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You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wish this book would never end
May 2022 Debut of the Month
Rejoice, lovers of frank and funny diary stories, you have a treat awaiting! Fifteen-and-a-half-year-old Ellery Brown, an American mostly living in Ireland, is starting a diary, addressed to the reader, her non-judgemental friend. Ellery’s mum, a successful writer of popular fiction, has recently died and the diary is supposed to help Ellery write about her feelings. However, it soon becomes a record of her efforts to identify her father. Her mother never revealed his name, but Ellery and best friend Meg decide there are clues on her mother’s bookshelves. As Ellery tracks down three successful male authors, any of whom could be the one, the story gets wilder and funnier by the page. Add to this the joy of her relationship with the equally wonderful Meg, her eccentric family, and other players, including romantic interest and lamb-whisperer Silent Johnny, and the book brims over with reasons to love it. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will make you wish you had a friend like Ellery.
Definitely one to recommend to fans of Geek Girl or Georgia Nicolson.
The hilarious and deeply moving 11+ debut from critically-acclaimed and bestselling adult author Alex Barclay, this might just be the funniest book ever to make you cry your eyes out.
Ellery Brown says no to sadness. And yes to her crazy new life.
This is the diary of me, Ellery Brown, aged 16 and a half. I think I'm supposed to use it to record my feelings about my Mom, since she died. So why do I keep thinking about who my dad might be, instead? My best friend has narrowed it down to three authors my Mom knew. (She was an author too.) But they're not just in different countries: they're on different continents. Which means fake IDs, passports, disguises, plane tickets, and somehow getting away from my self-obsessed grandmother. One thing's for sure: this year is going to be interesting.
In addition to our Lovereading4Kids expert opinion some of our Reader Review Panel were also lucky enough to read and review this title. You can click here to read the full reviews.
This book was one of my best reads yet. I utterly loved the entire plot, and the way it was written made me want to keep reading for hours! It was such a lovely story with amazing characters- would definitely recommend! Full review
Ellery Brown is on an epic search for her dad, but will she find out who he is after all this time? Full review
Exciting, intriguing, and overall, brilliant. A story of the family, friendship, love and finding your happy ending. Full review
This is a truly great read and I honestly can't wait for the next instalments. The diary was written so that you believed you were there every step of the way. Full review
ISBN: 9780008463670
Publication date: 14/04/2022
Publisher: HarperCollins an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Hardback
| ISBN: | 9780008463670 |
| Publication date: | 14th April 2022 |
| Author: | Alex Barclay |
| Publisher: | HarperCollins an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 480 pages |
| Suitable for: | 11+ readers, 13+ readers |
| Genres: | Family / Home Stories, Funny, Personal Social Health Economic |
| Recommendations: | Debuts of the Month, Reviewed by Children |
Alex Barclay is the award-winning author of several bestselling thrillers. She studied journalism in college, and went on to work as a journalist and copywriter before writing her first novel, Darkhouse, a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. Alex won the Ireland AM Crime Fiction Award for her third novel, Blood Runs Cold. My Heart and Other Breakables is her debut for 11+ readers.
More About Alex Barclay
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