Girls under Pressure

infobox Book |
name = Girls under Pressure


image_caption =
author = Jacqueline Wilson
illustrator = Nick Sharratt
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre = Children's novel
publisher =
pub_date = 1998
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages =
isbn =
preceded_by =
followed_by = "Girls out Late"

Girls under Pressure is the second book in the Girls series, written by Dame Jacqueline Wilson, DBE, a noted English author who writes fiction for children. It was published in 1998, the sequel to Girls in Love and the prequel to Girls out Late. It is aimed at teenage readers.

Like the rest of the series, "Girls under Pressure" is told from the viewpoint of Eleanor "Ellie" Allard, a chubby thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her father (simply known in the story as "Dad"- his real name is not given), her stepmother Anna and her little half-brother Eggs.

The story starts where Ellie, Magda and Nadine (her two best friends) are Christmas shopping at the Flowerfields Shopping Centre. While they shop, they noticed a large buzz of an event going on upstairs. Nadine wonders if it is television. Magda replies "Wow, I hope so" and steers the other two upstairs.

It turns out to be a modelling competition for "Spicy" magazine, which Ellie discovers after seeing a lot of pretty and thin teenage girls getting their photos taken. Ellie stares in horror as she realises what she has been in the queue for. She witnesses Magda and Nadine getting photographed, seeing how Nadine is "model-girl" thin. It's Ellie's turn to be photographed, but she runs away, pushing through the queue as she goes, with the result that one of the girls says "She's far too fat!" for modelling. Ellie, hurt and upset,leaves and goes home. This is where her obsessive dieting starts and she battles with anorexia and bulimia.

It worsens when Nadine gets through to the first round of the "Spicy" modelling competition. Ellie tries to be supportive but envies all of the models and their bodies. However, Nadine doesn't get chosen to go through to the next round and the two quarrel, but make it up on the way home. Meanwhile, Magda has been on a date with Mick and is nearly a victim of date-rape.

Ellie once did an Art project with Zoe, a highly intelligent student who has been put up a year to take her GCSEs early. Ellie is motivated to lose weight by not eating as Zoe had a "biggish bum" and now she has "amazing cheekbones", due to her lack of food and lots of exercise. However, Ellie eventually stops her anorexia/bulimia after hearing that Zoe got so thin she collapsed and nearly died of heart failure. She goes to visit the hospital Zoe is in, and she is shocked by how sad and small Zoe looks. So she promptly stops her diet, as she doesn't want to die.