Outside In

May 26, 2014
Ellis (The Baby Project) crafts a thought-provoking novel about friendship and belonging. It centers around memorable 13-year-old heroine Lynn, as her home life falls apart and she seeks stability from another family. Lynn falls victim to her bohemian mother's capriciousness when she betrays her live-in boyfriend, has an affair with a married man, loses her job, and forgets to get Lynn's passport for a much-anticipated choir trip. Lynn then meets an unconventional and self-assured girl named Blossom, who saves her from choking at a bus stop. Blossom calls people like Lynn "Citizens" and herself an "Underlander," and she leads Lynn through a Vancouver she's never known, including Blossom's makeshift home in a park where she lives with her two brothers and foster father. In contrast to Lynn's typical teenage fascination with texting and clothes, Blossom and her family delight in discarded possessions, create eclectic meals, trade for goods, and exist outside the law. Though a betrayal that exposes the Underlanders is tidily resolved, the friendship between Lynn and Blossom is particularly satisfying and offers insight into materialism, family, and freedom. Ages 10â13.

Starred review from April 1, 2014
"What if you could just invent your family, your home, your life?" There are times 13-year-old Lynn wishes she could do just that--like right now. Her feckless, New Age-y mom has just ended her relationship with solid, dependable Clive, lost her job and, worst of all, totally forgotten to get Lynn's passport, so Lynn can't go to Choirfest in Portland. Marooned without her BFFs, the Vancouver teen finds an unexpected friend in Blossom, a mysterious girl who saves her with the Heimlich at a bus stop. She leads Lynn down something of a rabbit hole to her home--a cozy, makeshift shelter in a park--where she lives with a dog, her two brothers and a man called Fossick, who is not her father legally or biologically but who is thoroughly devoted. Ellis tackles big themes--loyalty, legality, responsibility, family--with a sure, steady hand, allowing Lynn and readers to see the contrast between her situation and Blossom's and to consider the many threads of relationship that make a family. Both girls' homes and security are tenuous, though in very different ways, and both are effectively powerless. As Lynn falls in love with the magical, quasi-legal underworld that Blossom inhabits, layers of betrayal threaten it, and everyone shares culpability. More than a thoughtful ode to found family, this slim, sweet novel challenges readers to look anew at the ones they have. (Fiction. 10-14)

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May 1, 2014

Gr 6-8-With the exception of her quirky, unmarried mother, Lynn is a typical 13-year-old Canadian, navigating through life filled with choir practice, projects, best friends, and school. Things start to fall apart when her mom wrecks her relationship with the only man who has ever stuck around and Lynn's passport doesn't come in time for her to take the choir trip with the rest of her friends, who leave for Portland and the promise of a fun week away from school. Then a mysterious girl named Blossom is thrust into her life and introduces her to a wonderful world within their city called the Underland. Ellis's descriptions of the Underlanders are enthralling, and readers will easily believe that people live off the grid within big cities. While Lynn's ability to break the rules and join the Underlanders so easily seems questionable at first, the compelling cast of characters enable readers to suspend disbelief. Each of the Underlanders has an interesting, heartbreaking story that is developed throughout to keep readers guessing. Lynn's difficult relationship with her mother and her strong bonds with friends make this story very relatable. A thoughtful, exciting read that makes everything ordinary suddenly have the possibility to be extraordinary.-Ellen Norton, White Oak Library District, Crest Hill, IL

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2014
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Just when Lynn's family falls apart yet again, she meets Blossom, who opens her eyes to a different way of seeing society. Foundling Blossom is part of an unorthodox family of Underlanders, living secretly outside the economy, and she's searching out ordinary citizen experiences, such as having a friend. Blossom and her two brothersone growing away from the family and a younger one whose behavior lies on the autism spectrumhave long been raised illegally by Shakespeare-spouting Fossick. The quirky characters in this perceptive friendship story are unique, to say the least, but also remarkably plausible. Together, they will draw readers into understanding Lynn's chief conflict: keeping her new friend a secret from both her old friends Kas and Celia as well as her manic, impulsive mother. Blossom's brother Tron, manga come to life, is so enchanting, he almost steals the story, but award-winning author Ellis remains firmly focused on the girls' friendship, which does survive Lynn's betrayal. Appealing and provocative, this challenges readers to assess their own lives, bringing up compelling issues as wide-ranging as the ills of consumerism and the obligations of friendship.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)