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Little Darlings
Jacqueline Wilson's latest guaranteed bestseller shines the spotlight onto the crazy world of celebrity.
Sunset lives a life of luxury with her beautiful ex-model mum, her world-famous ex-rocker dad and two little celeb siblings. But life on the red carpet is no compensation for rowing parents, constant nagging, intensive media scrutiny and no real friends.
Destiny, on the other hand, is an only child living on a rundown estate with a sickly but devoted mum who constantly tells her that she's really the daughter of a famous former rock star.
When the two girls meet in unlikely circumstances, they are surprised to find in each other something they've been missing all their lives.
Sunset lives a life of luxury with her beautiful ex-model mum, her world-famous ex-rocker dad and two little celeb siblings. But life on the red carpet is no compensation for rowing parents, constant nagging, intensive media scrutiny and no real friends.
Destiny, on the other hand, is an only child living on a rundown estate with a sickly but devoted mum who constantly tells her that she's really the daughter of a famous former rock star.
When the two girls meet in unlikely circumstances, they are surprised to find in each other something they've been missing all their lives.
378 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
127 people are currently reading
1762 people want to read
About the author
Jacqueline Wilson
399 books5,692 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 254 reviews
January 21, 2020
This was cute, sweet and uplifting.
June 16, 2012
I LOVED THE BOOK! The first bit got be kinda bored, but as we went into the story, it became more vivid ans i found myself Destiny, i was her, and my mum was my mum pretty much obvious, it was real. I found myself being sucked into the book, and i couldn't close it at all, I really couldn't. It was impossible. I blinked twice and my mum yanked it out of my hand, it seemed like I was so interested I wasn't even blinking "Snap out of it, girl" mum would say, 'Alright, Alright.' And I'd yank the book, back and continue my non-blinking. LOL
May 28, 2023
I was loving this book - it was set to be a 4 star middle-grade aka. a fantastic book for me.
I really enjoyed the family relationships between Destiny and her mum, Sunset and her siblings, and the school drama for Destiny and the talent show. Like all of JW's books, it was incredibly easy to read and I found myself binging 100+ pages at a time.
However, that being said, the ending ruined this book for me! Looking back I'm thinking maybe I wasn't supposed to have any questions about the relationships, and the truths behind them, but the ending left me with unresolved answers and was very abrupt!
I really enjoyed the family relationships between Destiny and her mum, Sunset and her siblings, and the school drama for Destiny and the talent show. Like all of JW's books, it was incredibly easy to read and I found myself binging 100+ pages at a time.
However, that being said, the ending ruined this book for me! Looking back I'm thinking maybe I wasn't supposed to have any questions about the relationships, and the truths behind them, but the ending left me with unresolved answers and was very abrupt!
July 2, 2022
Honestly what better than rereading all the books you adored as a kid but now as an adult. I love Jacqueline Wilsons books and writing. She's so good at writing about sometimes deeply awful topics that you'd want to shy children away from but she manages to write them in such a way that makes it manageable and understandabke and enjoyable for children and I remember my mum not really understanding that. As an adult rereading this I cringed so hard at some of it. In places its not aged well but mostly it's just because this is a children's book and the family dynamics in this book hit hard in places. And this isn't even the hardest hitting Wilson book imo? But you know what kids actually love emotional turmoil in small doses in controlled fictitious settings. I read this in like mild curiosity after borrowing it from my younger siblings bookshelf cuz I had nothing else to read i read it in like one sitting in a few hours. Am I rambling? Yes. Anyway h*gwarts houses are boring and overdone and tell you nothing about a person your true test of character is if you related to Destiny or Sunset more as a kid. Am a Sunset kind of girl if that wasn't plainly obvious about my everything xox
May 28, 2015
I am a great lover of Jacqueline Wilson. She is an amazing writer as shown in all of her books. However, I didn't particularly enjoy this book like I thought I would. The cover is very enticing and for me, that's why it caught my eye in the first place. The description at the back also made me interested although when I started reading it I found it majorly slow. The plot was just not right for me so it didn't draw me in like others have. I could not get through it and it took me over a month to do so. There were many times when I just wanted to put it down and start another book but I'm the type of person that when I start a book, I have to finish it. After all that though, I am glad I did finish it otherwise I would have regretted it even though I didn't particularly enjoy it. I'm still glad I know how the book turned out and I won't be left wondering what happens. The last couple of chapters were better than the beginning and middle however if I was asked if I would recommend it to a friend I would probably decline.
