Girls
in Love
By
Jacqueline Wilson
Girls in Love (1997) by Jacqueline Wilson is part one of a series of books
that centre around the life of Ellie and her two friends Magda and Nadine. This
series discusses issues which all girls face at some point throughout their
adolescence regarding school, friends, family and boys. This particular book
tells the story of the girls entering their first relationships. Ellie forms a
relationship with an embarrassing nerdy boy who she meets whilst holidaying
with her family, whereas Nadine forms a relationship with rebellious boy who is
pressuring her about sex. Throughout the story the girls begin to understand
what is important in a relationship and that no boy has the right to pressure a
girl into doing anything that she does not want to.
The ‘Girls’ series of
books tackle some really important issues which young girls will be able to
relate to and learn a lot from. This series has the ability to play a crucial
role in young girls development as it promotes self-esteem and helps them gain
perspective on real life situations. It is extremely important that young girls
are able to find literature that they are able to relate to and learn from
throughout this stage in their lives, as many girls feel uncomfortable talking
about these issues. By having a series of books such as Wilson’s, young girls
are able to understand that they are not alone and see that everyone struggles
with problems throughout their youth.
The themes, characters, language and dialogue
used throughout this series allows young girls to easily relate to the text,
which is a crucial aspect when aiming to engage the reader. The way in which
the story has been written allows the reader to truly get to know the
characters which allows the reader to become involved in the text. Wilson does
this by using descriptive language when she establishes the characters. For
example Ellie is described as a girl who is witty, artistic, vivacious, with
curly hair, who is self-conscious about her weight and appearance. Whereas her
friend Nadine is described as a tall, thin goth whose wild, rebellious attitude
tends to get her into trouble. Finally her friend Magda is beautiful, popular,
confident, optimistic and attracts a lot of male attention. All three main
characters bring different qualities to the texts which allows a wider variety
of readers to identify with the characters.
This series would be most appropriate for upper
primary and high school students as they deal with fairly mature issues. These
books could also be integrated with subject areas such as English, art inspired
by Ellie’s artistic flare and growth and development in relation to the issues
discussed. These books also have the potential to promote young girls to talk
more openly about their feelings and their own lives, which is a crucial part
of healthy physical and emotional development.
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