Tamara
I really wanted to give this more than two stars, but I simply can’t.
I haven’t read the Girls series before, so these characters were entirely new to me. Even so, the familiar nostalgia of a Jacqueline Wilson novel was very much present, which made me hopeful going in.
Think Again starts off slowly, and for a while, it's difficult to see where the story is actually heading. Once it settles, the pacing improves, and the different threads begin to come together into a clearer narrative. Unfortunately, that’s also where my enjoyment began to fade.
The storyline itself often felt uncomfortable and oddly “off.” Questionable choices are made by both the main character, Ellie, and by Jacqueline Wilson as the author, to the point where the book just felt icky.
While queer representation is always welcome, the way Ellie’s journey is written here feels unbalanced and somewhat forced. The other woman in the relationship isn’t as fully developed as she could be, and their connection reads more like companionship than the passion that’s repeatedly described with another partner. As a result, Ellie’s queer awakening feels muted rather than affirming or triumphant. At the same time, nearly every heterosexual man Ellie encounters is portrayed as a red flag—most notably her cousin, who attempts to pressure her into dating through creepy gifts and non-consensual kissing, and her former art teacher, who is arguably the biggest red flag of all. Whilst it's already uncomfortable that they're in a relationship in the first place, the dynamic with this man becomes repetitive: he behaves badly, Ellie feels uneasy but says nothing, and everything is glossed over with great sex over and over again. The real awakening Ellie needed was right there: understanding that good sex is not a reason to tolerate disrespect or boundary violations. Instead, the book sidesteps this entirely. This messaging becomes especially uncomfortable when Magda and Nadine explicitly tell Ellie that “that’s just how all men are” and that she should simply put up with it and enjoy the sex. Jacqueline Wilson used to be so, so good at driving home those important messages, but in Think Again, this is really not the case.
Overall, Think Again had potential and moments of familiarity, but the execution left me disappointed. It didn’t feel like a comforting, nostalgic Jacqueline Wilson novel, and I finished it feeling more uneasy than moved.
I really wanted to give this more than two stars, but I simply can’t.
I haven’t read the Girls series before, so these characters were entirely new to me. Even so, the familiar nostalgia of a Jacqueline Wilson novel was very much present, which made me hopeful going in.
Think Again starts off slowly, and for a while, it's difficult to see where the story is actually heading. Once it settles, the pacing improves, and the different threads begin to come together into a clearer narrative. Unfortunately, that’s also where my enjoyment began to fade.
The storyline itself often felt uncomfortable and oddly “off.” Questionable choices are made by both the main character, Ellie, and by Jacqueline Wilson as the author, to the point where the book just felt icky.
While queer representation is always welcome, the way Ellie’s journey is written here feels unbalanced and somewhat forced. The other woman in the relationship isn’t as fully developed as she could be, and their connection reads more like companionship than the passion that’s repeatedly described with another partner. As a result, Ellie’s queer awakening feels muted rather than affirming or triumphant. At the same time, nearly every heterosexual man Ellie encounters is portrayed as a red flag—most notably her cousin, who attempts to pressure her into dating through creepy gifts and non-consensual kissing, and her former art teacher, who is arguably the biggest red flag of all. Whilst it's already uncomfortable that they're in a relationship in the first place, the dynamic with this man becomes repetitive: he behaves badly, Ellie feels uneasy but says nothing, and everything is glossed over with great sex over and over again. The real awakening Ellie needed was right there: understanding that good sex is not a reason to tolerate disrespect or boundary violations. Instead, the book sidesteps this entirely. This messaging becomes especially uncomfortable when Magda and Nadine explicitly tell Ellie that “that’s just how all men are” and that she should simply put up with it and enjoy the sex. Jacqueline Wilson used to be so, so good at driving home those important messages, but in Think Again, this is really not the case.
Overall, Think Again had potential and moments of familiarity, but the execution left me disappointed. It didn’t feel like a comforting, nostalgic Jacqueline Wilson novel, and I finished it feeling more uneasy than moved.
I really wanted to give this more than three stars, but I simply can’t.
I haven’t read the Girls series before, so these characters were entirely new to me. Even so, the familiar nostalgia of a Jacqueline Wilson novel was very much present, which made me hopeful going in.
Think Again starts off slowly, and for a while, it's difficult to see where the story is actually heading. Once it settles, the pacing improves, and the different threads begin to come together into a clearer narrative. Unfortunately, that’s also where my enjoyment began to fade.
The storyline itself often felt uncomfortable and oddly “off.” Questionable choices are made by both the main character, Ellie, and by Jacqueline Wilson as the author, to the point where the book just felt icky.
While queer representation is always welcome, the way Ellie’s journey is written here feels unbalanced and somewhat forced. The other woman in the relationship isn’t as fully developed as she could be, and their connection reads more like companionship than the passion that’s repeatedly described with another partner. As a result, Ellie’s queer awakening feels muted rather than affirming or triumphant. At the same time, nearly every heterosexual man Ellie encounters is portrayed as a red flag—most notably her cousin, who attempts to pressure her into dating through creepy gifts and non-consensual kissing, and her former art teacher, who is arguably the biggest red flag of all. Whilst it's already uncomfortable that they're in a relationship in the first place, the dynamic with this man becomes repetitive: he behaves badly, Ellie feels uneasy but says nothing, and everything is glossed over with great sex over and over again. The real awakening Ellie needed was right there: understanding that good sex is not a reason to tolerate disrespect or boundary violations. Instead, the book sidesteps this entirely. This messaging becomes especially uncomfortable when Magda and Nadine explicitly tell Ellie that “that’s just how all men are” and that she should simply put up with it and enjoy the sex. Jacqueline Wilson used to be so, so good at driving home those important messages, but in Think Again, this is really not the case.
Overall, Think Again had potential and moments of familiarity, but the execution left me disappointed. It didn’t feel like a comforting, nostalgic Jacqueline Wilson novel, and I finished it feeling more uneasy than moved.
I really wanted to give this more than three stars, but I simply can’t.
I haven’t read the Girls series before, so these characters were entirely new to me. Even so, the familiar nostalgia of a Jacqueline Wilson novel was very much present, which made me hopeful going in.
Think Again starts off slowly, and for a while, it's difficult to see where the story is actually heading. Once it settles, the pacing improves, and the different threads begin to come together into a clearer narrative. Unfortunately, that’s also where my enjoyment began to fade.
The storyline itself often felt uncomfortable and oddly “off.” Questionable choices are made by both the main character, Ellie, and by Jacqueline Wilson as the author, to the point where the book just felt icky.
While queer representation is always welcome, the way Ellie’s journey is written here feels unbalanced and somewhat forced. The other woman in the relationship isn’t as fully developed as she could be, and their connection reads more like companionship than the passion that’s repeatedly described with another partner. As a result, Ellie’s queer awakening feels muted rather than affirming or triumphant. At the same time, nearly every heterosexual man Ellie encounters is portrayed as a red flag—most notably her cousin, who attempts to pressure her into dating through creepy gifts and non-consensual kissing, and her former art teacher, who is arguably the biggest red flag of all. Whilst it's already uncomfortable that they're in a relationship in the first place, the dynamic with this man becomes repetitive: he behaves badly, Ellie feels uneasy but says nothing, and everything is glossed over with great sex over and over again. The real awakening Ellie needed was right there: understanding that good sex is not a reason to tolerate disrespect or boundary violations. Instead, the book sidesteps this entirely. This messaging becomes especially uncomfortable when Magda and Nadine explicitly tell Ellie that “that’s just how all men are” and that she should simply put up with it and enjoy the sex. Jacqueline Wilson used to be so, so good at driving home those important messages, but in Think Again, this is really not the case.
Overall, Think Again had potential and moments of familiarity, but the execution left me disappointed. It didn’t feel like a comforting, nostalgic Jacqueline Wilson novel, and I finished it feeling more uneasy than moved.
I really wanted to give this more than three stars, but I simply can’t.
I haven’t read the Girls series before, so these characters were entirely new to me. Even so, the familiar nostalgia of a Jacqueline Wilson novel was very much present, which made me hopeful going in.
Think Again starts off slowly, and for a while, it's difficult to see where the story is actually heading. Once it settles, the pacing improves, and the different threads begin to come together into a clearer narrative. Unfortunately, that’s also where my enjoyment began to fade.
The storyline itself often felt uncomfortable and oddly “off.” Questionable choices are made by both the main character, Ellie, and by Jacqueline Wilson as the author, to the point where the book just felt icky.
