Tuesday, 17 May 2016

A New Novel by Jacqueline Wilson

Available NOW
UK Writer  Jacqueline Wilson  Rent a Bridesmaid

Penguin Random House NZ 2016  $35.00pb 361pp

ISBN 978 0 8575 3271 8

Themes: Friendship/ Gay marriage/ Marriage in old age/ Single parent families

Tilly has a dream of being a bridesmaid in a pink frilly dress and of walking down the aisle behind a beautiful bride, radiant in white – and all the better if the bride and groom were her own parents. In some ways the story sounds just like the mixture as before (and of course in many ways it is which is what makes Jacqueline Wilson one of the most popular writers of today.) However, like all her books which are often light and frothy and totally readable  on the top there are the more serious elements floating just below the surface – how it feels to have your mother walk away from the family/ the difficulties (and delights) of a gay marriage/ the agonies of having a best friend who suddenly seems to like someone else better than you/ getting married at 75/ what happens when your dad falls in love with your teacher…. Tilly, the catalyst for the story and who has the brilliant plan of hiring herself out as a bridesmaid, is an endearing heroine and may well take her place with the other Jacqueline Wilson superstars  -- Hetty Feather/ Tracy Beaker/ Sapphire Battersea / Opal Plumstead…

Year 6 up/ Age 10 up (but much younger children will insist on reading it of course)

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