"This funny, heartfelt, true-to-life, coming-of-age page-turner fizzes with emotional energy and the power of music"
Winner of The Branford Boase Award 2023 | May 2022 Debut of the Month | Shortlisted for the Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize 2023
Navigating loss, love and family strains while standing out as a brown girl in a predominantly white school isn’t easy for Ellie, a budding songwriter and music aficionado. A beautiful, funny ode to finding the strength to sing up and stand out, Ellie Pillai is Brown is sure to chime with readers who also feel they don’t quite fit in, with QR codes peppered through the book bringing Ellie’s songs to life, and adding extra depth to the experience.
Ellie Pillai is a girl who know what she loves — music. And, against her parents’ wishes, she’s set on making a go of her drama GCSE, determined to find a way to overcome feeling invisible. While her family are mourning the loss of her little brother, which has left Ellie and her mum terribly distant from each other, Ellie has the stable support of her best friend. But her life is well and truly shaken up when a new boy and his twin sister arrive at her school. While handsome Ash is the only person who gets all her music references and understands the power of a playlist and finding the right song for every situation, it looks like he’s hooked up with her best friend, so Ellie tries to put him out of her mind.
At the same time, Ellie’s new drama teacher instils her with confidence: “I think you have presence, something special about you. Something different”. If only Ellie can stop putting herself in a box and making herself small.
Exploring grief, consent, family expectations, self-confidence, first love, same sex love and mental health through its well-drawn cast of characters, Ellie Pillai is Brown strikes a smart balance between humour and emotion.
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The perfect coming-of-age romance by the most spectacularly funny and original debut voice.
My name is Ellie. Ellie Pillai. And I suppose I am a little bit weird, but then, aren't we all, just a little bit?
Most days, Ellie Pillai is somewhere between invisible, and not very cool - and usually she's okay with that. But suddenly, Ellie feels different. Maybe it's the new boy at school who makes her brain explode into rainbows every time she sees him (and also happens to be going out with her best friend), or maybe it's her new drama teacher, the one who seems to have noticed she exists. Suddenly, her misfit style, her skin colour, her songwriting and all that getting lost in the music in her head seem to be okay too. Because maybe standing out isn't a bad thing after all.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Ellie Pillai is Brown and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
Ellie Pillai is Brown features in the following genres: Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Funny, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Romance / Relationship Stories, School Stories, Star Books, Featured Books for Young Adults
Ellie Pillai is Brown is available in Paperback
Ellie Pillai is Brown was written by Christine Pillainayagam and published by Faber & Faber
Ellie Pillai is Brown has 458 pages
£8.09
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