Clean Break

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Monochrome Casting: All of her lead characters are white, as are most of the supporting characters, with the occasional Token Minority. Admittedly, the population of the UK is over 80% white.

Frankie (Dad) – Em's stepdad. Walks out on the family on Boxing Day to live with his new partner, Sarah. He is very affectionate and caring, yet what puzzles Em as much as us is that suddenly, he falls out of love with his wife, and their home is no longer special and loving. He apologises all the time, and he really means it, but he never explains why he left. Sometimes his children wonder if it's because he no longer loves them, and when they ask him if that is true he begins to cry and cuddles them close. An early novel that Wi Honorary Uncle: Mona in Dancing The Charleston considers Mr Benjamin one. He is eventually revealed to be her real uncle. In My Sister Jodie, Jodie dies two chapters from the end - but this is given away in some versions of the blurb.

National Stereotypes: Referenced and averted in Secrets when India says that you might think her au pair, who's Australian, would be cheerful, suntanned and outgoing. She is actually sullen, pale-skinned and doesn't like talking to anyone - usually leaving India alone to do what she likes. Miss Oliver from My Mum Tracy Beaker becomes this. She looks out for Jess and is very understanding when she gets popular after Tracy starts dating Sean and helping her after they break up. The two develop a friendship outside of school, especially after she and Cam become friends.

A man in Wave Me Goodbye gives Kevin and Shirley a ride. It is not stated outright, but it seems as if he has these intentions towards ten-year-old Shirley. Orphanage of Fear - The Foundling Hospital in Hetty Feather. Also the children's home Elsie remembers from when she was little in Queenie.

Tropes:

Hugely popular with seven to ten year olds: she should be prescribed for all cases of reading reluctance Independent on Sunday Maxie - Em's wimpy three-year-old half-brother who was given a set of expensive felt tip pens for Christmas. He does not want to sleep in a proper bed and he hates pyjamas. Defied in The Illustrated Mum; Dolphin mostly tries to avoid being annoying, and while Star is certainly irritated, her anger throughout the book is directed more at Marigold than at Dolphin.

Jerkass: Sarah is a rude, snarky woman who doesn't even try to interact with her stepchildren, and puts them down. Will in Midnight has green eyes and generally fits the symbolism associated with this trope. Becomes a plot point when Violet sees that in a baby photo "Will" had blue eyes - when he was past the age where they might naturally have changed colour. In the Girls series, this is a source of tension between Ellie's father (in his 50s) and stepmother (late 20s/early 30s.) Good Stepmother: A male version. Frankie loves Em, even though he isn't actually her biological father. Lily and her siblings are forgiving of their mother in Lily Alone, despite the fact that their problems were both directly and indirectly her fault. Social Services and the police, not so much.

Calling the Old Man Out: Knowing full well her father will beat her mother the moment she and Kenny go to bed, Jayni yells at him how she hates him for ruining everything. This is the catalyst that prompts him to hit her for the first time and for Nikki to run away with the kids. In Clean Break Em is reunited with her stepfather but comes to an understanding that things cannot be the same between him and the family again. She even tells her mum that "wishes never come true the way you want." In Rent a Bridesmaid, Tilly mentions that "Auntie" Sue who takes care of her after school is not related to her, just a friend of her dad. Helen has some shades of the trope, as she is a renowned academic and writer - although she makes it clear that she isn't a genius, and got where she is through hard work. It's implied that Tracy Beaker was abused by her mother's boyfriends before being taken into care. Tracy also mentions that before going to the "Dumping Ground", she lived with "Aunt" Peggy: a foster carer who frequently hit her and yelled at her.

Downer Ending - Not unheard of, particularly in My Sister Jodie, even if the birth of May adds a note of hope. Another book not immune to this was Lily Alone: whilst the books ends with Lily claiming that "we're all going to be together, very, very soon", just how accurate her statement is is left extremely ambiguous. Especially given the fact that Kate, Lily and her siblings mother is arrested for both child neglect and credit card fraud, so social services might not trust her to be a parent. Lolly in The Dream Palace dearly loved her late father and fitted this trope when he was alive. In the present day, she's desperate to hang onto her memories of her relationship with him, and hangs around a now-disused hotel where he used to take her for tea. Subverted when Greg tries to help her re-live a day trip she took with her father, causing her to remember that he wasn't so perfect after all. Always Identical Twins: Ruby and Garnet. Averted in The Butterfly Club where triplets Tina, Maddie and Phil are not identical because Tina is considerably smaller than the other two.Moral Guardians - Referenced In-Universe in Midnight, where Violet mentions that Casper Dream's first book ("The Smoke Fairy") was recalled because of concerns that it encouraged smoking in children. Hippie Parents: In Amber, Amber was raised in a commune by her hippie mother and is still there even though the '60s are long over. She is desperate for a "normal" home and lifestyle, which drives a lot of the story's conflict. Colour Coded Eyes: Clover Moon has green eyes. She sometimes uses them to convince people that she's a witch. Expy: Jenna Williams, Em's favourite author, is a paper-thin parody of Jacqueline Wilson, all the way down to her physical appearance.