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Outside In

Sarah Ellis author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Groundwood Books Ltd ,Canada

Published:31st Mar '16

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Outside In cover

Lynn’s life is full — choir practice, school, shopping for the perfect jeans, and dealing with her free-spirited mother. Then one day her life is saved by a mysterious girl named Blossom, who introduces Lynn to her own world and family — both more bizarre, yet somehow more sane, than Lynn’s own.

Blossom’s family is a small band of outcasts and eccentrics who live secretly in an ingenious bunker beneath a city reservoir. The Underlanders forage and trade for the things they need (“Is it useful or lovely?”), living off the things “Citizens” throw away. Lynn is enchanted and amazed. But when she inadvertently reveals their secret, she is forced to take measure of her own motives and lifestyle, as she figures out what it really means to be a family, and a friend.

Classic Sarah Ellis, this novel is smart, rich, engaging and insightful.

More than a thoughtful ode to found family, this slim, sweet novel challenges readers to look anew at the ones they have. * Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW *
This is a thought-provoking tale that will hopefully inspire as well as delight its readers. * CM Magazine *
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. * Booklist, STARRED REVIEW *
A thoughtful, exciting read that makes everything ordinary suddenly have the possibility to be extraordinary. * School Library Journal *
Ellis is simultaneously a knotty and substantive writer and one with a light, conversational style . . .[A]n excellent book for discussion, eliciting lively partisanship on the question of what’s right and wrong. * Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books *

  • Commended for The Globe 100 2014 (Canada)
  • Commended for Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year 2014 (Canada)
  • Commended for Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens 2014 (Canada)
  • Short-listed for Red Maple Award for Fiction 2015 (Canada)

ISBN: 9781554983681

Dimensions: 190mm x 127mm x 12mm

Weight: 198g

208 pages