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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was sooo nervous to read this, because of how much Jacqueline Wilson meant to me as a child/teenager! I was worried that it wouldn’t be as a good as I remembered those other books, or that I wouldn’t remember enough of the lore to get into this one properly.
But oh, my sorry little gay HEART!!! I absolutely adored this book. Jacqueline Wilson is an angel for writing it. Just enough little easter eggs to tug the memory and take me back to those books - but a brilliant standalone novel in its own right. An absolutely warm, full of feeling and excitement and perfectly paced novel. I was frustrated with Ellie, I was swooning (and blushing!) and laughing and just in love. Ahhhh I would give it 10/5 if I could.
But oh, my sorry little gay HEART!!! I absolutely adored this book. Jacqueline Wilson is an angel for writing it. Just enough little easter eggs to tug the memory and take me back to those books - but a brilliant standalone novel in its own right. An absolutely warm, full of feeling and excitement and perfectly paced novel. I was frustrated with Ellie, I was swooning (and blushing!) and laughing and just in love. Ahhhh I would give it 10/5 if I could.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Jacqueline Wilson was a hugely important writer for me while I was growing up, and having the opportunity to read her work as an adult is a fantastic privilege. I teared up at the queer representation that so mirrors my own experiences. Plus, it was nice to see the callbacks to her other books. What fascinated me as a child was that Wilson has always written books about people 'like me'. I'm thrilled to discover that now as an adult, I can still see myself in her characters. I've heard she'll be writing more books for adults, and if that's the case I will certainly be reading them.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Jaqueline Wilson literally never misses. From the subtle references to her other books to the incredible characters- no complaints. It’s been a while since I’ve as connected to a character as I did to Ellie. Incredible.
I have very conflicted feelings about this book.
Firstly, I LOVED being able to go back to Ellie, Nadine and Magda. I grew up with their stories and it was really nice to see them as adults. It bought a sense of comfort to me:
What I didn’t love was the fact that Ellie ends up in a relationship with her school art teacher… the whole thing felt super icky to me. And highlighted the weird power imbalance even more. Regardless of the fact she was 40 and he was in his 50s when they got together, the way he gushes over the trio as his favourite students and the way he talked about them as school girls, screams predator and you cannot convince me otherwise. Obviously Wilson is known for writing quite controversial storylines but this relationship was not it.
I loved her relationship with Alice and I really wish we got to see more of this and less of Guy. That would have been a much more impactful story rather.
It also ended rather abruptly, whether this is because there’s going to be more stories or not, I do not know. But I wanted to hear more about Lottie meeting her dad. Magdas baby. Etc.
It’s a shame because if you remove the relationship between Guy and Ellie. This book was set to be really wholesome.
Firstly, I LOVED being able to go back to Ellie, Nadine and Magda. I grew up with their stories and it was really nice to see them as adults. It bought a sense of comfort to me:
What I didn’t love was the fact that Ellie ends up in a relationship with her school art teacher… the whole thing felt super icky to me. And highlighted the weird power imbalance even more. Regardless of the fact she was 40 and he was in his 50s when they got together, the way he gushes over the trio as his favourite students and the way he talked about them as school girls, screams predator and you cannot convince me otherwise. Obviously Wilson is known for writing quite controversial storylines but this relationship was not it.
I loved her relationship with Alice and I really wish we got to see more of this and less of Guy. That would have been a much more impactful story rather.
It also ended rather abruptly, whether this is because there’s going to be more stories or not, I do not know. But I wanted to hear more about Lottie meeting her dad. Magdas baby. Etc.
It’s a shame because if you remove the relationship between Guy and Ellie. This book was set to be really wholesome.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Book 46 of 2025: Think Again - Jacqueline Wilson
Ellie Allard is turning 40, she doesn’t hate her life but it’s not quite what she dreamed of when she was younger. Now that her daughter has gone off to university and her friends are living their own lives, how will Ellie navigate this new chapter?
Review:
⭐️ 3/5
Firstly, I loved the nostalgia, I grew up on Jacqueline Wilson books and I was super excited for her first adult novel. It was lovely to revisit characters I grew up with years ago and see how they’re getting on now. However, some parts of this book just made me a little uncomfortable, the relationship with Gary felt too weird to me, same with the Nigel situation. I also felt that the ending was a bit too rushed and I would have liked for a longer exploration of the final chapter of the book to fully round out Ellie’s character. I think for nostalgia purposes, this was enjoyable purely to see Ellie, Nadine and Magda again, but more could have been done with this story.
Challenges:
📚Books in 2025: 46/100
📚2025 52 Book Club Bonus Author Alphabet Challenge: 7/26
Book Information:
📖 Pages: 339
📖 Format: Hardback
📖 Type: Fiction
📖 Genre: Contemporary
📖 Series: Girls
Favourite Quotes:
“It would be funny if it wasn't so awful.”
“My own happy ending. And it's only just beginning...”
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Very fun but very written by a 78 year old. Still made me go "oof real" at points so there's that.