Line #8 Literature/TheStoryOfTracyBeaker


1	Written by Creator/JacquelineWilson, this is the story of a feisty, hot-headed 10-year-old girl who lives in a care home that she [[SarcasmMode affectionately]] refers to as the Dumping Ground.
2	She has a beautiful, glamorous mother who she adores and worships, but due to neglect, she was removed from her mother's care when she was very young.
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4	The first book, ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' focuses first on Tracy as a human being through a diary she and the other kids in her home are awarded to write in about themselves. Afterward, she tells the audience about her past in prior homes, including a set of [[LawofInverseFertility foster parents]] who were led to believe they couldn't have children that found themselves with a baby on the way and decided it would be safer for the baby if Tracy wasn't around, a foster mother named Peg who slapped Tracy for her [[BlatantLies stories]], and the one she is in currently. We learn she is dire enemies with [[AlphaBitch Justine Littlewood]], dislikes Justine's best friend [[WeUsedToBeFriends Louise]], despairs of social worker [[WhatItSaysOnTheTin Elaine the Pain]], tries to get away with all sorts of mischief with Jenny the [[TeamMom Team Mom]] of the Dumping Ground and is finding herself gradually caring for a timid, shy boy called Peter. Soon, she meets Cam, a poor writer and quickly decides that she will make the perfect foster mother as Tracy, too, wants to write. [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity]], [[TearJerker tearjerkers]] and [[SugarWiki/SweetExists heartwarming]] moments soon occur as Cam finds herself caring for Tracy and Tracy finds a new family in an unlikely and very new friend. Followed by three sequels:
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6	* ''Starring Tracy Beaker''
7	* ''The Dare Game''
8	* ''Literature/MyMumTracyBeaker''
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10	!! Tropes found in ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'':
11	* AbsurdlySharpClaws: What Tracy would grow if she was a kitten so everyone would fear her and consequently obey her without question.
12	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Cam laughs at some of Tracy's journal entries, though Tracy admits she hasn't been very flattering about her in some places. Elaine too.
13	--> "You always say OK." I told her. "You know: OK, that's fine with me, if that's what you want I'm not going to make a fuss; OK Tracy, yes I know you've got this socking great axe in your hand and you're about to chop off my head because you're feeling angry with me, but OK, if that's the way you feel, I'm not going to get worried about it because I'm this super-cool social worker."
14	--> She burst out laughing then.
15	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Tracy sees Peter as this, although they aren't related, but later comes to see him as her best friend and misses him when she leaves the Dumping Ground.
16	* BelievingTheirOwnLies: In the first book Tracy speculates that her mother is unable to care for her due to being abroad and imagines her as a famous actress in America. She gets carried away with this idea and adds to it over the series. Mostly this is just an [[ImagineSpot imaginative game]] and Tracy admits to Cam that while sometimes she believes it's real, other times she knows she is making it up.
17	--> I knew it was all going to come true, though perhaps I was embellishing things a little. I am occasionally prone to exaggeration. [[SophisticatedAsHell This means I can get carried away and tell socking great lies.]] They start to seem so real that I believe them too.
18	* BigEater: Tracy fills in the "Things I Like Eating" section of her book with "everything."
19	--> I like birthday cake best. And any other kind of cake. And Smarties and Mars Bars and big buckets of popcorn and jelly spiders and Cornettos and Big Macs with French Fries and strawberry milk shakes.
20	* BondingOverMissingParents: When Justine's dad didn't turn up to visit her, Tracy was reminded of herself in Justine's spot by the window, waiting and waiting for her mother to come and visit her. This is what led to them becoming friends until Justine's father finally did make an appearance [[GreenEyedMonster and Tracy got jealous.]]
21	* DisappearedDad: Tracy's father is never mentioned, except for in the third novel when Tracy asks [[spoiler: her mother, Carly, who has recently come back in Tracy's life if the photo of the man in her mother's wallet is her father. Carly reacts as though she had forgotten Tracy even ''had'' a dad to begin with.]]
