Love Lessons [Paperback]

So, i read this book about a month ago and i loved it. I know many people think its not suitable for young people but it tackles issues that most teenagers feel. I obviously do not reccomend this to under 11's but actually on the back it says 13+. Jaqueline wilson always makes her books about real issues and her teen series are brilliant. Being 13 i have loved jackies books and i still love them. Prue and grace are the best characters she has ever created in my opinion. The plot is very detailed but did weaken a bit in the middle. The start is gripping and the end is conclusive so its a win win!

All i can really say is i loved it and i hope you will too!

As an avid adult reader, I was curious to try a Jacqueline Wilson book and sat down one wet Saturday to read Love Lessons. A good book is a good book, regardless of your age. But this was a real disappointment and when I finished the last page I actually uttered out loud to myself "What a strange and dodgy story!"

On the one hand, there are some excellent passages - Prue's awkwardness and isolation at her new school is described in vivid and raw detail and the way that her family dealt with the her father's sudden illness and its conseqences was very poignant and engaging. I really felt for the characters and their dilemmas.

I knew the book would deal with a friendship between student and teacher, but I was horrified that it was actually a reciprocal relationship - and that she was merely 14 years old!! That really threw me. Don't get me wrong, I love an old forbidden romance, but there are boundaries in terms of morals and taste, and the relevant chapters left me quite uncomfortable. More often than not, I skimmed over them a bit nonplussed.

While we all had a crush on a teacher at some point, and convinced ourselves that they might just reciprocate, I think in most cases we grew up to realise that we were very lucky they didn't. Any adult that is sexually drawn to a child of 14 is not crush material. What was Jacqueline Wilson - and her publisher - thinking?! There is no condemnation in the book of his behaviour - and there really isn't any reason given for this 20-somthing year old man with a wife and two kids to suddenly risk his family and job in the pursuit of an underage girl. Furthermore, when the school principal suspects a relationship, she suggests the girl leaves the school so that he can keep his job. Bizarre! A story like this is normally featured in the pages of Take a Break or the Daily Mail, and most readers would just dismiss the teacher as a sleazebag in need of a stint in prison and rehabilitation.

Jacqueline Wilson would have been far better off developing the story and fleshing it out further. Either Prue should have had her attentions spurned - a painful and embarassing turn of events for any teenage girl - or if he had reciprocated, it should have been clear in the novel that this was inappropriate. What a naieve 14 year old would want from such a relationship would be a lot more innocent than the intentions of a 20-something predator!

Off the top of my head, one of the best (funniest and bittersweetest) books I ever read about growing up and falling for an older guy is Elizabeth Berg's Joy School. I would be more inclined to put that in the hands of a teenager than this overwrought fantasy.

Love Lessons is another foray into the hormone-rushing world of the teenage girl and this time, Jackie really means business! Tackling a subject she herself has admitted to being 'difficult', Wilson has given herself a double-bubble helping of trouble by veering away from 'typical teens' like the delightful Ellie, Magda and Nadine; instead presenting us with Prudence, a girl with an unfortunate name, home life and wardrobe. Prudence is about as far away from the norm as you can get. We have, of course, been presented with children from dysfunctional families before (The Diamond Girls and The Illustrated Mum are prime examples of this) but by today's standards Prudence and her chubby sister Grace really are outsiders. Not only are they home-schooled by their bossy, domineering and old fashioned father, Bernard, they also live in virtual poverty - enduring an unpleasantly puritan life free of mod-cons, treats,and contact with the outside world. They are not free, however, of -horror of horrors - vile homemade outfits fashioned from fabric offcuts. This is perhaps the most extraordinary family set up we have been presented with so far, and when you know this is combined with the 'taboo' subject of a teacher-student relationship you know you'll be in for an interesting read.
And interesting Love Lessons is. It is a mixture of searing reality on one hand, and almost ludicrously naive fantasy on the other. First, the good stuff. The real stuff. The sense of shame, embarrassment and loneliness on Prudence' part is tangible throughout the book, and she is a very entertaining character. Considering her position socially and emotionally, she is a surprisingly outspoken and fiesty heroine, refusing to be put down by the predjudice she is subject to once she finally gets a true taste of the outside world. Wilson has a marvellous way of conveying commonplace emotions and thoughts through less commonplace situations and Love Lessons is a wonderful example of this. If the book had stayed at this level - focussing on Prudence and Graces' struggles adapting to a new environment and way of life I would deem the book to be excellent. It is excellent where the subject matter remains believable. It is where it veers off into the realms of fantasy that it really plummets in my estimations, and as this 'realm' is, unfortunately, the main focus of the book, this drop in standards in inevitable.
Looking at a teacher/pupil relationship is always going to be tricky but I honestly thought Jackie would have presented it better than this. The relationship between Pru and Rax is frightening. For the people who are going to be madly clicking the 'no' button (you know what I mean!) as they read this review, please. Be sensible. How on earth can you justify a reciprocal relationship between a man who is, realistically, in his mid to late twenties and a 14 year old girl? And not just any 14 year old girl but one who is in a vulnerable situation, and, of course, dressed in the attire of a seven year old? The underlying possibilities of this 'relationship' are so potentially sinister I am surprised more people have not picked up on it. Jackie could have handled the story in 2 ways to make it more realistic and less harmful. One option could have had Rax utterly horrified by Pru's underage advances and therefore spurn her. The consequences of this would have been painful and embarrassing, but a real 'lesson' for all those teenage girls crushing on their teachers. The second option could have been Rax returning Pru's advances with the real and extremely unpleasant motive emphasised, then little Pru hopefully running for the hills, taking her frilly offcuts, stripy tights and pigtails with her. Again, people who are going to accuse me of being cynical, please, GROW UP. In the real world, there is only one type of twenty-something man who would want to become involved with a 14 year old, and we all know the type I mean. And yet this relationship, and Rax himself, are never vilified at any point in the book. While the romance is never actively encouraged either, the way in which it is written is hardly a deterrent to the hoards of young females who eat up these books. Pru and Rax declare their love for one another,squabble over their affair in school and share tender, 'school sweetheart' style kisses that are so seemingly innocent they make the snogs in Dawson's Creek look like pornography! Let's again be honest with ourselves - twenty something men are physically mature, sexual beings with desires and needs. The smooching between Pru and her older man is misleading to the point of being dangerous. The fact that Rax was not dismissed or at least subject to a thorough investigation also annoyed me - especially when you consider the efforts the authorities now put in to ensure that dodgy customers are not given easy access into schools.
On the plus side this book makes raw emotions incredibly tangible and accessible, and the bookish but outspoken Pru is a truly intriguing heroine. These are the elements that warrant my 3 stars. One the negative side the message is alarmingly naive and positively dripping in sentimental fantasy - utterly unlike Wilson usually, in fact. Hopefully young ladies today will be savvy enough to know that this book presents a highly romantised example of a forbidden relationship, and not be tempted to do the same.