Cliffhanger (Biscuit Barrel, 2)

Product Information

My Mum Tracy Beaker is told from the perspective of Jess, Tracy Beaker's daughter, but the story is still about Tracy Beaker all the same. Book Ends - Queenie begins with Elsie planning to go to the coronation of Elizabeth II with her grandmother; and ends sixty years later when Elsie expresses the hope that she'll live long enough to take her own granddaughter to Prince Charles's coronation. Author Appeal: Wilson is a big fan of The Wizard of Oz and includes many references to it in her books. Characters frequently bring it up as their favourite movie. A lot of the books also involve the protagonist having red as their favourite colour like Wilson. After Megs dies in Clover Moon, the priest at her funeral exclusively refers to her by her full name of Margaret Anne Moon. Clover is confused for a while since she never thought of her by any name other than Megs.

Examples include The Suitcase Kid where every chapter is named after a letter of the alphabet, starting with 'A is for Andy' and ending with 'Z is for Zoe' In Lola Rose, Nikki fell for Jay and got pregnant with Jayni when she was only seventeen, but Jay began to abuse Nikki shortly after Jayni was born and he eventually turns on Jayni too, forcing Nikki to run away with Jayni and Kenny to protect them from him.Though not mentioned as physically abusive, Prudence's father in Love Lessons is extremely controlling and overbearing towards both his wife and daughters. Last Disrespects: While not an intentional example, Clover in Clover Moon is deeply upset by the behaviour of the priest at Megs' funeral, who refers to her by her full name (which she never used, to the point where Clover is initially confused) and gives an eulogy that makes it clear he didn't know the first thing about her. Clover considers this very disrespectful and knows it's not at all what Megs would have wanted. This fast-paced story, at once funny and touching, exemplifies the author's ability to get to the heart of children's experiences' TES 'Jacqueline Wilson at her best' Mizz 'There is poignancy and humour in this account of the trauma suffered . . . Jacqueline Wilson's skill is to identify the problems that many children face in their everyday lives, but to write about the issues with an artless simplicity that makes the stories fun and accessible' Glasgow Herald 'Heart-stirring stuff Funday Times www.kidsatrandomhouse.co.uk Leans more towards the positive however; Andy starts getting along much better with her step-siblings (especially Graham), befriends a kind elderly couple- who serve as surrogate grandparents in her life, and even welcomes her new half-sister into her life! It's implied that Tracy Beaker was abused by her mother's boyfriends before being taken into care. Tracy also mentions that before going to the "Dumping Ground", she lived with "Aunt" Peggy: a foster carer who frequently hit her and yelled at her.

Never Learned to Talk: In Sleepovers, Daisy's sister Lily has never learned to talk because of her disability. Subverted in The Greatest Sleepover In the World, where Lily has now been taught to communicate via Makaton and become much more outgoing and sociable. Marigold mentions that her mother was abusive, and she spent most of her childhood in care homes. She expresses a fear that she is also one later on. Fairytale Motifs - Violet in Midnight, Ellie in the Girls series, May in The Power of the Shade, Opal in Opal PlumsteadIndia from Secrets is overweight, but also comes top at school despite it being ultra-academic. At the end of the book, she mentions an IQ test she took, where she scored 150. Defied in The Illustrated Mum; Dolphin mostly tries to avoid being annoying, and while Star is certainly irritated, her anger throughout the book is directed more at Marigold than at Dolphin. Charlie's character Lottie in "The Lottie Project" had an alcoholic abusive father who kept the family in poverty and had recently died.