Wave Me Goodbye

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I was so pleased with my book arrangement that I often sat up in bed and looked at it for sheer enjoyment. I have to be honest - I found Kevin much more of an interesting character than the main protagonist Shirley, which brings this down to a three stars - he had hints of a much richer backstory that I would loved to have learnt more about. The author is glowing with health when we first meet at the launch of her 106th novel Wave Me Goodbye.

I am pretty sure that some things in this book were true such as how they got evacuated to thee country for war though the actual story was friction.Jacqueline Wilson wrote her first novel when she was nine years old, and she has been writing ever since. It’s just great,” says Jacqueline, 71, who had the operation in December 2014 at the London teaching hospital St George’s in Tooting.

This book made me want to find out more about this period in history and read more books by this author.

I don’t want to give away the plot, so will confine myself to saying that despite an ill-advised escape (complete with gun! All the supporting characters are well-written and believable; each has their own interesting tale that unfolds throughout the storyline. I really enjoyed Wave Me Goodbye because Jacqueline Wilson used different vocabulary and included some great Victorian language. My favourite character is Shirley Smith (The main character) she loves books and can't put them down (like me). Then I saw Little Grey Rabbit in her soft grey dress looking at me imploringly, so I picked The Squirrel, the Hare and the Little Grey Rabbit too.

The stories of people that were evacuated are so extraordinary because some children were desperately unhappy; some sort of jogged along somehow and some kids had the time of their life and didn’t even want to go home. Kids being whisked away from their parents and randomly slotted into other people's families, adjusting to life in the country after growing up in the city, living with total strangers, overcrowded little country villages rationing and making do, resentment and suspicion, everyone secretly terrified and uncertain because of the war. I think the saddest bit in the story is when Shirley departs on the train, and she leaves her mum waving at her on the platform.

I’ve been known to get up half an hour early on Christmas Day to do a bit of writing and then I can relax and enjoy myself,” chuckles Jacqueline.