My Mum, Tracy Beaker is the fourth novel in the Tracy Beaker series by Jacqueline Wilson.
Jessica Bluebell Camilla Beaker is the young daughter of the infamous Tracy Beaker, and while she might look a lot like her mother, she's very different personality wise. Jess is a quiet and thoughtful girl who is often embarrassed by her mother's Anger Issues, but loves her nonetheless. For the longest time it's been just Tracy and Jess, with the former moving from job to job in an attempt to keep a roof over their heads.
But when Tracy starts dating famous footballer and old friend Sean Godfrey, Jess just can't bring herself to be happy about it. Not even when she and her mother get to move into the house of their dreams, not even when they get to drive a beautiful pink Cadillac, not even when Jess gets her very own dog. But Tracy is happy, and for the first time in her life Jess isn't sure what matters more, her own happiness or her mother's.
It was announced in 2020 that CBBC would be adapting this book into a 3-series with Dani Harmer reprising her role as Tracy and Lisa Coleman, Montanna Thompson, and Ruth Gemmell reprising their roles as Cam, Justine, and Carly, respectively. The series was released in February 2021.
Tropes found in My Mum, Tracy Beaker.
- Abusive Parents: Tyrone's mother verbally abuses and neglects him, and has at least once gotten her boyfriend to hit him on her behalf.
- Age-Gap Romance: Justine's boyfriend is described as looking quite a bit older than her, and he also happens to be her current boss.
- Alpha Bitch: Justine Littlewood returns, and clearly hasn't changed over the years. This time, she ends up convincing Sean to cheat on Tracy and she ends up getting him after Tracy dumps him.
- Ambiguously Gay: It's subtly hinted that Cam might be gay, she mentions not being interested in finding a man, and becomes very close to Jess' teacher Miss Oliver. Tracy even appears to tease that Cam is more into spending time with Miss Oliver on all those hiking trips, rather than the hiking itself. Averted in the television adaptation which features Cam marrying Jess's teacher, and before this, Jacqueline Wilson confirmed that Cam is gay.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Ava sees Alice as this, despite the fact that she seems quite sweet. However we don't see enough of Alice to see how she acts around Ava when Jess and Tracy aren't around.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Tracy wants nothing more than to end up with a rich husband, a big fancy house, and a nice car. While she does end up getting all of that, it doesn't turn out exactly the way she wants. Her fiancé ends up cheating on her with Justine Littlewood of all people.
- Berserk Button: Don't threaten Jess in front of Tracy. She's also prone to lashing out when her past is bought up.
- Cool Old Lady: Flo, the kind old lady who ends up giving Tracy a job and a place for her, Jess and Alfie to live together by the sea. She used to be a famous actress, says whatever happens to be on her mind, and is just a little bit eccentric.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: The various girls that Cam is fostering tend to warm up after being in her care, special mention goes to Lily.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Jess ends up becoming friends with her former bully Tyrone by accidentally headbutting him and giving him a bloodied nose.
- Disappeared Dad: While Jess knows who her father is and often spent time with him when she was younger, he's no longer in her life due to canceling their plans one too many times. Tracy is clearly still sore from her mother doing the same thing to her as a child and doesn't want Jess to go through the same experience.
- Fat and Skinny: Alice and her older sister Ava. Alice and Jess also fit the trope.
- Freudian Excuse: Tyrone is a bully because he's physically abused at home.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: While Tracy still has a bad temper, she does do her best to try and reign it in. She's clearly aware that she has a problem, and often regrets her angry outbursts; especially when they're aimed at Jess or end up effecting her in some way.
- Hide Your Lesbians: May apply to Cam and Miss Oliver within the book, whereas they are explicitly a couple in the TV adaptation. It's also suggested that Cam's friends Jane and Liz (who appeared in previous books) have recently got married.
- Mama Bear: Tracy. Threaten Jess in front of her, our only advice is this: Run. For. The. FUCKING. Hills.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Happens to Tracy frequently, from screaming at Jess's teacher over an incident that Jess had actually hidden from her, to telling Jess off when she was only trying to cheer her mum up with breakfast in bed on her birthday. Tracy always feels a lot of regret after her outbursts, and genuinely does try to keep her temper in check.
- Parents as People: Tracy is struggling to do the best for Jess, and while she might fail due to her temper, her heart is always in the right place. She's not perfect, even the besotted Jess admits this, but she is doing incredibly well given her background.
- Race Lift:
- In The Dare Game Football/Sean was white. In the TV adaptation, he is black.
- Tyrone, who was white in the original book, is mixed-race in the tv adaptation.
- Flo and Jordan, who were both white in the original book of We Are The Beaker Girls, are both black in the tv adaptation The Beaker Girls.
- Remember the New Guy?: Sean Godfrey's appearance in the tv adaptation, where it is said that he and Tracy knew each other from childhood, referring to the events of the book The Dare Game, which was never adapted for television.
- Scatterbrained Senior: In Justine's one and only redeeming moment, she mentions that her father now has severe dementia. She laments that now she's the one who visits him in a home, when it used to be the other way around while she was at the Dumping Ground. In the following book, Justine has a moment where she breaks down and cries because her father doesn't even recognize her and can't understand why his daughter has stopped visiting and doesn't buy it when Justine tries to tell him she's his daughter.
- Shared Universe: One of Cam's foster children is Lily from Lily Alone.
- Stress Vomit: When Cam and Tracy's birth mother end up visiting at the same time, Jess is so desperate to please everyone that she ends up eating some of everything. She's so full that she ends up throwing up.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Tracy is fond of McDonalds and fairy cakes. Jess loves fish and chips and macaroni cheese.
- Wacky Parent, Serious Child: Jess is the serious child to Tracy's wacky parent.
- Undying Loyalty: Jess is fiercely loyal towards her mother no matter what happens.