March 10, 2024
An amazing read following the stories of two very different girls who lead very different lives. That is until they become friends and everything changes. A very gripping read - I recommend it for ages 9+ and rate it full marks!
February 5, 2022
reread #9 or something:
jacqueline wilson books just hit different. why are they so disturbing and traumatic? even this one, which was low key not that bad, had questionable parents.
Original review:
Jacqueline Wilson's characters are the reason I hated my boring and common name growing up!
jacqueline wilson books just hit different. why are they so disturbing and traumatic? even this one, which was low key not that bad, had questionable parents.
Original review:
Jacqueline Wilson's characters are the reason I hated my boring and common name growing up!
April 11, 2018
I really liked this book I found it really good and very interesting.
August 5, 2021
This is one of my favourite Jacqueline Wilson books- I would love a sequel!
January 1, 2023
Very VERY good! I loved it and always wanted to keep reading, much to the annoyance of my family 😅
October 9, 2011
I bought this book expecting it to be quite boring. So receiving this book for Christmas I had low expectations for Little Darlings, but it managed to surprise me and grab me.
I loved the idea of this book, it really grabbed me and made me think and wonder, which i loved. I also loved how every chapter the main character changed and you could see what they were feeling and dealing with.
Ths book was well written but i felt like i just couldn't get into it which i really wanted to. All together it was pretty good and i was really glad to receive this book for Christmas.
I loved the idea of this book, it really grabbed me and made me think and wonder, which i loved. I also loved how every chapter the main character changed and you could see what they were feeling and dealing with.
Ths book was well written but i felt like i just couldn't get into it which i really wanted to. All together it was pretty good and i was really glad to receive this book for Christmas.
October 13, 2015
More on the reality side, it's a bit hard to believe that a celebrity and a local are related to each other. Yet they have an interesting teenage drama, both famous and infamous. Yet for some reason Danny Kilman doesn't know that he fell in love with Destiny's Mother
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2024
Lovely re-read over Christmas :)
April 4, 2024
every adult in this book sucks and the ending does nothing
June 27, 2024
why was i reading this at age 12
April 9, 2020
Hey this book was amazing! I loved it! Thx Jacqueline Wilson for creating it. I suggest reading it to whoever is reading this! Thank u. Sparkle out!
June 16, 2012
Title: Little Darlings
Author: Jacqueline Wilson
Characters:
Sunset Kilman: Her father is Danny Kilman, a ex-rock star. His mother is Suzy Kilman. She looks like her dad and nothing like her mother.
Destiny Williams: Destiny is also Dannys daughter but not Suzys. Danny and her mother went out before she was born but when Destiny was born, Danny wasnt around anymore. She sets out to find her father and becomes a good friend of Sunsets.
Danny Kilman: Danny is a rockstar. He has 4 kids, Destiny, Sunset, Sweetie and Ace. He does not know that Destiny is his daughter until. .
Suzy Kilman: Suzy is Sunsets mum and Dannys wife. She is an ex-model.
Ace and Sweetie Kilman: They are Danny and Suzys kids along with Sunset.
Claudia: They're posh nanny.
Plot: Sunset, aged ten, is the daughter of Danny Kilman, a well known rockstar. Destinym aged eleven, is a normal girl living a normal life but her father is Danny Kilman, a rockstar. Sunset lives with her mum, dad, bother and sister and Destiny lives with her mother. But what happens when Danny and Suzy split and gets a new girlfriend..?
