Customer Reviews
A disconcerting mixture of fantasy and reality - By: LE Dewick, 30 Jun 2008 
Love Lessons is another foray into the hormone-rushing world of the teenage girl & this time, Jackie reallly means business! Tackling a subject she herself has admitted to being 'difficult', Wilson has given herself a double-bubble helping of trouble by veering away from 'typical teens' like the delightful Ellie, Magda & Nadine; instead presenting us with Prudence, a girl with an unfortunate name, home life & wardrobe. Prudence is about as far away from the norm as you can get. We have, of course, been presented with children from dysfunctional families before (The Diamond Girls & The Illustrated Mum are prime examples of this) but by today's standards Prudence & her chubby sister Grace reallly are outsiders. Not only are they home-schooled by their bossy, domineering & old fashioned father, Bernard, they also live in virtual poverty - enduring an unpleasantly puritan life free of mod-cons, treats,and contact with the outside world. They are not free, however, of -horror of horrors - vile homemade outfits fashioned from fabric offcuts. This is perhaps the most extraordinary family set up we have been presented with so far, & when you know this is combined with the 'taboo' subject of a teacher-student relationship you know you'll be in for an interesting read.
And interesting Love Lessons is. It is a mixture of searing reality on one hand, & almost ludicrously naive fantasy on the other. First, the good stuff. The real stuff. The sense of shame, embarrassment & loneliness on Prudence' part is tangible throughout the book, & she is a very entertaining character. Considering her position sociallly & emotionallly, she is a surprisingly outspoken & fiesty heroine, refusing to be put down by the predjudice she is subject to once she finallly gets a true taste of the outside world. Wilson has a marvellous way of conveying commonplace emotions & thoughts through less commonplace situations & Love Lessons is a wonderful example of this. If the book had stayed at this level - focussing on Prudence & Graces' struggles adapting to a new environment & way of life I would deem the book to be excellent. It is excellent where the subject matter remains believable. It is where it veers off into the realms of fantasy that it reallly plummets in my estimations, & as this 'realm' is, unfortunately, the main focus of the book, this drop in standards in inevitable.
Looking at a teacher/pupil relationship is always going to be tricky but I honestly thought Jackie would have presented it better than this. The relationship between Pru & Rax is frightening. For the people who are going to be madly clicking the 'no' button (you know what I mean!) as they read this review, please. Be sensible. How on earth can you justify a reciprocal relationship between a man who is, realisticallly, in his mid to late twenties & a 14 year old girl? And not just any 14 year old girl but one who is in a vulnerable situation, and, of course, dressed in the attire of a seven year old? The underlying possibilities of this 'relationship' are so potentiallly sinister I am surprised more people have not picked up on it. Jackie could have handled the story in 2 ways to make it more realistic & less harmful. One option could have had Rax utterly horrified by Pru's underage advances & therefore spurn her. The consequences of this would have been painful & embarrassing, but a real 'lesson' for alll those teenage girls crushing on their teachers. The second option could have been Rax returning Pru's advances with the real & extremely unpleasant motive emphasised, then little Pru hopefully running for the hills, taking her frilly offcuts, stripy tights & pigtails with her. Again, people who are going to accuse me of being cynical, please, GROW UP. In the real world, there is only one type of twenty-something man who would want to become involved with a 14 year old, & we alll know the type I mean. And yet this relationship, & Rax himself, are never vilified at any point in the book. While the romance is never actively encouraged either, the way in which it is written is hardly a deterrent to the hoards of young females who eat up these books. Pru & Rax declare their love for one another,squabble over their affair in school & share tender, 'school sweetheart' style kisses that are so seemingly innocent they make the snogs in Dawson's Creek look like pornography! Let's again be honest with ourselves - twenty something men are physicallly mature, sexual beings with desires & needs. The smooching between Pru & her older man is misleading to the point of being dangerous. The fact that Rax was not dismissed or at least subject to a thorough investigation also annoyed me - especiallly when you consider the efforts the authorities now put in to ensure that dodgy customers are not given easy access into schools.
On the plus side this book makes raw emotions incredibly tangible & accessible, & the bookish but outspoken Pru is a truly intriguing heroine. These are the elements that warrant my 3 stars. One the negative side the message is alarmingly naive & positively dripping in sentimental fantasy - utterly unlike Wilson usuallly, in fact. Hopefully young ladies today will be savvy enough to know that this book presents a highly romantised example of a forbidden relationship, & not be tempted to do the same.
Love Lessons by Jacqueline Wilson - By: Tessa, 28 Dec 2007 
This book is one of the best books by Jacqueline Wilson . I couldn;t put it down! Prue is one of Jacqueline Wilson's best characters , & her problems are reallly wild but believable . I would recomend this book to any teenage girl.
Rushed Lessons - By: Lilly Potter/Evans, 05 Aug 2007 
Good plot. The whole Teacher/Student thing is very controversial & interesting. Pru's character is very easy to like but at the same time very easy to hate. She is after another woman's man & that is never nice. She storms into Rax's life & starts to baby-sit for him. She almost lures the family into a false state. Good start with her father's stroke & her starting school. Her relationships with Rita & Toby are very interesting but you see her slightly bitchy side in the burger bar with Toby. You cannot help but feel sorry for Toby, he reallly likes Pru but she does not care. Sadly, the ending is very weak & disappointing, very rushed & sloppy. Overalll a damn good book through.
Good read, but disappointing ending - By: Midget, 29 May 2007 I liked the story of a teacher-student relationship. It's something everyone can relate to as everyone has a crush on a teacher at some point.
However, I did find the ending incredibly disappointing. The relationship has been built up & you felt for the characters, but then he drives away & the story just finishes. It made me so fustrated.
But I can see there wasn't reallly any other way the story could of finished, but still annoying alll the same.
A simple but enjoyable review - By: Ms. L. M. Carr, 20 Oct 2006 "Love lessons" is an easy to read & easy to get into book.. i found that i just wanted to read more & more of it, it tackles a more mature issue than those issues dealt with in other Jacqueline Wilson books that i've previously read. It is slightly unrealistic & unbelievable but thats part of it's appeal.. a relationship between a teacher & a pupil isn't one that is generallly discussed let alone presented in such a tender way. Although i couldn't help but find the ending disappointing.. it was the part of the book that was the most realistic but as the reader you always want a romantic ending!!!! Even if it's an impossible situation. Therefore although i loved the story, i ended up throwing it against the walll after finishing it!
