Seven Standen
Think Again (2024) is the long-awaited sequel to Dame Jacqueline Wilson’s Girls In Love series, which saw its last entry in 2002.
Released on 12th September, the book follows the original teenage protagonist Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Allard as she turns 40-years-old. But, as Wilson reminds us, life isn’t any easier as a grown-up. In this new book aimed at adult readers, Ellie faces difficult decisions and confusing feelings, which many of us have grappled with before.
A Lot Can Change In 22 Years
Like contemporary readers of the Girls novels, Ellie is now an adult. Although a more fleshed out character with more life experience, she remains similar to her teenage self. She works as an art teacher rather than being a keen student and struggles to keep on top of a messy flat instead of doing homework. She still worries about how she looks, what to wear and if she’s going to get a boyfriend. Since 2002, Ellie has raised a daughter of her own (Lottie) and adopted a prissy cat (Stella). At heart, she remains the same awkward and anxious character in middle-age, despite her achievements.
While Nadine and Magda remain her best friends, they vouch for monthly meet-ups at the pub over teen discos. Both hold down successful jobs, but continue to struggle with similar issues to the original series. Boy-crazy Magda is pursuing her third husband and trying to manage life with her new step-kids. Nadine keeps having flings with wild and sometimes violent men, reminiscent of her abusive boyfriend from Girls In Love (1997).
Although Ellie has found success with her illustrations, she struggles with her career stagnating. She has no idea whether to pursue a brand new job or stick with her stable job as a teacher. At 40, Ellie is feeling stuck and like her life might be at a dead end. Her professional anxieties, on top of her worries about romantic and platonic relationships, make Ellie Allard a woman of the modern era.
One Size Fits All? Think Again!
One of Wilson’s goals was to explore the avenues open to women: “Choice is the best thing in modern life.” This can be seen in the variety of relationships in the book.
In a more traditional choice, Magda wants to be married and have a child. Meanwhile, Nadine dismisses the idea of both, saying she’d rather date lots of people than settle down.
“Getting married young wasn’t a sensible idea for me. Women now are more sensible and work out what they want”
Ellie falls somewhere in the middle, with one grown-up daughter and no desire for more kids. She’s open to dating someone, but still wants to prioritise her career.
Wilson says: “In my generation, we were told you either get married and have children or have a career, but why can’t you do both? Getting married young wasn’t a sensible idea for me. Women now are more sensible and work out what they want.”
Think Again Incorporates Wilson’s Lesbian Identity
At its core, Think Again is a book for LGBT+ fans who grew up identifying with Wilson’s books.
The representation of queer characters is sometimes surface-level. Ellie’s brother Eggs – now Benedict – is gay. He is married happily to partner Simon. Previously, Wilson hinted at his identity in Girls In Tears. In one scene, five-year-old Eggs dresses up as a female alter ego called “Eggarina”. But other diversity is more complex.
The book thrives when exploring Ellie’s relationship with her lesbian friend, Alice. Like Wilson, Ellie spends most of her life thinking she’s heterosexual. She dates and sleeps with several men, entering a serious relationship in Think Again. But her friendship with Alice leads to her questioning her own identity.
Ellie asks if it is possible to find out you’re gay halfway through your life. Wilson (who married her husband in 1965, but started dating current partner Trish in 2002) clearly leans into her own experiences as a lesbian.
The story of a belated queer awakening is not just familiar, but deeply necessary.
Many have similar experiences to Ellie and Wilson. However, the common narrative that people “know they’re LGBT+” from an early age (such as Alice does) keeps them from exploring their identity. Wilson explores the range of different journeys queer people go on, like she does with women.
A Queer Reading Of Wilson’s Work
Queer themes are present from Wilson’s earliest works.
Many of her nineties and noughties books feature same-sex couples without drawing attention to it. Two men live together in the flat above titular Lola Rose (2003), while Ellie’s male crush in Girls in Love is revealed to have a boyfriend. Other characters are alluded to as queer through fashion choices and hobbies. Some examples have been confirmed in retrospect, such as Tracy Beaker’s foster mother.
Many of Wilson’s stories are easy for young LGBT+ readers to connect to. They have strong queer themes, often unintentionally, because Wilson is writing from the perspective of a lesbian author.
“Since her coming out in 2020, Wilson has started to explicitly discuss LGBT+ issues”
Her books often feature intense female friendships, usually with one special friend. Likewise, female characters are always idolised by the protagonist, whether it’s a friend, teacher or favourite author. Other characters may be envied, for their attractive attributes or closeness with other girls. There is a distinct lack of male characters, aside from the occasional dad. These factors mean Wilson’s books appeal to queer girls, who identify with these stories.
Since her coming out in 2020, Wilson has started to explicitly discuss LGBT+ issues. In the same year, she published Love Frankie, a love story about two teenage girls. Wilson’s depiction of queer romance is mundane and fails to do anything interesting. Consequently, it is overshadowed by better young adult novels with similar themes. But in Think Again, Wilson’s writing of queer stories is much smoother.
Is Think Again Nostalgia Bait?
In the age of remakes and sequels, many potential readers might question the book’s intentions. Is Think Again really a necessary story or an attempt to sell books to former Jacqueline Wilson fans? Think Again does include references to the previous books, as well as the occasional easter egg. It’s also obvious the book was written with Wilson’s fans in mind, since it neatly ties up what happened to the characters in Girls.
However, Think Again also stands alone as a well-written book for adults. It is a coming-of-age story for grown-ups, who are conflicted about their identity, career and relationships. Wilson makes it clear that your life really can start at 40 (or any age) and that there’s no rush to figure everything out. Most importantly, the books leans into Wilson’s experience of realising she was a lesbian in later-life. The story of Think Again is important to Jacqueline Wilson fans first and foremost, but also to the field of queer fiction as a whole.
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Featured image courtesy of Ave Calvar via Unsplash. No changes made to this image. Image license found here.
Seven Standen
Seven (they/them) is a BA History and Sociology student at the University of Warwick. They are a freelance journalist, disability advocate, and lover of cats.