Stars: I would give this book 4/5. I think that anyone should read this but remebr not to give up on it as you have to wait until the middle for much to happen.
Author: Jacqueline Wilson
Characters:
Sunset Kilman: Her father is Danny Kilman, a ex-rock star. His mother is Suzy Kilman. She looks like her dad and nothing like her mother.
Destiny Williams: Destiny is also Dannys daughter but not Suzys. Danny and her mother went out before she was born but when Destiny was born, Danny wasnt around anymore. She sets out to find her father and becomes a good friend of Sunsets.
Danny Kilman: Danny is a rockstar. He has 4 kids, Destiny, Sunset, Sweetie and Ace. He does not know that Destiny is his daughter until. .
Suzy Kilman: Suzy is Sunsets mum and Dannys wife. She is an ex-model.
Ace and Sweetie Kilman: They are Danny and Suzys kids along with Sunset.
Claudia: They're posh nanny.
Plot: Sunset, aged ten, is the daughter of Danny Kilman, a well known rockstar. Destinym aged eleven, is a normal girl living a normal life but her father is Danny Kilman, a rockstar. Sunset lives with her mum, dad, bother and sister and Destiny lives with her mother. But what happens when Danny and Suzy split and gets a new girlfriend..?
Stars: I would give this book 4/5. I think that anyone should read this but remebr not to give up on it as you have to wait until the middle for much to happen.
May 5, 2012
The friendship of two girls; Destiny and Sunset. Destiny lives with her mum on a rundown council estate and the only luck she has ever really had is her mum inheriting money from a former patient. Sunset has always been in the spotlight living the celebrity lifestyle with her parents but hates it. The two become friends but notice that they also have one thing in common...
The book explores two sides of the spectrum; working class and the rich and famous upper class but in an interesting way pushes the two together. Wilson allows for the reader to not only see how ‘the other half lives’ so to speak but also watching the development of the characters and how they feel about their lives.
Destiny aspires to live the life that Sunset has and Sunset wishes she had a peaceful life like Destiny. The moral of the story is that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Wilsons illustrations are based on magazine style headlines and formation which gives it that celebrity glamorous feel. Little Darlings is a book that everyone can relate to and the descriptions used by Wilson help to create a cognitive visual of the story.
The book explores two sides of the spectrum; working class and the rich and famous upper class but in an interesting way pushes the two together. Wilson allows for the reader to not only see how ‘the other half lives’ so to speak but also watching the development of the characters and how they feel about their lives.
Destiny aspires to live the life that Sunset has and Sunset wishes she had a peaceful life like Destiny. The moral of the story is that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Wilsons illustrations are based on magazine style headlines and formation which gives it that celebrity glamorous feel. Little Darlings is a book that everyone can relate to and the descriptions used by Wilson help to create a cognitive visual of the story.
January 12, 2013
I really love this book as it is really fascinating!It is about this rock star, Danny Kilman, who has two families. He left his first family as soon as his first daughter,Destiny, was born and married another woman, Lucy,who was once his fan, leaving Destiny and his wife alone.Destiny and her mother were very poor and had to move house frequently as they couldn't cope with the rent,only until her mother took up two jobs and managed to buy a small flat, though the conditions of it was really terrible. Danny and his second wife had three children, Sunset, Sweetie and Ace, they were very rich and lived in a landed property with three servants, but Danny wasn't really on good terms with Lucy. One day, Destiny and Sunset met and Destiny started telling Sunset that her father was actually her father too. Sunset went on to tell Danny and coincidentally, Lucy just returned home from her jog and overheard what Sunset told Danny. Ever since, Sunset's parents quarelled almost everyday and their family was broken. And to find out who helped to "save" their family, get the book and read on! This book has taught me the importance of friendship and that anything is possible.
August 13, 2015
Source: I own this book.
Cost: Unknown
Title: Little Darlings
Author: Jacqueline Wilson
Genre: Middle Grade, contemporary
Overall Rating: 3.9 stars
Darling lives with her mum in a crummy area outside Manchester. She doesn't have a lot but she has enough.