22	* DisneylandDad: Crossing over with DisappearedDad, Justine's dad rarely visits her, but when he does, he always brings her presents such as the Mickey Mouse alarm clock [[spoiler: Tracy accidentally breaks.]]
23	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' reads very much like a diary, with no numbered chapters, illustrations deliberately set up to look like Tracy has drawn them herself and even a page devoted to Tracy and Peter playing games like hangman and noughts and crosses. ''The Dare Game'' though doesn't have any of these touches, with even the illustrations seeming more polished and less like a child's doodles.
24	* ExtremelyProtectiveChild: Despite the strong inference that Tracy's mother was, at best, neglectful and at worst abusive, Tracy refuses to hear a single bad word about her. Justine too adores her father, despite him being incapable of taking care of her or her younger brothers and visiting her only sporadically.
25	* FeminineMotherTomboyishDaughter: Cam and her mother, who disapproves of her lifestyle. They have an off-screen argument when Cam refuses to have her hair done and dress up for a party in a "decent skirt" and high heels.
26	** Tracy and her mother have this dynamic, despite having a similar interest in fashion and make-up. With Cam however, Tracy is the feminine one.
27	* GreenEyedMonster: Tracy and Justine had a VitriolicBestBuds friendship until Justine's father turned up to take her out for the day. Tracy resented this and started taunting Justine for it, which led to her and Louise breaking friends with Tracy.
28	* ImagineSpot: Tracy is prone to these, whether it's about getting her back on Justine Littlewood, living with her mother or fantasising about being a famous author or actress when she grows up.
29	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tracy can be insensitive and difficult but she can also be very kind and considerate, even to her worst enemies, to her own surprise. And no matter how many fights she gets into, she never wants anyone to get ''seriously'' hurt.
30	* LovingAShadow: While Tracy loves her mum, she hasn't seen her since she was five and thus doesn't really ''know'' her. Her dream of going to live with Carly is more based on fantasy rather than out of any sort of bond with her mother. Eventually Tracy herself realises this.
31	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Tracy and Cam concoct a "charm to be with a loved one on a festive occasion" from a book in the "Mind, Body, Spirit" section of a bookshop. Tracy uses hers to wish for her mum to come and see her at Christmas but doesn't actually use Carly's name when she makes her wish. She later wonders if the charm worked anyway and if ''she'' was Cam's loved one.
32	* MissingMum: Carly until she appears in person in ''The Dare Game''.
33	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Tracy is brought to tears when she blames herself for breaking Alexander's leg.
34	* OneOfTheBoys: Tracy's friends over the series are [[ShrinkingViolet Peter]], [[WellDoneSonGuy Alexander]] and [[TheBigGuy Football]], the former two who are much more quieter and timid than she is. Her worst enemies are Justine Littlewood and Roxanne Green and she doesn't seem to get on well with other girls her age, although she was formerly friends with Justine and Louise.
35	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Football is only ever called Football. We find out his real name, Sean Godfrey, as an adult.
36	* ParentalNeglect: Why Tracy was taken into care. The third book shows that Carly just isn't used to taking care of kids and dealing with Tracy's presence on a full-time basis.
37	* PottyFailure: Tracy mentions wetting the bed in the first book. She and Peter start to bond when she encounters him trying to wash his sheets in the bath.
38	* RaisedByGrandparents: Peter was brought up by his nan after his parents died. Then she died too and he ended up in care.
39	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Tracy and Justine's alarm clock. Also her "hay fever."
40	* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Tracy is very much a hot-blooded, scruffy tomboy who enjoys football and gets on better with boys than girls. However she generally wears a skirt most of the time, is very into designer clothes and enjoyed playing with a china doll when she was little. She has girlier interests than Cam, who while not typically tomboyish, is neither typically feminine.
41	* TrademarkFavouriteFood: Tracy is ''very'' fond of smarties.
42	* VitriolicBestBuds: Tracy and Football fight often but ultimately care for each other. Justine and Tracy also had this dynamic before they became deadly enemies.

Context Literature / TheStoryOfTracyBeaker