Ellen Outside the Lines

When thirteen-year-old Ellen goes on a school trip to Barcelona, she doesn’t anticipate that this experience will be the beginning of the end of her relationship with her best friend. Ellen is autistic and struggles to balance old and new friendships as she tries to navigate her new relationships. She learns a lot about herself and the people around her while readers can explore themes around friendship, personal and social responsibility, faith, autism, and gender identity. In an intermediate classroom, the book lends itself as a whole-class read-aloud or as a literature circle selection.