Sunset lives in a mansion with her rockstar Dad and her Model mum and her little siblings, she has everything she wants and more.
But what do these girls have in common? They're sisters.
I liked this one, it sort of came out when my Jacqueline Wilson crazed phase was ending, but I bought it anyway. As it didn't come out until I was in secondary school, it didn't own the same meaning to me as ones such as Double Act or Tracy Beaker would. I would recommend this still to my little cousins for something to read though!
Cost: Unknown
Title: Little Darlings
Author: Jacqueline Wilson
Genre: Middle Grade, contemporary
Overall Rating: 3.9 stars
Darling lives with her mum in a crummy area outside Manchester. She doesn't have a lot but she has enough.
Sunset lives in a mansion with her rockstar Dad and her Model mum and her little siblings, she has everything she wants and more.
But what do these girls have in common? They're sisters.
I liked this one, it sort of came out when my Jacqueline Wilson crazed phase was ending, but I bought it anyway. As it didn't come out until I was in secondary school, it didn't own the same meaning to me as ones such as Double Act or Tracy Beaker would. I would recommend this still to my little cousins for something to read though!
April 28, 2019
Sunset, dcéra (bývalého) rockera Dannyho Kilmana ktorého nezaujíma NIČ iné ako stratená sláva a popularita a Suzy, (bývalej) modelky, ktorá by ju najradšej vymenila. Navyše život celebrity neznáša.
Destiny, dcéra chudobnej mamy, s ktorou sa starajú jedna o druhú a nevlastná sestra Sunset. Chudoba sa jej moc nepáči, a radšej by bola s trochu viac peniazmi.
Sunset a Destiny sa spolu stretnú na premiére filmu Milky Stars, kde chce Destinina mama Destiny predstaviť Dannymu Kilmanovi. Keď sa im to však nepodarí, skúsia sa do Dannyho domu vlámať a tam sa Sunset a Destiny spriatelia, a nič by ich nemalo zastaviť pred tým, aby boli aj naďalej kamarátkami. Ani rozzúrená mama, veľká vzdialenosť či talentová súťaž...
Príbeh o sile priateľstva a sile vnútornej, vďaka ktorej prekonáte aj najvyššie a najťažšie prekážky.
Destiny, dcéra chudobnej mamy, s ktorou sa starajú jedna o druhú a nevlastná sestra Sunset. Chudoba sa jej moc nepáči, a radšej by bola s trochu viac peniazmi.
Sunset a Destiny sa spolu stretnú na premiére filmu Milky Stars, kde chce Destinina mama Destiny predstaviť Dannymu Kilmanovi. Keď sa im to však nepodarí, skúsia sa do Dannyho domu vlámať a tam sa Sunset a Destiny spriatelia, a nič by ich nemalo zastaviť pred tým, aby boli aj naďalej kamarátkami. Ani rozzúrená mama, veľká vzdialenosť či talentová súťaž...
Príbeh o sile priateľstva a sile vnútornej, vďaka ktorej prekonáte aj najvyššie a najťažšie prekážky.
July 2, 2014
I thought this book was amazing and I think everyone in this world should read it. It is about two girls and about how they met and how they keep a relationship going and quite a big and shocking secret is revealed. At first, I didn't think this book was a good book for me and I really didn't want to read it. it was like in the bottom of my never ending list. But after reading this book, I felt really bad about being so harsh to it. It was like the saying "Never judge a book by it's cover" but that is exactly what I did. Everyone should read this book. I hope you all will enjoy this book just like I did :)
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September 9, 2015I thought this book by jaqueline Wilson was one of her best books so far. In true jaqueline Wilson style it followed the story of two separate young girls one wealthy, one poor. As the book progresses they find that they are actually half siblings. Destiny and sunset are both excited by this prospect as sunset(the rich one) has a famous dad singer who welcomes destiny. The main theme in this book is friendship and love we see this through destiny and sunset. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this novel and I would recommend to the audience who is not to picky in book types but still wants a good read
June 7, 2013
Little darlings is definitely one of my favourite books the only thing I would change about it was the way it went like it was all about destiny in the first chapter and all about sunset in the second and then all about destiny in the third chapter and about sunset in the fourth it kinda confused me at the start but now it's definitely one of my favourites!!!
