Ella on the Outside

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This book is charming and thought-provoking. Cath Howe has perfectly understood the thoughts and attitudes of young children and this book comes across as very realistic. I think young readers will be able to relate to various characters in the book and become captivated by the mysteries and relationships.

Ella on the Outside is a superbly honest debut from Cath Howe, with authentic characters and important themes of friendship, loyalty, self-acceptance and parental responsibility. For me this was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I’m convinced the characters will resonate strongly with lots of readers in upper KS2. Ella is the new girl at school and things are going as well as you might expect under the circumstances. She's trying to fit in, not really managing, and there's this big secret that she's not allowed to tell anybody. When she's made friends with by Lydia (and I phrase that most deliberately thus), the school's number one, things seem to work out but they really don't. Lydia wants to know what Ella's secret is and nothing's going to stop her from finding out. And the worst sort of secrets are the ones which, inevitably, make themselves heard. I think this book is one that every teacher should read. It really gave me an insight into what life could be like for a new child in a class and how as teachers we often miss signs of what children are going through or how they treat each other. Children will also be able to relate to the characters because it is told through the voice of Ella and some of the experiences she has, such as moving to a new school, dealing with bullying/ manipulation from other children, joining existing groups of friends and the feeling of loneliness and being an outsider and not knowing how to fit in. Ella is constantly trying to please and make the right choice but often ends up hurting others in the process. A pattern that is shown in this story is how at the start of each chapter Ella has written a letter to her dad. Her letters are all different asking him different things that relate to her life and what she has been experiencing. We do not see a return letter to Ella until the last chapter where her dad replies to her about her visiting him at Christmas. In the letters that Ella writes, she is coming to terms with her dad being away but still has some questions, like is he allowed to have a break from prison to stay with her? The questions Ella has made me realise that children may not always fully understand their situations. Ella has just moved to a new town and has started at a new school. She has a huge secret that she can’t tell anyone- her dad is in prison for stealing money from the bank that he worked at. Ella will do whatever it takes to fit in with Lydia and her group of friends- even if it means spying on quiet and mysterious Molly and her mum.

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The only problem is, Lydia really wants to know what Ella's hiding and she's also desperate for intel on the quiet girl in class, Molly. So just how far will Ella go to keep her new friendship? Ella On The Outside also touches on some important issues, namely parental responsibility, the influence of prison on families, and mental wellbeing. Howe handles these well, and gracefully; I am increasingly looking for authors who present adults as adults within children's literature, flawed and honest and real and scared, and this is a massive mark in this book's favour.

The most popular girl at school, Lydia, makes friends with Ella, but Lydia is domineering and manipulative. While Ella wonders about Lydia’s motives, she is flatter to be her friend. Another mystery is why Molly is so quiet and why Lydia doesn’t like her? There are many things to like about Ella on the Outside and I enjoyed it very much. The author, Cath Howe, has done a great job. It is well-written, the story unfolds at a good pace, and the use of Ella’s camera works well as a tool to convey information. The letters to Ella’s Dad allow us insights into Ella’s thoughts as well as her relationship with her Dad. It’s an effective sub-plot running through the story which connects in understated ways to the main story. Lydia isn’t your typical bully, and the word “bullying” isn’t used in the book, nevertheless Lydia’s actions are clearly designed to intimidate. The story has a satisfying ending.

L’auteur nous montre également qu’il n’est pas facile pour une mère de famille de refaire sa vie après ce qui s’est passé. Elle doit tout changer, quitter l’endroit où elle vivait, trouver un nouveau travail, un nouvel endroit pour vivre et tenter d’élever ses enfants. Il segreto di Ella di Cath Howe è un libro sull’amicizia, sui nuovi inizi e sui segreti che rischiano di rovinare una famiglia. As Ella also has to protect a secret about her family, she discovers a lesson about trust and true friendship despite first appearances. Elle intègre une nouvelle école mais n’a pas encore sa veste d’uniforme. Elle veut se faire des amis. This book is very honest and realistic, which makes it tough to read at times. This is part of the charm of the book, but it may be triggering or upsetting for sensitive readers.