Secrets and Dreams Boxed Set: Includes Secrets, Midnight and Dream Journal

I first got "Midnight" when it first came out. I was seven years old, possibly eight. It didn't hold much appeal to me at the time, but as I got older, the book proved to have many interesting layers to look at.The main plot is about Violet, a young teenager who is questioning her family life. She doesn't connect with her parents at all, but she adores her brother Will, although as of late, Will has learned that he is actually an adopted child, although he and Violet look alike. But Will is a very complicated character. He can be the best older brother in the world to Violet, but he can also be the most evil, and he finds it easy to control Violet at times, who, like her name, is a bit of a shrinking violet.Then Jasmine appears on the scene. She's joining Violet's class. She's pretty, she's confident, and she and Violet are best friends almost instantly. But when Jasmine first sees Will, just as Violet is telling her about how they're not actually related, it's interest at first sight. Can Violet learn to stand up for herself with Jasmine's help, or is Will going to ruin it by having a hold over her best friend?Violet's favourite books are fairy books by the artist Casper Dream. These play a huge part in the story. Violet has sewn the fairies in his books and hung them from the ceiling of her room. Late in the book, she makes Jasmine a fairy, although Jasmine secretly laughs at it. But the all-new introduction from Jacqueline says that she mirrored her three main characters with fairy characters - Will is the fairy changeling, replacing a beloved baby, Violet is the shy Violet Fairy, who is easily trampled upon, and Jasmine is an enchantress, with irresistible magic and beauty.I recently wrote a piece based on an early chapter in the book, which makes an example of one of the many times Will shows control over Violet.I hope you read this book. If you look beyond the surface, there's a lot to enjoy, and the characters do have more interesting complex personalities than most of Jacqueline Wilson's characters have. For that reason, I recommend this more to older children rather than her younger fans, as they won't enjoy it as much."Secrets" is another story. It's about two girls. First, there's Treasure, who comes from a chaotic family. Her mom has a boyfriend, Terry, who is violent and at the beginning of the story, he hits Treasure with his belt, breaking her glasses and giving her a cut that requires stitches. When Treasure's unusually young grandmother sees this, she decides that Treasure can't stay there and takes her off to live with her family - which includes Treasure's aunt(plus fifteen-year-old Loretta's daughter, Treasure's cousin) and uncle, who are all younger than fifteen (Treasure's mom is her oldest child, while Patsy, Treasure's youngest aunt, is younger than Treasure herself). Treasure loves it there and doesn't ever want to go back.Then there's India, who's an only child and lives in a huge house with her parents and au pair. She's like Treasure in many ways. Both girls keep diaries and are very bright. But India goes to a private school, and none of the girls like her.But one day, the au pair doesn't turn up and India decides to walk home herself. She ends up on the rough Latimer Estate, which happens to be where Treasure lives, and they meet and become best friends.However, Treasure's mom and Terry insist that Treasure has to come back to them, because the mother should have custody, although Treasure is terrified of what will happen if they get her back. Treasure turns to India for help to get away, and soon they have a greater secret than ever before."Secrets" is understandable for younger readers, but again, it has more meaning to older fans. I highly recommend buying these books together, or separately.