Wilkins, Rose

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Wilkins, Rose

PERSONAL:

Daughter of an artist. Education: Graduate of Bristol University; Oxford University, M.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—London, England.

CAREER:

Author and editor, working in London, England.

WRITINGS:

So Super Starry, Dial Books (New York, NY), 2004.

So Super Stylish, Macmillan Children's Books (London, England), 2005, Dial Books (New York, NY), 2006.

I Love Genie … Wishful Thinking, Macmillan Children's Books (London, England), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Since she is the great-great niece of British author Charles Kingsley, it was only natural for Rose Wilkins to enter a literary profession. Wilkins did not originally intend to pursue a novel-writing career, however; in fact, she wrote the initial draft of her first novel on a dare. As she explained in an online interview with Word Mavericks: "One night I was joking to my friends that I should start a romance novel. … I made a bet to write the opening chapter of a ‘snogbuster’ for teens within a week, but I found I was enjoying myself so much I didn't stop there." A publishing house eventually bought the rights to Wilkins's draft and in 2004 So Super Starry was published.

So Super Starry centers on Octavia, the daughter of a film producer and actress. Tired of being in the spotlight that shines on her parents, she prefers to remain low key and avoids the other celebrity offspring attending her elite private school. Citing Wilkins's humorous tone, a Publishers Weekly writer deemed So Super Starry an "entertaining debut." A sequel, So Super Stylish, continues to follow the trials and tribulations of Octavia. In an attempt to live a more normal life, the teen transfers from her private school to a public school, hoping to fit in. Unfortunately, she soon finds herself in a predicament as a result of the media blitz that erupts when her actress mom is accused of having an affair with a well-known television executive. Kliatt reviewer Claire Rosser noted that Wilkins controls her sequel's eventful plotline "with finesse."

In her Word Mavericks interview, Wilkins advised aspiring writers to "read masses of everything." "Also," she suggested "keeping the diary—it will get you into the habit of writing in a disciplined manner and putting thoughts into words."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 2004, Cindy Welch, review of So Super Starry, p. 399; February 15, 2006, Debbie Carton, review of So Super Stylish, p. 92.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November, 2004, Deborah Stevenson, review of So Super Starry, p. 151.

Kliatt, March, 2006, Claire Rosser, review of So Super Starry, p. 18.

Publishers Weekly, November 22, 2004, review of So Super Starry, p. 61.

School Library Journal, December, 2004, Tina Zuback, review of So Super Starry, p. 154; March, 2006, Heather E. Miller, review of So Super Stylish, p. 233.

Times Educational Supplement, May 21, 2004, Adèle Geras, "Pretty in Pink," p. C19; May 13, 2005, Adèle Geras, review of So Super Stylish, p. 25.

Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2004, review of So Super Starry, p. 397; April, 2006, Angelica Delgado, review of So Super Stylish, p. 55.