Double Act

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Clare's, and is keen for the two of them to go ahead and audition, even though Garnet declines and their father doesn't agree. Oh, what I will read in the chase for that elusive and dubious honour of having read all the BBC's Big Read books. I enjoyed the storyline despite the predictability of it and I did not find the story to be at all condescending or patronising unlike other children’s books.

The twins Ruby and Garnet hate her the first time she sees her, which is when their dad brings her home to have tea, out off the blue and their Nan tried her best to be nice to Rose. This book again showcases Jacqueline Wilson’s talent for writing children’s books that address serious subject matter in a way that a child would connect with. It made me quite emotional at the end of the book when the twins had to separate for one to attend a school. Rose encourages Garnet to go from the very beginning, knowing full well that she's stirring the pot between the sisters.

Their enemy is Rose, the new girlfriend of their father, but over the time they will change their mind. It still had some appeal, mostly because it tells about twins and some of the thinks did apply very well to me and my sister as well. As I have read this book 11 times I could probaly tell you a lot about it so dont even hesitate reading this brilliant book it amazing in the way it is told and how emotianally it is told which in the end always turns out to be funny. I love the storyline, the problems between the two twins and how their different personalities still make them unique.

She also realises, alternately, that being together would have helped Garnet feel better about leaving. If you weren't already in awe of his selfishness, he even manages to dump his mother-in-law - who spent the last three years raising his kids for him - into sheltered accommodation. I think WIlson has used her strengths well in this book and has really gone to town with the idea of the twins losing their mom and being like chalk and cheese (Completely Different) ! They sit the entrance exam, but Ruby is disgusted by Garnet's descripted and mature writing but remains confident they will both pass. In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate.The two have always been close despite their differences—Ruby is sociable and dreams of being an actress, while introverted Garnet is content to let Ruby dominate their relationship. Thank to the entire family Ruby, the strong character decided to change "the book" to a Memorandum where she realize that her sister do not need to be the same, and consequently they do not have to do the same things, to be happy.

After making friends with someone she previously considered rather a bully, Ruby starts to realize that she and Garnet don't need to be the same, and don't have to do the same things, to be happy. She encourages them when Ruby announces her plan to go to the audition with Garnet, only it is Richard who foils everything this time. As a child I was never a big fan of the Jacquline Wilson books; I found her “matter-of-fact” attitude towards reality somewhat bleak.

Wilson is an expert at creating realistic characters and is probably the closest thing you can get to actual being inside a child's mind yourself. She leaves it lying on the kitchen table innocently, knowing that Ruby in particular is likely to grab at it. The girls also find that there is a huge fee that needs to be paid for the pair of them, something which their dad cannot afford. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the 1999 Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children’s Book Award. Garnet is deeply disturbed and decides not to go but Ruby reminds her that even if she doesnt go to the boarding school, Ruby and Garnet will not be the same again.