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Girls #1
Girls in Love
Ellie is starting ninth grade and she's dead set on finding herself a boyfriend. Her two best friends seem to have all the luck in the love department, but our heroine will stop at nothing to join the ranks. Even if it means pretending her 12-year-old pen pal is her gorgeous, head-over-heels-in-love beau. Naturally, chaos ensues, as it always does when one tries to live a lie, but with Ellie's dry, self-deprecating wit and the antics of her boy-crazy buddies, this is sure to be a year to remember.
Jacqueline Wilson, prolific author of more than 50 books, several of which have been short-listed or runners-up for the Carnegie Medal, pens a hilarious and authentic story about girls in love (or something like it). Readers will eat up the clever wordplay and painfully funny subplots, and will eagerly anticipate the other titles in the sequence, Girls Under Pressure and Girls Out Late. (Ages 12 to 16) --Emilie Coulter
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
334 people are currently reading
8399 people want to read
About the author
Jacqueline Wilson
390 books5,719 followersJacqueline 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 841 reviews
June 6, 2017
I'm really surprised by how relevant all the issues discussed in this book are! Turns out the teenage girl experience hasn't changed much in 20 years!
April 8, 2024
Girls In Love is the first book in Jacqueline Wilson’s Girls series and it has pulled me right back into childhood. All the references are very late ‘90s / early ‘00s (this was published in 1997) and it reminds of what it felt like to grow up during that time period, even though the girls in this book are around a decade older than me. I was born in 1995, but grew up reading pretty much every single book that Jacqueline Wilson ever published. These were hard-hitting stories for children/ young adults, that dealt with adult themes. A lot about first loves and first losses. I do feel as though these books did teach me about grief, although nothing could prepare me for losing my Nana at age 11. I don’t think I ever quite recovered from it. To have these characters go through similar helped.
I’m excited to re-read this whole quartet in preparation for Jaqueline releasing a 5th book in this series, which catches up with the three Girls as adults!
This is written from the main character Ellie’s perspective and it’s very much inside the mind of a teenage girl. Yes, there is mention of her not liking her weight (CW:// fatphobic language) but what teenage girl doesn’t go through times where she dislikes her body and is very self-critical? The story follows Ellie and her two best friends, Nadine and Magda during Year 9 at high school (between the ages of 13 & 14). Nadine is basically groomed by an older boy, 17 year old Liam. He’s such a creep and sadly that does happen to a lot of younger teenage girls. Ellie meets a young lad called Dan whilst on holiday in Wales. They get on well enough but he is a bit geeky and awkward, plus he lives in Manchester when Ellie lives in London. So, they become pen pals and Dan seems really interested in Ellie but she has her head in the clouds and is attracted to this other boy she sees on her walk to school. She tells her best friends about Dan, but embellishes the story and makes out that this blonde haired boy she has barely spoken to is the Dan who is writing her these love letter. Will Ellie end up with the first boyfriend that she so desperately wants to have?
3.4 Stars
I’m excited to re-read this whole quartet in preparation for Jaqueline releasing a 5th book in this series, which catches up with the three Girls as adults!
This is written from the main character Ellie’s perspective and it’s very much inside the mind of a teenage girl. Yes, there is mention of her not liking her weight (CW:// fatphobic language) but what teenage girl doesn’t go through times where she dislikes her body and is very self-critical? The story follows Ellie and her two best friends, Nadine and Magda during Year 9 at high school (between the ages of 13 & 14). Nadine is basically groomed by an older boy, 17 year old Liam. He’s such a creep and sadly that does happen to a lot of younger teenage girls. Ellie meets a young lad called Dan whilst on holiday in Wales. They get on well enough but he is a bit geeky and awkward, plus he lives in Manchester when Ellie lives in London. So, they become pen pals and Dan seems really interested in Ellie but she has her head in the clouds and is attracted to this other boy she sees on her walk to school. She tells her best friends about Dan, but embellishes the story and makes out that this blonde haired boy she has barely spoken to is the Dan who is writing her these love letter. Will Ellie end up with the first boyfriend that she so desperately wants to have?
