Out by Joanna Kenrick is another Barrington Stoke book. It’s another one for the older age groups, but it’s even shorter and easier to read than the one I blogged about before. I’m guessing* it’s because it’s aimed at a different reader category. So to me as an adult it’s almost just a short story, but hopefully it will be somebody’s first proper book.
It’s about first love. Two childhood friends; one boy and one girl. Both discover they are in love. Girl is in love with the boy, and the boy is in love with another boy. He’s just worked out he’s gay, and he shares this discovery with his best friend. Only, she has just realised that she loves him, and now she can’t ever tell him.
*I just checked, which I should have done first. Both are for 14+, but Joanna’s story is for those with a reading age of 7, whereas the other book was for reading age 8. It’s amazing what an author can do to make fiction accessible. And I have to say again what a great idea these books are!
If I could, I’d be halfway into schools with a pack of these books.
Hi, I work for Barrington Stoke, and I regularly visit schools with packs of our books. I totally agree that our authors are brilliant at writing short novels, which are enjoyed by young people regardless of their reading experience. Joanna has written some excellent books for us, often based around difficult and contorversial subjects.
Thanks Barrie