The Best Sleepover in the World: The long-awaited sequel to the bestselling Sleepovers!

Product Information

Uncle Gary is amazing, and i loved how his drag queen persona was brought into the book as well, that was so good to see! I loved this book so much!! I’m definitely outside of the intended audience at 20 years old but I was obsessed with the first book when I was younger (I read it at least 30 times lol) so when I found out there was a sequel I knew I had to read it!! Guess what!" said Amy. "It's my birthday next week and my mum says I can invite all my special friends for a sleepover party." Also, as a disabled person, I feel like Lily's sleepover was a bit much. Like I think I'd have had sensory overwhelm with all this! But then, I didn't like sleeping over at other kid's houses! Wilson said: “I’ve always been touched that so many young women have told me that Sleepovers was their favourite out of all my stories, and that it was their comfort book as they got older. I’ve often wondered what happened to Daisy and her non-verbal sister, Lily. At long last I’ve written a sequel, The Best Sleepover in The World, so we can all find out – and see how Lily comes into her own.”

For access to the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating rows A to C and wheelchair spaces in the Front Stalls, please enter via the Artists' Entrance in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road (Level 1). Jacqueline Wilson wrote her first novel when she was nine years old, and she has been writing ever since. She is now one of Britain’s bestselling and most beloved children’s authors. She has written over 100 books and is the creator of characters such as Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather. More than forty million copies of her books have been sold. I think this book is great for the target audience. For an adult who spent her childhood religiously reading Jacqueline Wilson, not so much. Amy, Bella, Chloe, Daisy and Emily are best friends at school, they even have their own Alphabet Club (just look at their initials!). Daisy is the newest member, she's desperate to fit in, even though Chloe is VERY unfriendly to her at times. I was quite looking forward to reading this when I first heard that Jacqueline Wilson was doing a sequel to her 2001 book Sleepovers, 22 years after the original, and was interested to see what it would be like. Despite seemingly continuing from where they left off, taking place only right after the original book, it included some present-day elements such as TikTok, which didn't seem to fit in with the timeline of things, being a continuity error at that, given that the previous book took place in 2001, long before TikTok and most social media platforms and apps for that matter existed, but then again I could see why it would be easier to include these elements into a story being written today, especially when involving kids with all the trends they following being social media centered.Not much really happened in the book, and the writing was rather bland. Even the mean girl Chloe, who was an absolutely awful child in the first book, didn't really do much here. It's almost as if JW was worried about offending anyone if she made her mean character too mean. Which, come on, if you've read any of JW's other work, well it’s very colourful. It’s interesting. But this book is quite boring apart from the disabled kids and it’s rather sad. And the disabled kids are only done well because it's so refreshing to see disabled characters in media! I know some have found the transition to modern life a little jarring, as the original book was set in the early 2000s and the sequel includes references to TikTok and drag queens, but to me it didn't read as weird or out of place, simply a different aspect of life at the primary school not shown in the first book. I think the addition of a drag queen was interesting, as I don't think all parents will necessarily enjoy the talk about nightclubs and might find the switching pronouns complicated. I'm not a parent, so I really don't know where I stand on this. I think maybe a little more explanation could've been nice, as I know as a child I would've been very confused by Uncle Gary's appearance as a woman and the use of she/her to refer to him, on and off! As well as winning many awards for her books, including the Children’s Book of the Year, Jacqueline is a former Children’s Laureate, and in 2008 she was appointed a Dame. Jacqueline Wilson inspired my love of reading as a child and it is her I have to thank for my lifelong love for it. Sleepovers is one of the first Jacqueline Wilson books that I remember reading as a child - and rereading over and over again! So despite the fact that I am now 27 years old, I requested the ARC for this follow up on NetGalley and was delighted to be approved! 🤩

There’s going to be a swim in a luxury pool, a special makeover for every guest, and a real-life meeting with a social media superstar.Wilson is joined on stage by illustrator of the book, Rachael Dean, who draws some characters from the book live on stage. I also liked Lily's friend Natalie when she was introduced, though maybe she wasn't in the book for long enough. I think perhaps the book might have been better if the story had been told from Lily's perspective, or perhaps with alternating viewpoints from both Daisy and Lily. I think showing Natalie as having a different disability to Lily is actually really good as well, because disability looks different for every disabled person. You can also use the external lift near the Artists' Entrance on Southbank Centre Square to reach Mandela Walk, Level 2. To reach this entrance, enter the Royal Festival Hall via the Southbank Centre Square Doors. Take the JCB Glass Lift to Level 2 and exit to the Riverside Terrace. Turn right to find the Queen Elizabeth Hall main entrance.