3.4 Stars
February 27, 2021
CW: Fatphobia
This was a reread for me as I used to read and love this series as a child/almost teen. I remember thinking this was one of the coolest, mature books I could read at the time and while it makes me laugh now thinking about it (and realising how young the characters were), I still think there's a lot in this that could really resonate with young girls.
There is a lot of fatphobia in this book due to the main character Ellie always worrying about her weight, and finding new ways to criticise herself and comparing herself to her slimmer friends. While this isn't great to see and it doesn't age well, I can't say it something I would not have understood when I was the same age and also comparing myself to my friends who always seemed so much cooler, prettier and thinner than me.
I was surprised to have forgotten a lot about this book - in particular the fact that Nadine ends up with an older guy who is effectively grooming her for the entire book and pressuring her into sex. While it was great to see the dangers of this relationship and how Nadine's friends could see the signs and warn her against him - it was still just concerning as an adult to read it and I wanted ti wrap them all up in protective bubble wrap.
I enjoyed this though I think there are books later in the series that were my favourites as a kid and would probably prefer now. Looking forward to continuing on.
This was a reread for me as I used to read and love this series as a child/almost teen. I remember thinking this was one of the coolest, mature books I could read at the time and while it makes me laugh now thinking about it (and realising how young the characters were), I still think there's a lot in this that could really resonate with young girls.
There is a lot of fatphobia in this book due to the main character Ellie always worrying about her weight, and finding new ways to criticise herself and comparing herself to her slimmer friends. While this isn't great to see and it doesn't age well, I can't say it something I would not have understood when I was the same age and also comparing myself to my friends who always seemed so much cooler, prettier and thinner than me.
I was surprised to have forgotten a lot about this book - in particular the fact that Nadine ends up with an older guy who is effectively grooming her for the entire book and pressuring her into sex. While it was great to see the dangers of this relationship and how Nadine's friends could see the signs and warn her against him - it was still just concerning as an adult to read it and I wanted ti wrap them all up in protective bubble wrap.
I enjoyed this though I think there are books later in the series that were my favourites as a kid and would probably prefer now. Looking forward to continuing on.
February 6, 2021
Reading this as an adult makes me realise how nuanced and intelligent Jacqueline Wilson’s writing is
February 9, 2011
Aww, what a sweet book of innocence and shattered innocence. Of love and heartbreak. I felt a connection with each of the characters in this book and it was possibly one of the most important books of my early teens. If you are between 11 and 15/16 then you should read this book. A very cute read!
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September 20, 2024All in my nostalgic feeeeeeeeeeeeeeels
Jacqueline Wilson has come out with a new book Think Again which follows the lives of our 90s girlies Ellie, Nadine and Magda. My sweetheart of a partner is so cute that he decided to buy me the Girls in Love series, so I could binge one of my fave childhood books before reading the new release.
Girls In Love is narrated by Ellie talking about the going ons in her life/ friendships. In this book, her childhood best friend Nadine has got a boyfriend and frankly Ellie is envious. It doesn't help when immediately after her other best friend Magda gets a boyfriend too and Ellie is now compelled to lie and say she also has a boyfriend. We watch the dynamics of the girls navigating a new era of boys and how it affects them all.
OMG i am so grown grown now. When i read this book YEARS ago i felt like i was a part of the girls friend group, now reading, i feel like that sneaky auntie who has 'stumbled' upon her nieces diary and is snooping trying to get all the gossip and figuring out what goes on in a young girls mind. I still the remember the personalities of the three girls in this book and being older now my feelings and mindset has changed slightly towards them.
⋆｡°✩Magda⋆｡°✩
I don't know about you but I couldn't stand Magda when i was younger. I thought she was a pretentious know it all, that was boy hungry and so uber focused on her looks. But reading now, she is still that way in a sense but i can see that she does love her friends and has a caring nature to her. We all know that one person that does 'way too much' but deep down has a big heart. I see now this is Magda.
⋆｡°✩Ellie⋆｡°✩
Bless her! I think i used to compare myself to Ellie because she always felt like an outcast to her super glamourous/ pretty friends and was high key very unconfident. Adult me now wants to shake myself and Ellie and say that we are perfect just the way we are and everyone has insecurities. The more we get older the less we start stressing about unnecessary sh!t! I want Ellie to not keep putting her friends on a higher pedestal than herself and realize that they are all her equals.
