It’s 1953, the year Elizabeth is to be crowned Queen of England. Elsie Kettle can't wait to go to London to see the celebrations on Coronation Day. Elsie lives with her Nan – her mum works as a showgirl, so she's not around very often. Spirited and imaginative, but often lonely, Elsie longs for a best friend. Luckily, she and Nan are very close; Elsie just wishes she was allowed a cat to keep her company sometimes.

India lives in a large, luxurious house with a mum she can't stand and a dad she adores, though he hasn't had much time for her recently. She seeks solace in her journal, which she keeps in sincere imitation of her heroine, Anne Frank. Treasure lives on the local council estate with her loving and capable grandmother. She is devoted to her nan but lives in fear of having to go back to live with her mother and violent stepfather. A chance meeting sparks a great friendship between the girls.

When life with Jayni's violent-tempered father becomes too frightening to cope with, Jayni, her mum and her little brother Kenny are forced to escape in the middle of the night. Slipping out of the house unseen, travelling up to London by train and checking into a hotel – it's almost like playing an elaborate game. They even make up false identities to protect their secret, and Jayni becomes the glamorous-sounding Lola Rose.

Quiet, cautious Pearl has always adored her bold, brash, bad big sister Jodie. When their parents get new jobs at a grand, fusty old boarding school, Melchester College, the girls have to move there – and when they arrive, things start to change. Jodie has always been the leader – but now it's Pearl who's making new friends. Jodie just seems to be getting into more and more trouble – arguing with Mum, scaring the little children, flirting with the gardener.

Lots of Jacqueline Wilson's characters are well-known and well-loved by thousands of readers: Hetty Feather, Ruby and Garnet, Pearl and Jodie, Elsa, Lily and, of course, the brilliant Tracy Beaker! But how much do you know about Jacqueline herself? Jacqueline takes a look back at her own childhood and teenage years in this captivating story of friendships, loneliness, books, family life and much more. She explores her past with the same warmth and lightness of touch that make her novels so special.

Dixie is the youngest Diamond girl. She and her sisters – dreamy Martine, glamorous Rochelle and tough Jude – could hardly be more different, but their mum has always tried to teach them the value of sticking together. Now Mum's expecting yet another baby, and she's convinced this one's a boy. She insists they move to a bigger place – but it's rough, dilapidated and filthy, and before they've even unpacked, Mum's gone into labour!

Beauty Cookson is no beauty. She's a plain, timid girl who constantly feels inferior to the super-confident, snooty girls at school. Worse than the teasing in the playground, though, is the unpredictable, hurtful criticism from her father. Beauty and her meek, sweet mother live in uneasy fear of his fierce rages, sparked whenever they break one of his fussy house rules.

Violet has always been in the shadow of her mesmerising, controlling brother, Will - by turns delightful and terrifying. Now that Will has learnt a shocking secret about his own past, things seem to be getting worse. Violet retreats further into her fantasy world built around the fairy characters created by her favourite author, Casper Dream.

Floss's parents are divorced, and she divides up her week, spending five days with her mum, her new step-dad and her baby half-brother. The other two days Floss spends with her dad, helping him to run his greasy spoon cafe. But their simple arrangement is thrown into disarray when Floss's mum decides to move to Australia. Making the difficult decision to stay at home, Floss moves in permanently with her dad and they muddle along happily together, surviving on chip butties and enjoying visits to the local funfair.

You look as if you've seen a ghost!' Jade is so used to living in the shadow of Vicky, her loud, confident best friend, that when a tragic accident occurs, she can hardly believe that Vicky's no longer around. But Vicky's a sparky girl who's not going to let a small thing like being dead stop her from living life to the full! Whether Jade is in lessons, out running or tentatively trying to make new friends, Vicky is determined to make her presence felt ...

Shy, mild Mandy has been bullied at school for as long as she can remember. That's why she is delighted when cheeky, daring, full-of-fun Tanya picks her as a friend.Mum isn't happy – she thinks Tanya's a BAD GIRL and a bad influence on her daughter. But Mandy loves spending time with her brilliant new friend, and is sure Tanya can only get her out of trouble, not into it ... or could she?

When my parents split up they didn't know what to do with me ... My family always lived at Mulberry Cottage. Mum, Dad, me – and Radish, my Sylvanian rabbit. But now Mum lives with Bill the Baboon and his three kids. Dad lives with Carrie and her twins. And where do I live? I live out of a suitcase. One week with Mum's new family, one week with Dad's. It's as easy as A B C. That's what everyone says. But all I want is to go home – back to Mulberry Cottage...

"Where do baby apes sleep? In apricots! I'm Elsa, and that's one of my jokes (I tell LOTS of jokes and I'm going to be a big star one day). I do my best to cheer my family up - but no one seems to laugh much any more. Not since we lost our lovely house and had to move into a bed and breakfast hotel."

Gemma and Alice were born on the same day and have been devoted best friends ever since. Despite Gemma's larger-than-life personality and Alice's quieter, calmer character, the two are inseparable – until Alice has to move house, all the way to Scotland. Gemma is utterly distraught, particularly at the thought that Alice might find a new best friend. Is there anything Gem's brothers, or perhaps her Grand dad, can do to help?

Fourteen-year-old Prue and her sister Grace have been educated at home by their controlling, super-strict father all their lives. Forced to wear Mum's odd hand-made garments and forbidden from reading teenage magazines, they know they're very different to 'normal' girls – but when Dad has a stroke and ends up in hospital, unable to move or speak, Prue suddenly discovers what it's like to have a little freedom. Sent to a real school for the first time, Prue struggles to fit in.