Girls in Love (Girlfriends trilogy) (Hardcover)

by Jacqueline Wilson (Author) "The first day back at school..." (more)
Key Phrases: Seventh Heaven, Year Nine, Dopey Dan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
In Wilson's (The Story of Tracy Beaker) fast-paced first book in the Girlfriends Trilogy, ninth-grader Ellie describes why she's "feeling so fed up" and the sticky situations in which she finds herself. Ellie's first-person narration possesses a Bridget Jones-like energy and compulsiveness. Her constant obsession with her weight gets old, but her loathing of teachers, family and herself will feel familiar. Ellie's relationship with her two best friends, Nadine and Magda, and especially with nerdy Dan, whom she meets on holiday, serve as good models without being didactic. Feeling jealous after hearing about Nadine's new older boyfriend and Magda's summer flirtations, Ellie pretends that Dan is her boyfriend, though she substitutes his looks with those of a cute boy she's crushing on. As Dan expresses his romantic feelings for her through the letters they exchange, it becomes obvious that she won't be able to keep up her farce forever. Meanwhile, Nadine's boyfriend pressures Nadine for sex, and there's tension between Ellie's dad and stepmother. The short lists at the end of each chapter (like "nine most embarrassing moments") give readers insight into Ellie's past and her character. There are tender moments, such as when the heroine visits heartbroken Nadine, and the funny narrative, filled with British colloquialisms, and clever exchanges with Dan make this a breezy read. Ages 12-up. (Jan.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Transworld Pub (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385408048
• ISBN-13: 978-0385408042
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,711,588 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mmm, maybe....!, December 20, 2000

By	Sarah (Cheshire, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girls in Love (Audio Cassette)

Jaqueleine Wilson is fantastic. There's never been any question about that in my mind. And I'd also like to note that I'm a staunch believer in children's books not being censored. However, even my liberal mind was a little surprised. Most of the books scenes are fine and what I would expect from this excellent author. A parents death, irritating siblings, worries about the opposite sex are what I would expect for girls aged thirteen (the ages of the three heroines) But a couple of places in the book did surprise me somewhat. When one of the girls, Nadine, meets Liam, all three thirteen yea olds go to a nightclub where they are offered drugs (E's and whizz, in Magda's words) and Nadine even takes some "to relax her" to enable her to sleep with Liam (she doesn't.) I fully realise that, sadly, this is a world many thirteen year olds live in, but by writing about it this implies that it is normal. I do think if Wilson's heroines had been, say, sixteen, I would have been far more happy with it. Had I read this book at thirteen, I do wonder if I would have belived clubbing, sex, drugs and parties to be the morn in my age group. Hopefully not. But possibly some thirteen year old somewhere, might. The main reason WIlson's books are applauded is that they are realistic. I would reccomend any parent giving this book to a child to chat with them first and assure them that what the girls in the story do is not by any means what their peers do.

These scenes aside then, this book is excellent. The girls are realistic and strangely likeable. All in all it is a good story but unlike many of Wilson's other books, that is all it is. I did not pick up on any undercurrents of concern here. Give it t your child by all means and read it yourself - just be prepared for "But in this book.." comments!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Teens!, July 8, 2002

By	sUrFeRgUrL - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girls in Love (Girls Trilogy, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Girls in Love is an awesome introduction into the world of these three characters. Ellie, Magda and Nadine. They are all freshmans in highschool, and all...dateless. Until one day, Nadine confesses to having a boyfriend. Ellie (main character) starts a lie that goes way to far. Farther than she wanted it to go. She didn't want to seem like an out cast. How far did it go? And did Ellie confess it was all a lie? Read this book to find out! I recomend this book because it tells about true love, and how you shouldn't have low-self esteem. One of the characters gets used by an older boy and doesn't realize it until the end...when her friends come to the rescue!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Girls in Love by Jaqueline Wilson, November 28, 2000

By	Kassy Tigg (Great Britain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girls in Love (Audio Cassette)

Ellie,Nadine and Madga are all best friends.Ellie is chubby and funny. Nadine is pretty and sensible and Magda is glamorous and sexy. They are a funny trio and when Nadine and Magda have both got boyfriends Ellie gets jealous.She lies about having a boyfriend and gets in a muddle.Magdas boyfriend turns out to be selfish and immature and Nadines boyfriend turns out to be a bad boy. This book can be funny, crazy and sad all at the same time and will cheer you up if you're feeling down Age group- 10-15yrs