"Ellen Outside the Lines" is a warm and wonderful story of an autistic teenager coming-of-age while on a summer school trip to Barcelona. The view inside Ellen’s thoughts and feelings had me enthralled from the first page as I witnessed how the world appeared to her. The support and understanding of her experiences by her closest classmates were astonishing to me, and I hope it is true-to-life because I didn’t expect that level of caring and compassion from schoolmates of that age. Of course, there were examples of those that weren’t so caring or compassionate. I ached for Ellen’s disappointments and missteps but cheered as she recognized where she went wrong or could have done better.
Besides her journey through her relationships with others, including her father, the story presented intriguing glimpses into her family’s life and religious observations of the Jewish faith. Her mother and her hobbies while husband and daughter were away provided fun little side surprises. I particularly liked the inclusion of the Hebrew language sprinkled throughout the dialogue between father and daughter.
The setting in Barcelona was exotic, vivid, and exciting. I loved the Spanish teacher’s device of the scavenger hunt to get his students out experiencing the city and expanding their vocabulary rather than just shopping and hanging out at the beach.
The characters are a wonderful yet cohesive mix of diverse individuals who were very relatable. I found the author’s use of language delightful and feel it will resonate exceptionally well with young readers.
I recommend ELLEN OUTSIDE THE LINES to YA and middle-grade audiences or adults wanting a better understanding of what it means to be autistic or neurodivergent.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from TBR and Beyond Tours.
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From the Publisher
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| Ana on the Edge | Ellen Outside the Lines | Just Shy of Ordinary | |
| Customer Reviews |
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| Price | $7.99 | $8.99 | $14.40 |
| More binary-breaking middle-grade books from A. J. Sass! | A heartfelt coming-of-age story about figure skater Ana-Marie Jin, a nonbinary kid, navigating a binary world. | A novel about a neurodivergent thirteen-year-old navigating changing friendships, a school trip, and expanding horizons. | A thirteen-year-old nonbinary kid starts public school for the first time, in this book about family, identity, and Jewish heritage. |
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Diverse!
A.J. Sass is one of my instant-buy authors. I loved Ana on The Edge last year and could not wait to dive into A.J. Sass’s newest release, Ellen Outside the Lines.I absolutely loved this middle-grade story that follows Ellen and her school summer trip to Barcelona. Ellen is excited to go with her friend Laurel because Laurel has been making more plans on the weekends without Ellen and this will give them a chance to hang out. When they get to Barcelona, Ellen is paired in a group without Laurel. Ellen has to navigate how to make new friend, in a new city. And on top of that, they have to do a scavenger hunt.I love how diverse this book is. Ellen is autistic, discovering her sexuality, and practices a religion. A.J. Sass really captured Ellen’s emotions and process and that was an awesome point of view from someone who is not autistic. Ellen has a lot of tough decisions she has to make in this book as she tries to explore a different country.This book was fast-paced and easy to read. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2022
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2022
A.J. Sass is one of my instant-buy authors. I loved Ana on The Edge last year and could not wait to dive into A.J. Sass’s newest release, Ellen Outside the Lines.
I absolutely loved this middle-grade story that follows Ellen and her school summer trip to Barcelona. Ellen is excited to go with her friend Laurel because Laurel has been making more plans on the weekends without Ellen and this will give them a chance to hang out. When they get to Barcelona, Ellen is paired in a group without Laurel. Ellen has to navigate how to make new friend, in a new city. And on top of that, they have to do a scavenger hunt.
I love how diverse this book is. Ellen is autistic, discovering her sexuality, and practices a religion. A.J. Sass really captured Ellen’s emotions and process and that was an awesome point of view from someone who is not autistic. Ellen has a lot of tough decisions she has to make in this book as she tries to explore a different country.
This book was fast-paced and easy to read. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars
I absolutely loved this middle-grade story that follows Ellen and her school summer trip to Barcelona. Ellen is excited to go with her friend Laurel because Laurel has been making more plans on the weekends without Ellen and this will give them a chance to hang out. When they get to Barcelona, Ellen is paired in a group without Laurel. Ellen has to navigate how to make new friend, in a new city. And on top of that, they have to do a scavenger hunt.
I love how diverse this book is. Ellen is autistic, discovering her sexuality, and practices a religion. A.J. Sass really captured Ellen’s emotions and process and that was an awesome point of view from someone who is not autistic. Ellen has a lot of tough decisions she has to make in this book as she tries to explore a different country.
This book was fast-paced and easy to read. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars
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Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2023
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2022
Top reviews from other countries
meira m.
Ellen is such a great character
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2023