⋆｡°✩Nadine⋆｡°✩
The middle man. She's likeable and adaptable to whomever she is around. I really empathise with her in this book, because wasn't we all a little boy crazy in our teens years and wanted to impress these twats even though they didn't deserve it. She is young and going through the motions and should give her self a little more grace and not be too hard on herself.
I really enjoyed reading book 1 again and I'm amazed on how well Jacqueline can write coming of age stories for young girls. I am not going to be rating the Girls In Love series, as i am simply reading them to remember the characters and the issues they dealt/ went through and for nostalgic purposes.
ONTO BOOK TWO NOW... GIRLS UNDER PRESSURE!
Jacqueline Wilson has come out with a new book Think Again which follows the lives of our 90s girlies Ellie, Nadine and Magda. My sweetheart of a partner is so cute that he decided to buy me the Girls in Love series, so I could binge one of my fave childhood books before reading the new release.
Girls In Love is narrated by Ellie talking about the going ons in her life/ friendships. In this book, her childhood best friend Nadine has got a boyfriend and frankly Ellie is envious. It doesn't help when immediately after her other best friend Magda gets a boyfriend too and Ellie is now compelled to lie and say she also has a boyfriend. We watch the dynamics of the girls navigating a new era of boys and how it affects them all.
OMG i am so grown grown now. When i read this book YEARS ago i felt like i was a part of the girls friend group, now reading, i feel like that sneaky auntie who has 'stumbled' upon her nieces diary and is snooping trying to get all the gossip and figuring out what goes on in a young girls mind. I still the remember the personalities of the three girls in this book and being older now my feelings and mindset has changed slightly towards them.
⋆｡°✩Magda⋆｡°✩
I don't know about you but I couldn't stand Magda when i was younger. I thought she was a pretentious know it all, that was boy hungry and so uber focused on her looks. But reading now, she is still that way in a sense but i can see that she does love her friends and has a caring nature to her. We all know that one person that does 'way too much' but deep down has a big heart. I see now this is Magda.
⋆｡°✩Ellie⋆｡°✩
Bless her! I think i used to compare myself to Ellie because she always felt like an outcast to her super glamourous/ pretty friends and was high key very unconfident. Adult me now wants to shake myself and Ellie and say that we are perfect just the way we are and everyone has insecurities. The more we get older the less we start stressing about unnecessary sh!t! I want Ellie to not keep putting her friends on a higher pedestal than herself and realize that they are all her equals.
⋆｡°✩Nadine⋆｡°✩
The middle man. She's likeable and adaptable to whomever she is around. I really empathise with her in this book, because wasn't we all a little boy crazy in our teens years and wanted to impress these twats even though they didn't deserve it. She is young and going through the motions and should give her self a little more grace and not be too hard on herself.
I really enjoyed reading book 1 again and I'm amazed on how well Jacqueline can write coming of age stories for young girls. I am not going to be rating the Girls In Love series, as i am simply reading them to remember the characters and the issues they dealt/ went through and for nostalgic purposes.
ONTO BOOK TWO NOW... GIRLS UNDER PRESSURE!
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April 30, 2019Yeahhhhh... I mean I know I’m 26 now, but when I re-read the Louise Rennison books I still enjoyed them and they made me laugh, this had soooooo many things I was just like what on earth? Oh well it did it’s purpose for a sick day I suppose.
Also I’m not rating any of the books I read when I was younger because when I was reading them I loved them and it’s not really fair of me to do it now because I’m not really the intended demographic so there’s that (and it was a book of its time)
Also I’m not rating any of the books I read when I was younger because when I was reading them I loved them and it’s not really fair of me to do it now because I’m not really the intended demographic so there’s that (and it was a book of its time)
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January 15, 2023Re-reading this genuinely made me happy. I see why I loved this as a young teenager!