July 27, 2019
Ok this was an interesting read. I liked this book. She sure does like the name star and diamond, because I think the names were mentioned very briefly for a short second. I seem to find little bits from the Hetty Feather series plonked in here and there now when I read some of these books. Oh well still a good read.
December 11, 2024
i don’t think it’s fair for me to rate my childhood books so harshly because i enjoyed them all so much when i was the right age for them but the amount of spelling changes for peoples names, the plot holes, i need to remind my self im re reading them for fun and not to pick apart lmao
January 7, 2013
it is a really great book with problems lots of problems along the way.
February 10, 2022
I don't remember much but I read it in the Dutch translation and enjoyed it.
March 19, 2021
JW doesn’t miss in terms of pace and relatable characters, but I think the end of this one is a real cop-out
September 25, 2022
Little Darlings is an interesting book in concept, following the unlikely friendship between two young girls from very different backgrounds that turn out to be half-siblings. I enjoyed that each chapter alternated between the two girls' points of view, but the overall pacing was slow and I found it hard to stay engaged.
Sunset's character was fairly developed; it's clear how her mum's constant nagging affected her confidence and I enjoyed reading the passages where she retreated into 'Wardrobe City' and found comfort in her imagination, and later channelled this creativity into songwriting. Her parents intense arguments force her to step up and help take care of her two younger siblings, and she develops a sweet bond with the nanny Claudia which was a nice addition and good way of including an adult voice to condemn her parents' behaviour within the story.
Destiny is also an interesting character. At just 11 years old she feels more like the parent and has to plead with her mother, Kate, to seek help for her deteriorating condition. It feels as though we are meant to pity Kate for working so hard and trying to connect Destiny with her father - and whilst it was certainly sad to read about her neglecting her own health and falling into a depression, any likeability for her character was destroyed by how frustrating it was to read about her hysterical obsession with Danny and the way in which she neglects Destiny because of it.
The letters between Sunset and Destiny were a fun way of having them interact and I enjoyed seeing how their friendship developed. I enjoyed both of them as characters and wish this had been more of a focus as the majority of the book favours detailing different events that show how incompetent each parent is, which felt dragged out after a while. After all the hassle of trying to get Destiny to meet her father, I also found the ending to be weak and abrupt and wish that moment had been more fleshed out.
Sunset's character was fairly developed; it's clear how her mum's constant nagging affected her confidence and I enjoyed reading the passages where she retreated into 'Wardrobe City' and found comfort in her imagination, and later channelled this creativity into songwriting. Her parents intense arguments force her to step up and help take care of her two younger siblings, and she develops a sweet bond with the nanny Claudia which was a nice addition and good way of including an adult voice to condemn her parents' behaviour within the story.
Destiny is also an interesting character. At just 11 years old she feels more like the parent and has to plead with her mother, Kate, to seek help for her deteriorating condition. It feels as though we are meant to pity Kate for working so hard and trying to connect Destiny with her father - and whilst it was certainly sad to read about her neglecting her own health and falling into a depression, any likeability for her character was destroyed by how frustrating it was to read about her hysterical obsession with Danny and the way in which she neglects Destiny because of it.
The letters between Sunset and Destiny were a fun way of having them interact and I enjoyed seeing how their friendship developed. I enjoyed both of them as characters and wish this had been more of a focus as the majority of the book favours detailing different events that show how incompetent each parent is, which felt dragged out after a while. After all the hassle of trying to get Destiny to meet her father, I also found the ending to be weak and abrupt and wish that moment had been more fleshed out.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 254 reviews