Just when you think Wilson cannot get any better, back she comes with another book to knock your socks off. This one marks the return of one of her greatest heroines, Tracy Beaker.

The Story of Tracy Beaker introduced us to a mischievous 10-year-old girl coping with life in a children's home, lurching from one foster home to another and waiting for her ever-so-glamorous mum to come and take her away from it all. The Dare Game picks up where The Story of Tracy Beaker left off, with Tracy firmly ensconced in the home of foster mother Cam, a creative sort who was instantly drawn to the troubled child and fought for the right to take care of her.

Tracy thought things would be perfect with Cam but the reality is tough. After all, it's hardly fair that Cam refuses to buy her foster-daughter designer clothes and give her loads of money, now is it? So the petulant Tracy bunks off school and hides out in her secret place to avoid being teased by the other pupils and to stop herself from strangling Vomity Bagley, the English teacher. But one day her haven is disturbed by two very different boys, each dealing with their own problematic family lives. The three form a friendship based on playing The Dare Game, a game that gets more dangerous as Tracy's life becomes even more unsettled.

Trying to find new words to describe Wilson's writing is almost impossible--almost every review of any of her books is sure to feature "touching, funny and beautifully observed". The Dare Game is no exception. Tracy Beaker is a classic Wilson heroine--troubled, feisty and fired by humour, hope and true grit--and this superb novel is knock-'em-dead proof that Jacqueline Wilson is simply the best. The cassettes run for four hours and 50 minutes. --Susan Harrison