September 5, 2024
A re-read ahead of the sequel release. I've appreciated scanning through the 2024 re-read reviews and feeling less alone in the experience. This has been bittersweet for me as for everyone else (mostly in our early 30s now.) I remember reading these books like they were instruction manuals for teenagehood and believe this series has a small part to play in my developing eating disorders later on in life. I especially related to Ellie when I first read this, with her much younger brother and the complicated dynamic such an age gap creates. I felt myself back there again during this re-read and it was mostly uncomfortable. JW is so real about girlhood in the 90s and 00s and I can't read her writing style without immediately feeling at home, but it's sad to be reminded of how dark and vulnerable it is to be a thirteen-year-old girl. I hate reading didactic books as an adult more than anything and understand that teens are extra sensitive to being patronised but it's hard to see, for example, Ellie's dad getting away with being such a creep, and the light touch with which this is handled. Although Ellie is just how I remember, Nadine and Magda are so different. I was almost intimidated by them and in awe of their glamour when I first read the series. I can't believe, now, how young they are, and I feel so protective of and anxious for them. How strange to be an adult reading about 13 year old girls written by an adult who was once a 13 year old girl in a totally different era. How things have changed and also stayed the same. I so hope things are at least slowly getting better.
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July 10, 2024I saw someone else in the reviews say they aren’t rating this as they read it for nostalgia, & like the adult that I am, I am copying them xox
Read
September 2, 2024It’s a nostalgia read so don’t feel any need to rate something I originally read 20 years ago through the lens of someone in their 30s.
Jacqueline Wilson is still the GOAT.
Jacqueline Wilson is still the GOAT.
April 18, 2021
A sweet short book à la Judy Blume (teenagers, life lessons etc) for middle grade or maybe a little higher by my standards. Summer is coming and I am switching to lighter things to read.
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July 31, 2024This was pure literature when I was 10 so feels unfair to rate it at 25
August 11, 2024
the nostalgia!!!
Read
December 15, 2025The book was very cute, and all the girls were relatable although I have to admit that Magda got on my nerves. Elly is adorably self-deprecating without it being annoying and just begging for reassurance, and Nadine may look like the token goth chick, but she's put in situations that young girls can definitely relate to. It's a mess of hormones, self-confidence issues, girltalk and sex without being tacky or scandalous or too sexed up.
The tv series adaptation is also really great =D
The tv series adaptation is also really great =D
January 21, 2019
Dropping this at 50 pages. I've never read this one before but read the third in the series when I was a kid, and was feeling like experiencing it again. This was a mistake. This novel is based on the protagonist lying to her best friends, it includes a lot of harmful thoughts about dieting and bodies, and it just isn't worth my time for the few minutes of warm nostalgia.
September 19, 2024
This is certainly a book of its time. Lots of talk about weight and body image for 13 year olds, which I don't recall me or my friends worrying about at age 13 in the late 2000s! However, I will always applaud Jacqueline Wilson for touching on more serious, very real topics in her preteen books that many others would gloss over or think is too "grown up" for a 13 year old to know about or discuss (in this case, sex and older boys taking advantage of younger girls, etc.)
July 7, 2024
the childhood nostalgia <3
April 30, 2021
I really loved this book series when i was younger, and wanted to re read as an adult. Some of the themes discussed are so important but i’m not sure if they’re always written about in a teen appropriate way - and certain parts made me really uncomfortable, especially regarding the age of the characters. This was a fun break from the heavier book i’m reading right now but i’m also feeling a bit disheartened by how i remembered this book compared to the reality now reading it as an adult.
November 23, 2025
*re read*; so nostalgic!
One of my favourite series in my younger teen years, and still a great comfort read to me today! This series is very close to my heart, and is relatable for all girls out there. it deals with lots of common issues many girls face in their teen years, and handles them in a funny, loving, heartwarming manner.
One of my favourite series in my younger teen years, and still a great comfort read to me today! This series is very close to my heart, and is relatable for all girls out there. it deals with lots of common issues many girls face in their teen years, and handles them in a funny, loving, heartwarming manner.
August 25, 2024
a reread at 30 years old ahead of the sequel release.
