megelizabeth's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I read this book many times as a child, and loved it just as much, if not more, upon rereading it now. It's such a comforting and enjoyable read, and at the same time manages to explore frankly and suitably for the young target audience a bunch of important topics. It paints a great picture of 1940s and 1950s England, and even though I've read it before I still felt like I learnt yet more about the world young Jacky lived in this time around. I loved the interspersing of extracts from and discussions of so many of Jacky's books, many of which are so dear to me and close to my heart. I also really enjoyed the additional bits at the end that weren't in the edition I had as a child, especially as they give a brief but super interesting insight into Jacky's slightly later years.
There were a few things I didn't love and which kept this from being a 5* read for me. There were a lot of references to things being 'girly', without any critical exploration of what this meant or even a brief comment through a modern lens, and there were a few dodgy comments about younger girls being sexualised or 'involved' with older guys, again without any recognition that things that might have once been seen as acceptable never were and certainly aren't now. I appreciate that this book isn't a social commentary, but I think it would have done young readers so much good just to have given a brief caveat to such comments. I also feel that the chapter about Pat could've been handled better.
This book will always mean a lot to me, and I'm sure it's one I'll go back to again; I just think it's important to be mindful of the bits that it doesn't get quite right.
There were a few things I didn't love and which kept this from being a 5* read for me. There were a lot of references to things being 'girly', without any critical exploration of what this meant or even a brief comment through a modern lens, and there were a few dodgy comments about younger girls being sexualised or 'involved' with older guys, again without any recognition that things that might have once been seen as acceptable never were and certainly aren't now. I appreciate that this book isn't a social commentary, but I think it would have done young readers so much good just to have given a brief caveat to such comments. I also feel that the chapter about Pat could've been handled better.
This book will always mean a lot to me, and I'm sure it's one I'll go back to again; I just think it's important to be mindful of the bits that it doesn't get quite right.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Death of parent
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