Clean Break
Jacqueline Wilson Audio Book

Jacqueline Wilson is one of the foremost children’s authors of recent times, and one of the reasons for her enduring popularity, aside from her ability to tell a great story, is the fact that she is not afraid to tackle some of the real issues that affect children today. Clean Break is one such example. Expertly told from the point of view of Em, this endearing story is about a young girl who is attempting to deal with her step-dad walking out on her family.

Em’s step-dad is the only dad that she’s ever known, and when he leaves after cheating on her mum the whole family is left devastated, and everyone clings to the hope that he’ll return. Each member of the family deals with this distressing experience in their own way, and Em feels that it is up to her to help the rest of them through this traumatic time, despite suffering herself. When it becomes apparent that he may not be returning, it slowly begins to dawn on the family that happy endings don’t always happen in the way that you hope, but that despite this there is always cause for optimism.

Despite its perhaps troubling subject matter, this is ultimately an uplifting story about a young girl coming to terms with a difficult issue that many children unfortunately have to deal with every day. Read by Helen Lederer, this audio version of one of Wilson’s most popular books is available both as a CD audiobook and as a downloadable MP3 audiobook.