It’s time to get into the attic and rummage out that old box of books that are gathering dust; Just this week, renowned young adult author Jacqueline Wilson announced that she would be releasing a new ‘Tracy Beaker’ book next October. Tracy is back and this time she is a struggling single mum of a daughter who will serve as the narrator of the story.
Although most of her books are aimed towards teenagers, there will be many grown women out there who are just as excited. From the small idea known about the plot it could be noted that the author is aware that those who grew up reading Tracy Beaker at the time are now grown up so even those fans can still relate to the character everyone fell in love with over twenty years ago. For a lot of teenagers, especially girls who grew up in the late 90’s or early noughties, chances are they read a lot of Wilson’s works
What made her books so special? Although they were fiction there was a huge element of reality in Wilson’s writing. She was writing for children and teenagers but in a way that helped them deal with issues such as dysfunctional families, poverty, social class and body image to name a few. Subjects that a young girl might not be told about is suddenly being presented to her in a way that she understands and could even relate to.
Her characters were all real. They all had their problems but that was what made her books so successful. They were fiction without the theme of fantasy and without revolving around this idea of a happily ever after. ‘The Story of Tracy Beaker‘ was Wilson’s most successful book with the newest going to grace the shelves in 2018 that will make for the fourth instalment focusing on the beloved character; not including the success of a TV by the same name.
Some of the other works of fiction by Wilson include :
- The Mum-Minder
- The Suitcase Kid
- Double Act
- The Illustrated Mum
- Vicky Angel
These are just a very small few of her works which in total comes to around 100 books published by 2014; quite the achievement. Even today she is still writing and a new generation of teenagers are falling in love with her stories. The reason why these books were and are still popular becomes evident in her first autobiography ‘Jacky Daydream‘. If you read this she states clearly that a lot the time her writing has been influenced by certain events in her own life; it is common for authors to do so, consciously or not.
With technology becoming a more prominent part of society, there is a worry that literature could take a back seat. Reading is an important part of life not just educationally but mentally; books can serve as an escape or a way of coping. The news of this new Tracy Beaker book and the excitement that has come with it’s announcement could prove that books are still as important as ever and that if influential authors such as Jacqueline Wilson keep producing work then the people will keep reading it.
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