There were times when she used words that even I don't completely understand. There were parts that really dragged and I felt that this book was unnecessarily long, but there were many aspects that I loved, Opal's intelligence being one of them. To be honest, I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Then her father is arrested, Britain goes to war and Opal is taken out of school and shoved into a factory.

There's food on the table, books on the shelves, and Opal has big plans to go to Oxford. To make matters worse, Opal's sister is the favourite daughter. Her teachers hate her, the girls at school ignore her, and she only has one friend. It's strange, going back to a favourite childhood author. Maybe this stuff used to fly right over my head because I was so young. Now I'm wondering if Wilson's other books do, too. Opal Plumstead, at least, can be read and enjoyed by anyone of any age, and I was surprised to see that this book dealt with some really, really dark themes.

I thought I was too old, that they wouldn't interest me in the slightest anymore, but I was wrong. I used to love Jacqueline Wilson's books when I was younger, but I haven't read one for many years. But the First World War is about to begin, and will change Opal's life forever. Roberts' handsome son, and the heir to Fairy Glen - she believes she has found her soulmate. Roberts, the factory's beautiful, dignified owner, who introduces Opal to the legendary Mrs. Opal struggles to get along with the other workers, who think her snobby and stuck-up. Yet her scholarship and dreams of university are snatched away when her father is sent to prison, and fourteen-year-old Opal must start work at the Fairy Glen sweet factory to support her family. Opal Plumstead might be plain, but she has always been fiercely intelligent.

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