism or the sex trafficking of teenage girls. Actually I'd have said JW was mild compared with a lot of books that might jump off the shelf into a precocious pre-teen's bag. For example John Green, who makes Jacqueline Wilson look like Enid Blyton.

Yes she loves Cathy Cassidy too, she read the Hetty Feather when she was younger @Needmorelego

I loved JW when i was younger! Also loved Judy Blume, The Princess Diaries series and anything Malorie Blackman. There are worse books she could read, but thankfully she is reading.

Ive heard JW is releasing a new Girls in Love series for us oldies and I really want to read them 😂

Has she tried Philip Pullman Northen lights series (the dark materials?) They are fab for young tweens/teens

I think I was obsessed with smoking fags at the age of 12, so I really wouldn’t waste your energy worrying about this!

The noughts and crosses books are still one of my favourites! The TV adaptation was a bit pants tbh so she isn’t missing much!

Blimey some people (colleague) do live sheltered lives.

I was reading a book by Shy Keenan yesterday, about her truly abysmal childhood and - crucially - how she survived and became an advocate for others. Just reaffirmed that so much goes on out of sight, out of mind (or ignored, in her case, when she tried to get help).

Even though I am not a JW fan, good on her for bringing awareness of social/emotional issues to her audience. Can't knock her for that.

Hahahaha!!!

Looking at OPs responses and the fact she hasn’t engaged with anyone arguing JW is perfectly fine, I think this thread was just a brag about what an enthusiastic reader her kid is. 🥱

Oh I forgot Vicky Angel!

Yes, that's a very sad one

My daughter read JW at her age, as did I when I was young! We both remain prolific readers now, she's not long 16. She grew out of JW eventually.

I think just be glad she's reading and not glued to tiktok or something! She'll develop her own reading tastes as she grows, she doesn't need to always read educational books. Nothing but nothing will put someone off reading more than being pressured to read a certain thing or in a certain way.

@Breakdancing has she read the newer historical ones?
Dancing the Charleston has a little cameo of Hetty Feather 🙂

Jacqueline Wilson books are tedious crap. But they’re books; and (nearly) all teen reading is a good thing.

I did step in some years ago when one of my daughters started reading Cathy Glass. Not because I think there’s anything so ‘inappropriate’ for teens in them that they should be restricted, but because they’re so shit that I’d prefer she’d read the back of a cornflakes box.

Come on op..many kids her age don't read at all

I was a voracious reader at that age and read low brow to high brow. I now write for a living.

I really believe the act of loving readinf should be seen as the amazing thing it is

I loved JW and was reading most of her books from a young age. Slightly older themes like Vicky Angel had to wait until I was 10. I would probably not let my own child read 'Love Lessons' but just my opinion. At 12 I think they are fine.

I was reading Lord of the Rings from 14 - if she hasn't read The Hobbit you could try that as it is aimed towards a younger reader.

^^ True. Like Heathcliff hanging a dog and trying to dig Cathy up from her grave.

Then whatisname the narrator at the start dreaming about cutting ghost Cathy's wrists on broken window glass.

She wrote some right dark stuff, did that Emily. Mind you she did live next to a grave yard and have an alcoholic brother, so her home life wasn't always the rosy Victorian ideal.

By the way adult JW fans .....
The Works has the "Girls in...." set for a tenner 😁

I agree with this

Still a good thread for the rest of us though 😄