Ella On The Outside Paperback – May 3, 2018

First of all... I love that this was a second-hand book and sent to me in such great condition. I love that books are able to be shared.Secondly, the book itself is amazing. It is perfect reading for kids 10 and up because it brings up so many topics that they may be facing. I would read a chapter or 2 a night (they are like 6 pages, another plus) to my 11 yr daughter before bed and we would talk are out the characters are bound what was going on. It really helped her and I to open up some things we don't have a normal way of bringing up.We discussed bullies and cliques, and choices and their consequences. This book even touches on depression in adults and kids and just overall how to be empathetic and compassionate to others.Great read, recommend reading together with your kids because is opens a lot of learning discussions.

This is a lovely book for parents to read with their children in the 10-14 age group.

My daughter loves this book and so does her MOM =)

I attended a conference where Cath Howe was a guest speaker. Intrigued by the title, I bought the book that afternoon and read it in a day…Now I have replanned my ‘end of the day’ reading time for my year 5 class to incorporate this book.(Suitable for all KS2 readers) I love the way the story covers a lot of friendship issues which can be hard to address when problems arise in class but I think using a book like this provides a safety net for children to reflect on the characters’ behaviour and how they might react if they were in that position. Great topics for discussion include new children arriving in the class, how to pick friends, superficial friendships, secret - good vs bad, acceptance and understanding of differences and making the right choices. (to name just a few!) Off to order more books for the school library!

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These types of books are brilliant for my ASD 10 year old daughter. It has been very helpful reading about different personality types and how different people socialise and communicate together. She compares characters to real life situations at school and really helps her understand the world better. She is a massive Lottie Brooks fan and this book has kept the same level of interest. Would recommend.

I personally thought it was a really good book.It teaches you that not everyone wants to be your "friend"and that "friends" don't always want the best for you.I reccomend it to any adult or child who want a book that teaches life lessons.The one thing I would say is that it is a bit too short for me and that it should be a series.Michelle,10 :)xxxx

As a writer, Cath Howe will surely become a parent’s (or grandparent’s or teacher’s) treasured friend- a storyteller whose work will be enjoyed as much by adults as by children.Her characters spring from the page as we are drawn immediately into their lives. The grownups, always seen from the child’s perspective, are not villains, but human beings with real and recognisable foibles and struggles. There’s the dizzy Vanessa, Lucas’s banker father’s fiancé, ill-equipped for the role of stepmother which has been thrust upon her, her future stepson an afterthought in their wedding plans; Irena, the reluctant au pair, if not exploited, certainly taken advantage of by her wealthy employers, missing her family in another country. Dad, trying to fix his shy son like he fixes his expensive bike, splashing the cash on holidays to compensate for his emotional and physical absence, and burying his own grief over the loss of his first wife, Lucas’s mother. You wonder what he and Vanessa have in common. And, of course, Keely’s gran, dispensing flapjacks and hugs, who quickly becomes simply "Gran".Howe’s writing has great immediacy. "Not My Fault" took me straight back to the mixture of excitement and dread I felt at the outset of the school residential, bringing back forgotten memories of the planned midnight feasts, and the daunting huge breakfast hall. In "How to be Me" her spare prose brings places vividly to life: the sour smelling hut where the drama club meets, without a fan to alleviate the stifling heat, “which must be against the law”; Vanessa’s dressing room, where – displaying Howe’s gift for understated comedy - Lucas and Keely play with the electric massage-chair until there is “an odd charred sort of smell”; the empty ballroom - big enough for rollerblading - with its chandeliers and polished floor, where lonely, shy, Lucas, missing Mum, plays piano with only his beloved cats for an audience, and most of all Bakewell’s, the slightly chaotic cafe, with its delicious aromas and eclectic mix of customers.The scene in "How to be Me" where Keely trains Lucas to work in the café made me laugh out loud, but you’ll be a hard cookie if you don’t shed some tears whilst reading this book. Although the story ends on a positive note, as an adult you’re left wondering how your new friends will fare in the years ahead.