A review by mollysmith1313
Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass

5.0

I’m in my early 30s, but this book ripped my heart out multiple times. I don’t count this as a spoiler, because it’s obvious from the book description, but this book has autism, LGBTQ, and Jewish representation. Sure, it took a little patience at my age to read a book from the perspective of a 13 year old surrounded by a bunch of other 13 year olds…but I found myself gasping at times, feeling the stress or overwhelm or panic or dread Ellen described. And the good feelings too. I know it’s all fictional pre-teen drama, but it was all written so well that the stakes felt so high. I was a lot more invested than I want to admit. I sincerely couldn’t wait to hear more of what was to happen next, and I didn’t want to the book to end. I love traveling, and I’ve even been to Barcelona for a day, so it was cool to recall a tiny bit of what these characters experienced. I’m also neurodivergent, and I can’t believe how much related to characters like Ellen and other characters. Isa and Abba are such great characters too. I spent so much of the book desperately wishing I could talk to Ellen…to give her my own wisdom from the awful stuff I went through as a young person. This book has so much heart, and it was such a warm hug in so many ways. It’s a reminder that relationships are messy, change is really difficult, and diversity can be challenging…but that people who love you for who you are and beautiful futures are always a possible.