GIL perfectly sums up friendship as a 13 year old girl in the noughties- would love to see an updated edit with a more thoughtful approach to body image and LGBTQ+ relationships for the next generation to be able to enjoy
GIL perfectly sums up friendship as a 13 year old girl in the noughties- would love to see an updated edit with a more thoughtful approach to body image and LGBTQ+ relationships for the next generation to be able to enjoy
September 15, 2024
3.5⭐️ thought I’d revisit this since the grown up sequel was announced. A bit of dated language, but still holds up as a good YA with just a hint of some darker themes 😅 (classic Jacqueline Wilson)
September 19, 2024
revisiting the og series in preparation to read the new adult’s book.
be wary if you’re thinking of reading for comforting nostalgia bc there’s EXTREME body hatred from the main characters and age gap relationships that make me want to supply all teenage girls with tasers.
3.5 stars?! i first read girls in love when i was about eight and while it almost certainly encouraged me to unashamedly be myself *and* to research frida kahlo, it probably also encouraged me to hate my “pink, wobbly” thighs and roundness too. ack!!!
be wary if you’re thinking of reading for comforting nostalgia bc there’s EXTREME body hatred from the main characters and age gap relationships that make me want to supply all teenage girls with tasers.
3.5 stars?! i first read girls in love when i was about eight and while it almost certainly encouraged me to unashamedly be myself *and* to research frida kahlo, it probably also encouraged me to hate my “pink, wobbly” thighs and roundness too. ack!!!
September 20, 2024
I last read this about twenty years ago and I still remember exactly so many phrases! I can’t wait to read the follow-up.
February 23, 2025
very nostalgic
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August 12, 2024takes me back to being 8 years old reading this book past my bedtime and giggling to myself because it was written for teenagers and i was not, in fact, a teenager
September 30, 2024
Tropes
- Young adult / teenage girls
- High school
- First loves
- Friendship dynamics
I read this book because I really want to read Jacqueline’s newest book, I read these as a child but of course I can’t remember them now. Due to being a lot older than the target audience I did find it read a bit immature, but again we were all high school teenagers one day, competing against our own emotions and friends to stay with the flow.
One things for sure, this definitely wouldn’t pass an editor in these days and some may find some comments a bit offence
- Young adult / teenage girls
- High school
- First loves
- Friendship dynamics
I read this book because I really want to read Jacqueline’s newest book, I read these as a child but of course I can’t remember them now. Due to being a lot older than the target audience I did find it read a bit immature, but again we were all high school teenagers one day, competing against our own emotions and friends to stay with the flow.
One things for sure, this definitely wouldn’t pass an editor in these days and some may find some comments a bit offence
July 17, 2010
At the start this book suspiciouly reminded me of the Confessions of Gee Nicholson, but then I found out it was published before that series...
It was very different though. No snog-a-thons or Dave-the-laughs, but it did hold a different quality, a more emotional, real life one.
It is about 13 year old Ellie. Bushy haired, glasses wearing plump Ellie and the fixes she gets herslef into, one with dorky Dan...
I remember watching the TV version of it when I was about 9, and thinking 'I'm going to read this when I'm a teenager'. And I still remember the theme song and have been singing it ever scince... "us girls gunna have fun tonight, ooh, get ready in the club tonight..." ect. Well atleast I think thats the one... :)
It was very different though. No snog-a-thons or Dave-the-laughs, but it did hold a different quality, a more emotional, real life one.
It is about 13 year old Ellie. Bushy haired, glasses wearing plump Ellie and the fixes she gets herslef into, one with dorky Dan...
I remember watching the TV version of it when I was about 9, and thinking 'I'm going to read this when I'm a teenager'. And I still remember the theme song and have been singing it ever scince... "us girls gunna have fun tonight, ooh, get ready in the club tonight..." ect. Well atleast I think thats the one... :)
October 2, 2024
I'm not sure whether I read the Girls series when I was younger, given that I read through my Library's Jacqueline Wilson collection when I was little I may well have done but just didn't remember.
Anyway, I don't have much in the way of thoughts about this, as per usual, Jacqueline hits on topics that don't come up in most books for the targeted age range which is always something I've appreciated as it feels more realistic and relatable.
I'll be trying to get through the series as quickly as I can to get to the newly released sequel 'Think Again'.
Anyway, I don't have much in the way of thoughts about this, as per usual, Jacqueline hits on topics that don't come up in most books for the targeted age range which is always something I've appreciated as it feels more realistic and relatable.
I'll be trying to get through the series as quickly as I can to get to the newly released sequel 'Think Again'.
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