Emerald Star

   I was just chillin' in my school library and doing English coursework when this conversation happened in my head:

Seventeen year old Kenny: "Golly gee, I'm bored! What can I do to remedy this?"

Inner child Kenny: "I know! Why don't you read Jacqueline Wilson's latest book and reminisce about being my age?"

Seventeen year old Kenny: "Thanks, Mini-Me! I'll do exactly that."

   So, on this whim, I checked out 'Emerald Star'. It was around circa 2004 when my love for Jacqueline Wilson was born. I was obsessed and devoted; I read all if not most of her books, from 'Bad Girls' to 'My Sister Jodie', 'Double Act' to 'The Story of Tracy Beaker', you name it and I've probably read it. Therefore, my inner child was quite excited about reading Emerald Star.

  Emerald Star is the third and final book in the Hetty Feather series which is set in Victorian England. It follows the life of young Hetty Feather who goes by other invented names such as 'Sapphire Battersea' and the book's title. Hetty/Sapphire/Emerald was raised in the Foundling Hospital from the age of five, a harsh place that actually existed for less fortunate children that were often born out of wedlock. This particular section of the trilogy tracks the character's search for her real life father and returning back to her foster family that looked after her until she was five years old.

  I'm sad to admit that the book disappointed. To me, it isn't Jacqueline's best and some scenarios in the book are just totally unrealistic. Some examples include how the titular character found her biological father, the book's ending and a certain romance that I won't spoil. Hetty/Sapphire/Emerald also annoyed me as a character. I found her irritating, boastful, often rude and quite immature which goes against the time period that the book is set in as children in the Victorian era had to take on way more responsibilities than children today. However, I applaud Jacqueline Wilson on her unique way with words and the way she excels in breaking things down for her younger audience and educating them on how life was during the Victorian era. In fact, Jacqueline Wilson has collaborated with the Foundling Hospital Museum and there's 'Hetty Feather's Victorian Trail', where the books are used as teaching resources to aid in studying the time period.

 Maybe the looming thought of final A Level exams and university has turned me into a cankerous teenager. Maybe I didn't enjoy Emerald Star because I am seventeen years old and the book's intended audience is ages 9-11. Maybe. I do know that I won't be in too much of a hurry to indulge my inner child again and next time I decide to do so with Jacqueline Wilson, I'll stick to her better  older material.

Rating 2.5/5 **

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emerald-Hetty-Feather-Jacqueline-Wilson/dp/0857531050