A heartbreaking, compelling and timely story for older readers about teen pregnancy, family trouble and unlikely friendships, set in 1960. One day, whilst out with her friend at the lido, Laura meets Leon and although she isn’t that interested in him, she does let him walk her home after a tiff with her friend. Laura and Nina's friendship begins to falter in the next few months as Laura realises how controlling her friend is. Set in the 1960’s, Jacqueline Wilson transports you back in time, to the days of Elvis and the ‘swinging sixties’.

I can’t understand how JW can completely understand teenage anxiety and make her characters come to life in such a fluid way.I haven’t read a Jacqueline Wilson book in a few years and it was lovely to read one targeted at older readers.

Watching Laura and her friend Nina navigate to teenage hood and become interested in sex, boys and ‘growing up’ (well, in Nina’s case anyway), and I honestly can’t believe how quickly I eagerly devoured this book.Set in the 1960s, before sex education in schools was the norm, a time when unmarried mothers were pitied and shamed and teen pregnancies were hidden from society - girls often left with little support from family and authorities and had no choice but to give up their babies - the story follows Laura, a bright only child from a poor background with a scholarship to the local grammar school. Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. One fantastic addition since the days when I was a YA were some notes from the author detailing how the ‘adult’ themes in the book and the access to help available .

Ross Welford introduces Time Travelling with a Tortoise, the sequel to Time Travelling with a Hamster, and a whole new time travel adventure!Met her on Saturday and she is just how she seems in her interviews which is a pleasant surprise i dont think my inner child would ever have healed if she was a bitch.