This Girl

by Jacqueline Wilson

Coral gets a job as a nanny with a posh family in London, but her outlook is changed when she befriends Pat, an unmarried mother.

Genres: Young Adult

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945, but spent most of her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames. She always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was nine, filling in countless Woolworths’ exercise books as she grew up. As a teenager she started work for a magazine publishing company and then went on to work as a journalist on Jackie magazine (which she was told was named after her!) before turning to writing novels full-time.

One of Jacqueline’s most successful and enduring creations has been the famous Tracy Beaker, who first appeared in 1991 in The Story of Tracy Beaker. This was also the first of her books to be illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Since then Jacqueline has been on countless awards shortlists and has gone on to win many awards. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the 1999 Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children’s Book Award.

Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People’s Choice Award.

Jacqueline is one of the nation’s favourite authors, and her books are loved and cherished by young readers not only in the UK but all over the world. She has sold millions of books and in the UK alone the total now stands at over 35 million!

In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. In 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Reviews

[theuntidybookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

i sought out this book after i saw a critic refer to it as a "lesbian romance." as a long-term jacqueline wilson fan, i was so determined to read this now out of print book. unfortunately, i have to preface this review by stating that the term "lesbian romance" is a bit far-fetched, even by 1980s standards. this girl is essentially a coming-of-age novel of a young heterosexual woman, which miraculously transforms into a lesbian romance in the last chapter. the rest of the book requires almost microscopic attention to detail in order to pick up on any LGBTQ+ themes.

wilson’s protagonist is an eccentric, working-class girl named coral, who moves to london to become a live-in nanny for a wealthy family. despite being one of wilson's earliest novels, her ability at writing realistic characters shines through, and distinctive character voices and imaginative attention to detail are honed. it's easy to see how wilson will be catapulted into superstardom with the publication of the story of tracy beaker just a few years later.

as this girl was published in the late 1980s, there are naturally elements of the novel which aged it. namely, the will-they-won’t they dynamic between coral and toby was uncomfortable to read from a 21st century perspective, considering that coral is a minor lying about her age and the significant age gap between them is not even explicitly addressed. however, plot lines such as this allows wilson to frankly highlight how women in the 1980s were forced to balance on the tightrope between agency and subservience. if this book was published today, i’d like to think more time would be devoted to coral and deb’s blossoming friendship. deb is the book’s most interesting and most likeable character, and i found myself rushing through other chapters eagerly awaiting her return.

describing this girl as a “lesbian romance” should be taken with a (very large) pinch of salt. i thought i had been lied to for at least the first 80% of the book. the character of deb isn’t even introduced until a third of the way through, and there is scarce indications that her and coral are going to become romantically engaged. coral’s attentions are always desperately elsewhere, with her attraction to men not only being foregrounded, but prioritised. whilst this is obviously understandable for a 1980s novel, it meant that the the last chapter, in which the book finally lives up to the description, left me feeling blindsided. after 160 pages of coral and deb seemingly moving in different directions, [SPOILER] they end the novel living in domesticated bliss, culminating in “lovely nights” spent in a shared single bed. honestly, this book takes the “they were roommates” trope to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

although this chapter was lovely (and absolutely worth waiting for), it felt like an entirely different book. perhaps this was the one wilson wanted to write, and the one she would write if the book was published today. when coral slides her arm round deb’s waist in front of the family she used to work for, the narrator states that “it shakes them all.” this remark is quite ironic, as i was shaken too, and perhaps wilson *knew* that the reader would be. although very elusive hints were dropped at coral’s longing for closeness with women (i hesitate to call it attraction), i only noticed these because i was deliberately searching for them. i imagine the average 1980s teen reader would not have picked up on this.

like most 1980s LGBTQ books, this girl unfortunately engages with some harmful tropes. the book ultimately suggests that women “turn to lesbianism” after they’ve learnt The Lesson: that all men are abusive and only after sex. (although i’m all for overturning the patriarchy, this is untrue and more harmful than beneficial) the story also ends when it feels like it should be beginning, which is oh-so familiar in this genre. i closed the book feeling that there was so much more of coral and deb’s story to be told, coupled with the bittersweet knowledge that one chapter is all they would get.

this girl is a definitively accurate example of LGBTQ+ representation in 1980s YA literature, if accurate means almost non-existent. perhaps the most interesting part of the text lies not in the portrayal of “lesbian romance” but in wilson’s depiction of heterosexual relationships. all the straight couples in the book are unhappy and loveless for various different reasons. coral and deb’s relationship is the healthiest - and the happiest - and it is this which leaves a lasting impression on the reader, even several decades later.

4 stars.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything about this book. At the time I read it (a good few years ago now) I found myself relating to Coral and becoming engaged in her story. Great writing, great characterization. It is quite dated but I feel the themes and issues raised in the book are still relevant.