Amazing, touching book! One of the things I liked most about 'Queenie' when I was younger is the detailed description, particularly the stories Elsie tells to the other children in hospital, based on Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree. And, just as it did then, the book swept me in and I could scarcely put it down. Book number 10 of my 2021 pledge! Yes, guys and dolls for the first time in history I have fulfilled my Goodreads pledge, after a number of flop shows!!!! One of my favourite comfort reads as a child! The beginning does a great job of introducing Elsie as an imaginative, lonely young girl that adores her nan and has a complicated relationship with her mother. The writing is straightforward, as is the plot, and effectively captures the mind of a 9-year-old. Voi kun meillä olisi enemmän tällaisia ongelma-kirjailijoita, jotka kirjoittaa kuitenkin lämmöllä ja rohkeudella. Onneksi on muutama!

Even though the book was made out to be about the coronation/Queenie the cat, it did feel at some points that they were side-lined for more repetitive plots. I’m not too sure how I feel about the Queen turning up at the hospital either. She has had quite a few jobs, including one at Butlins, as a showgirl, and as a secretary for Mr Perkins. Jacqueline is also a great reader, and has amassed over 20,000 books, along with her famous collection of silver rings. Her Mum was, in my opinion unredeemable for running off to Canada with her boss/boyfriend and leaving Elsie to go to foster care (after saying earlier in the book she wouldn’t want that to happen again, as it’s mentioned this was the case when Elsie was very little).I enjoyed this book so much, it was such a lovely, heartwarming and heartbreaking read, that I found myself really absorbed in, eager to find out what would happen next in each chapter, being an ultimately moving, gripping read, which is the best kind of read you can have! This was my 姑姑's birthday gift to me, and it is one of the reasons why I am the way I am. Elsie's stories are pure visions of girlie escapism and I love them. I love this book and all, and I understand why it's people's favorite JW books, but this one isn't mine. My youngest is always begging me to read more of her recommendations, and while I try to comply - and often read at least one a month - she's never satisfied. As a result, she's taken to reading them to me at every opportunity.

Elsie is taken to a specialist hospital in the countryside with other children with joint problems, some as a result of TB as well. Tuberkuloosi 1950-luvun Briteissä - isoäiti sairastuu keuhkotautiin, kyseenalaisen maineen omaava äiti palaa show-kiertueelta vastentahtoisesti kotiin, mutta saa vankilasta-vapaaksi-kortin, kun myös tytär sairastuu tuberkuloosiin ja joutuu sairaalaan useaksi kuukaudeksi. Sairaala on tyly, lämmin, valtataisteluja ja monipuolisia ihmissuhteita täynnä oleva paikka, jossa hoitajat ja eri-ikäiset lapset elävät pakotettuina pienenpientä elämää maailman pyöriessä ympärillä. Äidin itsekkyys hyytää, samoin monen aikuisen käytös. Lapset osaavat olla myös julmia, mutta onneksi on kuningattaren kruunajaiset ja kissat! She is lonely there and struggles to make friends, but there is someone she truly cares about… Queenie, the ward’s cat! As well as winning many awards for her books, including the Children’s Book of the Year, Jacqueline is a former Children’s Laureate, and in 2008 she was appointed a Dame. A brilliant and moving story from bestselling author Jacqueline Wilson, set in the children's ward of a 1950s hospital.I like animals, playing with my sister, and all types of books. I also love playing football, going on walks and identifying birds. My favourite species of bird is a firecrest because I love the orange stripe on their heads. Elsie has a fantastic imagination, although to the extent that she fibs about things at school, and once to her nan. Her ability can make even the smallest things (like the kittens design on a satin covered chocolate box) seem real. She often uses this to her advantage with her mother, fudging things to get out of trouble, reasonably enough, as her mother gets angry at her more than is deemed necessary. She loves cats. A really lovely book, which is readable by adults also. I liked the descriptive nature of how the author described Elsie's and Nan's illness and life in the Children's Hospital and also the references to the British Royal Family. A cute and touching book. I felt sorry for Elsie - her mum not visiting her for weeks, months on end and choosing yet another new boyfriend over her own daughter and mother, not to mention being taken away from her nan and not being able to see the Coronation together. I'm glad it wasn't a sad ending. Finally, Elsie is well enough to leave hospital. But before she does, she has one very special, very unexpected visitor...