While queer representation is always welcome, the way Ellie’s journey is written here feels unbalanced and somewhat forced. The other woman in the relationship isn’t as fully developed as she could be, and their connection reads more like companionship than the passion that’s repeatedly described with another partner. As a result, Ellie’s queer awakening feels muted rather than affirming or triumphant. At the same time, nearly every heterosexual man Ellie encounters is portrayed as a red flag—most notably her cousin, who attempts to pressure her into dating through creepy gifts and non-consensual kissing, and her former art teacher, who is arguably the biggest red flag of all. Whilst it's already uncomfortable that they're in a relationship in the first place, the dynamic with this man becomes repetitive: he behaves badly, Ellie feels uneasy but says nothing, and everything is glossed over with great sex over and over again. The real awakening Ellie needed was right there: understanding that good sex is not a reason to tolerate disrespect or boundary violations. Instead, the book sidesteps this entirely. This messaging becomes especially uncomfortable when Magda and Nadine explicitly tell Ellie that “that’s just how all men are” and that she should simply put up with it and enjoy the sex. Jacqueline Wilson used to be so, so good at driving home those important messages, but in Think Again, this is really not the case.
Overall, Think Again had potential and moments of familiarity, but the execution left me disappointed. It didn’t feel like a comforting, nostalgic Jacqueline Wilson novel, and I finished it feeling more uneasy than moved.
I really wanted to give this more than three stars, but I simply can’t.
I haven’t read the Girls series before, so these characters were entirely new to me. Even so, the familiar nostalgia of a Jacqueline Wilson novel was very much present, which made me hopeful going in.
Think Again starts off slowly, and for a while, it's difficult to see where the story is actually heading. Once it settles, the pacing improves, and the different threads begin to come together into a clearer narrative. Unfortunately, that’s also where my enjoyment began to fade.
The storyline itself often felt uncomfortable and oddly “off.” Questionable choices are made by both the main character, Ellie, and by Jacqueline Wilson as the author, to the point where the book just felt icky.
While queer representation is always welcome, the way Ellie’s journey is written here feels unbalanced and somewhat forced. The other woman in the relationship isn’t as fully developed as she could be, and their connection reads more like companionship than the passion that’s repeatedly described with another partner. As a result, Ellie’s queer awakening feels muted rather than affirming or triumphant. At the same time, nearly every heterosexual man Ellie encounters is portrayed as a red flag—most notably her cousin, who attempts to pressure her into dating through creepy gifts and non-consensual kissing, and her former art teacher, who is arguably the biggest red flag of all. Whilst it's already uncomfortable that they're in a relationship in the first place, the dynamic with this man becomes repetitive: he behaves badly, Ellie feels uneasy but says nothing, and everything is glossed over with great sex over and over again. The real awakening Ellie needed was right there: understanding that good sex is not a reason to tolerate disrespect or boundary violations. Instead, the book sidesteps this entirely. This messaging becomes especially uncomfortable when Magda and Nadine explicitly tell Ellie that “that’s just how all men are” and that she should simply put up with it and enjoy the sex. Jacqueline Wilson used to be so, so good at driving home those important messages, but in Think Again, this is really not the case.
Overall, Think Again had potential and moments of familiarity, but the execution left me disappointed. It didn’t feel like a comforting, nostalgic Jacqueline Wilson novel, and I finished it feeling more uneasy than moved.
I am not normally a romance reader, but decided to give this book a chance purely based on my love of dragons as a concept. I kept seeing this book everywhere, so I ended up buying it. It felt like quite a cosy read, quite predictable but I liked the idea of essentially a cat cafe, but dragons. However, it felt very repetitive, both in the story line but in the fact that the same words and phrases were repeated throughout. It sometimes felt as though I were reading the same sections over and over again! The writing style does leave a lot to be desired and is quite poor, and doesn't actually seem to have been proofread. I love the ideas that the story introduces, but it could have been written so, so much better!
Despite this, I am looking forward to the two upcoming books teased at the end of the story - The Baby Dragon Bakery and The Baby Dragon Bookshop. I'll keep my fingers crossed for them.
I am not normally a romance reader, but decided to give this book a chance purely based on my love of dragons as a concept. I kept seeing this book everywhere, so I ended up buying it. It felt like quite a cosy read, quite predictable but I liked the idea of essentially a cat cafe, but dragons. However, it felt very repetitive, both in the story line but in the fact that the same words and phrases were repeated throughout. It sometimes felt as though I were reading the same sections over and over again! The writing style does leave a lot to be desired and is quite poor, and doesn't actually seem to have been proofread. I love the ideas that the story introduces, but it could have been written so, so much better!
Despite this, I am looking forward to the two upcoming books teased at the end of the story - The Baby Dragon Bakery and The Baby Dragon Bookshop. I'll keep my fingers crossed for them.