Bad Girls (Wilson novel)

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Bad Girls
Bad girls cover.jpg
First edition cover
Author Jacqueline Wilson
Illustrator Nick Sharratt
CountryEngland
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's literature
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date
2 May 1996
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages192
ISBN 978-0-385-40702-1

Bad Girls is a children's novel published in 1996, written by English author Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt. The book revolves around a ten-year-old girl called Mandy being bullied by three girls called Kim, Sarah and Melanie. She later befriends a wayward teenage girl called Tanya who is in foster care and battling her own personal demons.

Contents

Plot summary

Ten-year-old Mandy White is a lonely girl who is embarrassed with her mother, who constantly treats her like a five-year-old, controlling what she wears and how she styles her hair. Mandy is deeply insecure and has little knowledge of the outside world. As a result, she is mercilessly tormented at school by three classmates: Kim, Sarah, and Melanie, the latter of whom is a former friend. After an incident where she is nearly hit by a bus while crossing a road to avoid the bullies, she is kept at home from school and meets Tanya, a lively fourteen-year-old girl being fostered by Mandy's across-the-road neighbour. Despite disapproval from Mandy's mother (who is shamed by Mandy's classmates for being older than other parents), who is very overprotective of her and treats her as if she were much younger, the girls quickly become friends. They dream of a future where they will be older and independent, free from families and foster homes, and can live together and have fantastic adventures.

Despite Mandy's mother's disapproval of Tanya, Mandy's dad is sympathetic and invites her to come swimming with them. Mandy becomes afraid when she discovers that Tanya is a frequent shoplifter, but decides not to say anything in case they are forbidden from visiting each other. One day during the summer, Tanya and Mandy are caught by police when Tanya steals from an upmarket clothing shop in town, resulting in her being removed from her foster mother's house by social services. Mandy's mother is initially angry, but realizes she has been too strict with her and allows her to get new glasses and restyle her hair so she will not look quite as childish.

Mandy also gains a new friend in Arthur King, a shy boy in her class who is obsessed with fantasy stories. She greatly misses Tanya, who was taken to a new foster home after the shoplifting incident. When Mandy's new year at school begins she has a dedicated, hands-on teacher who proposes a weekly 'circle time' session with the kids: they speak about the reality and consequences of bullying. Despite Mandy fearing things getting worse from the session, everything turns out alright. Kim leaves Mandy alone after this, and Mandy reconciles with Melanie, who along with Sarah, no longer associates with Kim.

The novel ends on a happy note as Tanya (who has dyslexia and hates writing) has with great difficulty written a letter to Mandy, assuring her that they are best friends forever and will one day be free to see each other again as they had dreamed about.

Tanya makes a brief appearance in another of Jacqueline Wilson's novels, Dustbin Baby .

Characters

Major characters

Minor characters

Reception

Kirkus Reviews called the novel's protagonists "funny, heart-warming, and fully deserving of readers’ compassion". Although they found the novel to be "sometimes implausible", they concluded that "youngsters will have a jolly good time with these bad, no, great girls". [1]

Publishers Weekly disagreed with the claim that Bad Girls is implausible. In starred review, [2] they highlighted Wilson's ability to "shap[e] convincing characters, dialogue and plot" in a "tightly written tale" that "proves that bad girls can make for a good story". [3]

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References

  1. "Bad Girls". Kirkus Reviews . 15 December 2000. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  2. "BAD GIRLS by Jacqueline Wilson". Publishers Weekly . 15 April 2002. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. "Bad Girls by Jacqueline Wilson". Publishers Weekly . 1 February 2001. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2024.