Girls Out Late [Hardcover]

Ellie--plain, plump, with frizzy hair, not drop-dead gorgeous like Magda or supercool like Nadine--meets the man of her dreams over a burger and a sketch book and immediately finds that her father's instructions to be home by 9.00pm at the very latest have fallen through her hormone-addled sieve of a brain. She would much rather be snogging with Russell, but what will he think of her if she admits she has to be home at such a ridiculously early hour? But the real problems arise when Ellie and her buddies take a trip to London to see their favourite singer in action and they find themselves caught up with a van-load of dodgy blokes who have more than dancing in mind.

As sparky and true-to-life as ever, Wilson takes the bull by the horns and tackles teenage dilemmas with a reverence and wit that will doubtless continue to turn heads long into the future. Realism--not necessarily the gritty kind, but more the everyday-worrisome kind--plays a huge part in the authors work, not least in this tremendous series where she deals sensitively with the onset of the teenage years with a warmth, understanding and humour that cuts to the bone while at the same time provoking laughter at the sheer madness of it all.

An excellent book for older readers, great if read as part of the series, but undoubtedly not to be missed if it's the first Jacqueline Wilson book you have ever bought. It certainly won't be the last. (Age 11 and over) --Susan Harrison

Nine o'clock. That's when I have to be home. Dad thins it's no SAFE any later. But then the most amazing, magical thing happens. Out with my best friends, drop dead gorgeous Magda and super-cool Nadine, I meet a boy. And it's ME he's interested in! ME! Plain, plump Ellie. But will Russell STAY interested in a girl who has to be home by nine...?

Stay out later than late with Ellie and her friends in this sparky and true-to-life story. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

JACQUELINE WILSON is an extremely well-known and hugely popular author who served as Children's Laureate from 2005-7. She has been awarded a number of prestigious awards, including the British Children's Book of the Year and the Guardian Children's Fiction Award (for The Illustrated Mum), the Smarties Prize and the Children's Book Award (for Double Act, for which she was also highly commended for the Carnegie Medal). In 2002 Jacqueline was given an OBE for services to literacy in schools and in 2008 she was appointed a Dame. She was the author most borrowed from British libraries in the last decade.

'A brilliant writer of wit and subtlety' THE TIMES

'She should be prescribed for all cases of reading reluctance' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

'Has a rare gift for writing lightly and amusingly about emotional issues' BOOKSELLER