Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson

*spoilers ahead*

Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson is an adult novel, a sequel to her series of 4 ‘Girls’ books (Girls In Love, Girls Out Late, Girls Under Pressure and Girls In Tears). We see Ellie and her two best friends Magda and Nadine who we first learned about as early teenagers, now 40, navigating the difficulties and complexities of adulthood.

The premise of this book was perfect for Wilson’s first adult novel as it discussed friendships, relationships, sexuality and more. This book has the reader feeling all the emotions, from joy and happiness to worry and uneasiness. It was great to see other characters returning from the old series such as Ellie’s family, Mrs Henderson and Mr Windsor. However, it took me a while to get used to Mr Windsor’s return, as he is now known as Gary, as Ellie’s new love interest. Although, it was still intriguing to read about him and his behaviours as an adult.

Due to Ellie and Gary’s relationship and interests in art, most of the art references did go over my head but for the rest of the plot, I found the book very enjoyable and easy to read. As I was approaching the end, I didn’t want the book to end as I could always read more about Ellie and her life. Whilst I found the ending predictable, I am glad we were able to see this come to fruition and weren’t just left on a cliffhanger.

This book is pure nostalgia for me, and I do wish there were a bit more about Magda and Nadine but even the old ‘Girls’ series was centred around Ellie. As always with Wilson’s books, you don’t have to have read the other books to understand what is going on as context is always provided. I reread the old ‘Girls’ series in preparation for this book being published, but it’s definitely not necessary.

I was so excited about the release of this book that I went to a Waterstones event in London and saw Wilson getting interviewed by Dawn O’Porter. It was so lovely to see Wilson in person and hear her talk about all things books. It was the most wholesome event, and I still can’t believe how old Wilson is, but I love that she has continued writing and doesn’t want to stop! She alluded to writing more adult books which makes me very excited.

Nostalgia was a big part of reading this book, but I genuinely enjoyed it all. I rated Think Again 4 stars as some of the plot didn’t hit perfectly but I still took pleasure in reading the whole book very quickly.

4/5 stars