Most days, Ellie Pillai is somewhere between invisible, and not very cool – and usually she’s okay with that. I loved the representation in this book and I can only imagine how Ellie feels, being one of the few people of colour in a predominantly white neighbourhood. The author, Christine Pillainayagam, has written a cracking debut YA book threaded through with popular musical references which I particularly enjoyed.

At first i tought its not gonna be a 5-star read because i was a little judgy about the decription where it says that "Ellie likes Jess´s Boyfriend "(which is not the case at all). The twist towards the end completely threw me, I hadn’t expected it at all which I loved, and I marvel at how well Pillainayagam celebrates so many elements of identity. My rating might change to a 2 star because honestly, I didn't really enjoy this as much as I wanted to but there are some things I appreciated. uk - a diary of style moments and mid-life epiphanies, firmly rooted in her experience as a brown woman.

You guys were so fab and Dawn was such a lovely presence in the schools - I will absolutely be in touch next time I'm in your neck of the woods. A warm hearted read that really perfectly captures what it feels like to be a teenager: it's a real whirlwind of emotions and complexity. I loved the fresh and original voice of this coming of age debut, approaching big themes with a light touch. I have even talked the head into a little revamp of the library so that we can display them properly!

Yourself and Bob are much cherished in our booky world and I personally really appreciate everything that you do. There are few YA books out there from a British Asian teenage perspective, and even less that have characters as well-written and a story/world as involving as this one. It’s a great coming of age and accepting yourself story and I like that she got her happy ever after. however it was really refreshing to read about a brown girl who doesn't hate herself/her parents/her culture (ahem mindy kaling) and i liked how the characters didn't all fall into a stereotype as they usually do. Yesterday a parent came over to tell me how impressed she was by the book fair and that you did a fabulous job of selling the books to the children first.This was so incredibly young-adult (YA) and thus, the perfect palate cleanser after all the heavy dystopian books. It’s why so few people, other than Jess, know about her playlists, her humour, her creativity, and then the backing singers she imagines in so many different situations.

Home to William Golding, Sylvia Plath, Kazuo Ishiguro, Sally Rooney, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Max Porter, Ingrid Persaud, Anna Burns and Rachel Cusk, among many others, Faber is proud to publish some of the greatest novelists from the early twentieth century to today. This book is difficult to put down as you become connected to the main character and I found myself hoping for only good things to happen.Ellie finds expressing her true emotions very hard, but by using music she can express her feelings more openly. She’s pretty much the only brown girl in her school and she’s hiding a big secret from her first generation immigrant parents (they think she took computer science GCSE when really she’s doing drama, a subject she’s actually not doing even doing well in). The music woven into the story and the importance it holds for Ellie is a brilliant addition, and I loved the references made to bands from all over the decades.

followed a heartwarming journey of Ellie Pillai during her adolescent years, being a Sri Lankan teen living in a different culture community with her strict and successful parents that always wanted her to be the best (to achieve her potential as what her mom always said) though in reality, she was always think she deserves to be sitting inside the invisible bubble and to feel awkwardly weird most of the times. Few unexpected incidents that tested their friendship, a new drama teacher who suddenly seems to notice her existence, also a romance encountered when Ash the new boy transferred to her school. I know it’s a YA book but I feel like some of the slang used was a bit unrealistic and a bit of a stretch.With classics such as Ted Hughes's The Iron Man and award-winners including Emma Carroll's Letters from the Lighthouse, Faber Children's Books brings you the best in picture books, young reads and classics.