The Trouble with Vanessa

Drama College trilogy

by Jean Ure

This is the first in a trilogy about four students embarking on an Arts and Drama course at sixth-form college. Vanessa, Kate, Ned and Danny bring very different experiences and expectations to the new term.
- Review by Books of Keeps magazine

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 1988

About the author

Prolific English children and young adult author.

Had her first book published while still in high school, then studied theater at Webber-Douglas in London. Her most well-known work is the Point Crime novel Dance with Death. Others include Plague 99, After the Plague (previously "Come Lucky April"), Big Tom, Family Fan Club and Shrinking Violet, as well as the fantasy The Wizard In the Woods.

Today, Ure is very popular with British female teenage readers with novels such as Shrinking Violet, Family Fan Club and Passion Flower.

Ure has also translated Danish writer Sven Hassel's WWII novels to English.

Reviews

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a favourite growing up. I loved this whole trilogy. Jean Ure writes in a way(or wrote, I haven't read her new teen/kids stuff) which was subtly feminist and empowering. I really loved the characters of Vanessa and Kate. Kate's mother was all too relatable and there was a nice theme here of being true to yourself. Oh, and Morrison, what a sleaze! I must have a re-read of these sometime.