Tracy Beaker hasn't had an easy life. She lives in a children's home after having been removed from two foster families. The home isn't too bad except she has to share her birthday cake with the drippy new boy, Peter. Peter, for some reason only known to him, has decided that Tracy is his best friend. And he follows her around, making a nuisance of himself. Before him, Tracy had someone at the home she really liked: a little girl named Camilla. But then Camilla found a family.

Fortunately Tracy has an escape. She writes her life story in a notebook. And Tracy can write! She writes reams and reams everyday. When a journalist comes to the home to do a story on the kids, Tracy wants to meet her. She also wants the writer to like her enough to take her out for a favorite meal: a Big Mac with fries and a strawberry milkshake. Tracy wants this more than almost anything.

Tracy Beaker is funny, desperate, clever, tough-as-nails and very much a 10-year-old girl. Many people would say hasn't much going for her, but I don't think that is true. I liked the way Jacqueline Wilson managed to keep Tracy human without making her tale too sentimental. The author also includes bright moments of humor throughout. While I was reading the book I felt certain that I would love to take Tracy into my home. I was equally certain I wouldn't want her there for long. Tracy lives in her fantasies, believing her pretty mother may be in Hollywood becoming a movie star. But Tracy also lives in a world where making a small mistake can spin out of control in an instant.

If you want the chance to laugh out loud while reading, pick up this book. If you want to see how a child no one else wants manages to make her way through life, pick up this book. Either way you will not be disappointed.

   --- Reviewed by Cassia Van Tisdale