I was a huge Jacqueline Wilson fan when I was younger, but had not read any of her books for many years. Reading Clover Moon took me right back to being 11 years old again.

Jacqueline Wilson has always excelled at wonderfully imaginative storytelling, and Clover Moon is no different. She introduces children to hard-hitting issues in a non-patronising way and allows her characters to be complex and genuine, providing excellent role models for her young (predominantly female) readers.

Clover herself is a strong character, capable of fending for herself as well as caring for her younger siblings. She is fiercely independent and is not afraid of speaking her mind. When she is devastated by a death, her abusive step-mother forbids her to attend the funeral, so she decides to leave in search of a better life. Her journey gives us glimpses of life in Victorian London, from the very poorest areas to the very wealthy, and she makes unlikely friendships along the way.

Although this story could be labelled "historical fiction", its themes are universal and resonate with young people's lives today. Familial abuse, unfortunately, still happens, and poverty still exists. Escaping both of these situations is as significant today as it was 150 years ago.

My only criticism of Clover Moon is that the ending came rather suddenly and felt somewhat lacking. Certain issues (especially legal ones) had not been resolved, although I this leaves it open for a sequel and there was a nice link with one of the characters from Wilson's other books.

I will definitely look into getting this in to my library, as I know lots of students who will love it!

Ever since I can remember, Jacqueline Wilson's books have been part of my life. When it came to writing book reviews at school, Jacqueline's 'The Lottie Project' was usually the first book that I chose, and, 19 years on, it still remains one of my most favourite books. As a lot of you are aware, Jacqueline writes books aimed at children and young adults. However, given the topics her books cover, I am sure a lot of adults would still appreciate the literary genius that is Ms.Wilson.

As soon as I was given the opportunity to read 'Clover Moon', I grabbed it with both hands and snuggled up on the sofa with copious amounts of excitement bubbling as I began to read. 'Clover Moon' is set in London during the Victorian era; the poverty end in particular. Clover Moon is just a young girl. A young girl that has a lot of responsibility looking after her younger brothers and sisters, as well as the neighbours children. Before you even add poverty to the equation, Clover's life seems very hectic already. In the Victorian era, people didn't have the luxuries that we take for granted now; things like clothes, hot water, food and even medicines. Reading about Clover Moon's life and the struggles that she had to face, opened my eyes in more ways than one.

Don't get me wrong, I knew that life was very different back then, but when you're focusing on one or two families, the reality of the situation becomes even more clear. When Clover faced grief head on, my heart went out to her. The little girls safety net and best friend was gone, and the only thing that poor Clover could guarantee now was pain.

Jacqueline Wilson has taken yet another harrowing topic, built a story with that topic in mind based on events from our history, and has written it in such an easy to understand way. Not only that, Jacqueline Wilson has kept the gritty reality at the forefront of the story, whilst explaining what younger children had to face and the options that they had.

I found a lot of the storyline quite hard to read in terms of emotion behind the powerful truth, yet it was delivered brilliantly.

Yet another exceptional book from the highly talented Jacqueline Wilson. In the 19 or so years that I have read Jacqueline's books, I have never come across one that I didn't like. Absolutely fantastic. Roll on her next book!

Thank you Random House Kids UK