Ellen Outside the Lines in Rolling with the lgbt

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Jun 30, 2022 Eva B. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: metaphorical-tears-were-shed, autism-rep, friendships-are-magic, queer-leads, favorite-characters, best-of-the-best-of-the-best, slump-cures, middle-grade-and-lower

At this point me saying "I wish I had this when I was younger" is pretty much a trope for when I review queer MG and/or MG with autistic leads but man...I wish I had this when I was younger. Ellen was an endearing character who I related to from the start (I too have trouble when I get stuff done before or after schedule and I have time starting stuff if I have plans for later) and her storyline of growing apart from her best friend as she realized her best friend had interests and friends she c At this point me saying "I wish I had this when I was younger" is pretty much a trope for when I review queer MG and/or MG with autistic leads but man...I wish I had this when I was younger. Ellen was an endearing character who I related to from the start (I too have trouble when I get stuff done before or after schedule and I have time starting stuff if I have plans for later) and her storyline of growing apart from her best friend as she realized her best friend had interests and friends she couldn't connect to felt so real to me because I experienced that with one of my closest friends. It also dealt with how Ellen felt alienated from other girls due to both their autism and the fact that they may not be fully a girl, which...yeah, felt that, Ellen. Ellen and her parents are Jewish and I loved the way that was woven into the story, especially when they video-called Ellen's mom for Shabbat. I always love seeing characters who have a strong connection to their religion because I personally do not and wish mine was better. There's also a conversation about the differences in the way that Ellen and their dad practice Judaism versus Ellen and their mom and it was so good! And the autism rep? Phenomenal. Possibly the best I've ever read? It's either this or Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!, although Ellen was more relatable to me personally. It's really the little details, you know? I also like to keep things in lists (mostly in my head), have issues sleeping (especially when I have to share a room with someone), had an IEP (not that it helped much. thanks US school system) and while I love to travel (The Frogs reference) I also struggle with being in an unfamiliar location with a shaky plan.
The setting was incredibly well-rounded to the point where I felt like I was in Barcelona with Ellen (and now want to travel there) and the scavenger hunt and how it played out was also very good. And the other characters? Honestly Abba was the standout, we love supportive parents in books, but I loved Isa, Andy, and Gibbs as well.
Oddly enough, I had to travel almost an hour to get this book because every Barnes and Noble by me was sold out or delayed, something I was only permitted to do because I had built my inner schedule around going and so had an emotional overload about it. ...more

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Jun 09, 2022 Jake Callum marked it as to-read

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Mar 03, 2024 Charlie Spring marked it as to-read

Shelves: reading-challenge-minority

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