Love Frankie

Product Information

I think it’s so important that books like Love Frankie exist, especially from authors such as Jacqueline Wilson. It’s such an approachable look at growing up, discovering new feelings and diversity. I felt that it really normalised feelings towards the same sex in a way that was approachable and I could imagine quite realistic. I felt that I could relate to the feelings Frankie was facing; first love is first love regardless of gender, and that Jacqueline, as usual, really captured what it’s like to be a teenager and have all these different feelings and emotions and challenges. The must-have new novel about falling in love for the first time from bestselling, much-loved children's author, Jacqueline Wilson. About This Edition ISBN: Frankie is the middle girl in a trio of sisters, trying to look after her Mum after she fell ill, their Dad left them and now her best friend wants to be her boyfriend. Her conversations with her slightly scary big sister and her Sylvanian Family obsessed little sister are lovely, and actually reminded me of my nieces. I think the biggest gripe I have is that Frankie doesn’t really seem to have any journey when it comes to figuring herself out. Throughout the first third or so of the book she describes herself in ways that I can only describe as stereotypical for a young lesbian (i.e. not interested in clothes or makeup, mostly friends with boys, etc). She talks about this with seemingly no introspection, then jumps right into ‘oh I’m in love with a girl’. It didn’t feel authentic to me. The writing and storyline was unmistakably Jacqueline Wilson as she has a very distinctive style. The main character lives with her single mother and siblings. Her mother has MS which makes looking after the children difficult. This difficulty in raising children (due to a multitude of reasons) and single motherhood are each commonly recurring theme in many of JW’s books.

Love Frankie by Jacqueline Wilson | Goodreads Love Frankie by Jacqueline Wilson | Goodreads

a b Allardice, Lisa (4 April 2020). "Jacqueline Wilson: 'I've never really been in any kind of closet' ". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020 . Retrieved 20 April 2020.

I may be 27, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop reading Jacqueline Wilson’s books. To me, they are so much more than “children’s literature”. She doesn’t shy away from very real and very difficult topics, yet maintains humour and lightness at the same time. LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives.

Love Frankie - Wikipedia Love Frankie - Wikipedia

I'm trying to understand why it felt like a 3 star read; one reason might be the language used by the young characters, which felt inconsistent to me. The words and sayings that the 13 year olds used didn't always suit their age or the time in which it is set (now). Jacqueline Wilson has a very specific dialogue style that cropped up at times then went away. I found it more jarring in this book set in the current day than the newer historical fiction books or even the contemporary novels written in the 90s. When Sally turns out to be not-so-mean after all, they strike up a friendship and are suddenly spending all of their time together. But soon Frankie starts to wonder about the feelings she has for Sally. She doesn't want Sally to just be her friend. She wants her to be her girlfriend. But does Sally feel the same? I loved Frankie's friendship with Sammy, her younger sister, her dog called Bear.🐻 I thought the plot dealing with her mother's MS was really well done too. Love Frankie is a weird book for me to review, because it's essentially Jacqueline Wilson writing a novel that foregrounds a relationship between two teenage girls, and I think it would have meant a great deal to me when I was the age of its protagonists. While LGBT+ narratives have proliferated in young adult fiction (a welcome change from when I was a teenager and the only LGBT+ character I encountered was Andy in Sweet Valley Senior Year!), I still think it's important that someone of Wilson's stature is writing this kind of narrative. And she handles it well, sustaining her light touch while dealing with serious issues such as homophobic taunts and the persistent narrative that same-sex attraction in adolescence is 'just a phase'. While I found the attitude of the central character to her sexuality a little unrealistically optimistic, Wilson has a tendency to write naive, unworldly protagonists, and so this is in keeping with her usual style, even if, for me, it plays troublingly into the myth that LGBT+ teenagers no longer face any major issues (for evidence on the persistence of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia today, see https://www.britishlgbtawards.com/lgb...) And Wilson's instinctive understanding of the emotional intensity of teenage female friendships, and how, here, that bleeds confusingly into romantic attraction, is spot on.

It should say a lot that in a story about queer teens, I hoped the story would end with Frankie realising she was better off without Sally. Jacqueline Wilson has been one of my favourite authors for the longest time and I have loved every book I have read by her. Her characters are usually going through some challenging times, and though there is never a magical "and they all lived happily ever after" tone to them, they always cheer me up. Maybe because as an author she doesn't make false promises, but she does make it clear that situations can improve.