She has been awarded a number of prestigious awards, including the British Children's Book of the Year and the Guardian Children's Fiction Award (for The Illustrated Mum ), the Smarties Prize and the Children's Book Award (for Double Act , for which she was also highly commended for the Carnegie Medal). Since the death of their mother, the girls have become closer than ever, safe in their closed little world. She also realises, alternately, that being together would have helped Garnet feel better about leaving. This book again showcases Jacqueline Wilson’s talent for writing children’s books that address serious subject matter in a way that a child would connect with.

As I have read this book 11 times I could probaly tell you a lot about it so dont even hesitate reading this brilliant book it amazing in the way it is told and how emotianally it is told which in the end always turns out to be funny. Despite their different characters; Ruby is social and Garnet accepts her sister as leader, they are agree on everything. She encourages them when Ruby announces her plan to go to the audition with Garnet, only it is Richard who foils everything this time. It still had some appeal, mostly because it tells about twins and some of the thinks did apply very well to me and my sister as well. Her insightful and emotionally challenging books not only stretch reading ability, but give young readers a glimpse into many kinds of lives.

She gets deals with real things many kids go through on a daily basis, in an easy to understand way and accessible way. At this point in the novel, Garnet is no longer narrating- Ruby has changed the "book" to a Memorandum, which she continues writing in until the end of the book. It is about twins named Ruby and Garnet, Ruby is quite bossy and confident while her sister Garnet is quiet and shy. In June 2002 Jacqueline was given an OBE for services to literacy in schools, and she was the Children’s Laureate from 2005-2007. I think WIlson has used her strengths well in this book and has really gone to town with the idea of the twins losing their mom and being like chalk and cheese (Completely Different) !

In the end, Ruby apologizes to Garnet, and they both realize that they can still be together while apart, as long as they remember each other.She also realizes, alternately, that being together would have helped Garnet feel better about leaving. Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. My favourite bit was how the book touched on an issue that would affect a lot of 10-11 year olds: how it feels when your best friend, who you have spent all your childhood years with, goes to a different senior school to you.

This is the third Jacqueline Wilson book I have now read in my challenge and I will admit they are starting to become a guilty pleasure of mine. Wilson is an expert at creating realistic characters and is probably the closest thing you can get to actual being inside a child's mind yourself. After making friends with someone she previously considered rather a bully, Ruby starts to realize that she and Garnet don't need to be the same, and don't have to do the same things, to be happy. As the first could lead to a revenge attack involving the twins switching places during a prison visit sometime in a blissfully unaware future, the second option is tidier and ties up all loose ends. The twins have a row early on in the book, and Rose tempts Garnet downstairs with a kids movie and chocolate.Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement.