Out of Place
-
- 4,49 €
-
- 4,49 €
Publisher Description
When twelve-year-old Cove Bernstein becomes the target of a school-wide bullying campaign, she sets out to find a way to leave her home on Martha’s Vineyard for New York City, where her best friend lives. But Cove discovers that friends can appear in the unlikeliest places, and maybe home isn’t the worst place to be after all.
Jennifer Blecher’s debut novel is a voice-driven story about bullying, friendship, and self-reliance that hits the sweet spot for fans of Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish and Erin Entrada Kelly’s You Go First.
Twelve-year-old Cove Bernstein’s year has gone from bad to worse. First, her best friend, Nina, moved from Martha’s Vineyard to New York City. Then, without Nina around, Cove became the target of a bullying campaign at school. Escape seems impossible.
But opportunities can appear when you least expect them. Cove’s visit to a secondhand clothing store leads her to a surprising chance to visit Nina, but only if she can win a coveted place in a kids-only design competition. Cove doesn’t know how to sew, but her friend at the retirement home, Anna, has promised to teach her. And things start really looking up when a new kid at school, Jack, begins appearing everywhere Cove goes.
Then Cove makes a big mistake. One that could ruin every good thing that has happened to her this year. One that she doesn’t know how to undo.
Jennifer Blecher’s accessible and beautifully written debut novel explores actions and consequences, loneliness, bullying, and finding your voice. This voice-driven friendship story is for fans of Rebecca Stead’s Goodbye Stranger and Jodi Kendall’s The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City.
Includes black-and-white spot art throughout.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cove Bernstein, 12, lives on Martha's Vineyard with her overprotective mother. Bullied at school for dressing differently, Cove finds solace in her friendship with Nina and Nina's nurturing and artistic dads. When Nina moves to New York City, though, Cove feels increasingly desperate and lonely despite a tentative friendship with a new boy at school. While visiting a local secondhand store, Cove discovers a show about a kids' fashion design competition in New York. Frustrated with her mom's unwillingness to let her leave the island, tired of being the butt of jokes at school, and determined to see Nina again, Cove vows to become a contestant on the show even if it means she has to break some rules to do it. In Cove, Blecher has created a sweet and realistically vulnerable character who longs to feel validated and respected. The taunts of the mean girls are devastatingly true to life, the story's leisurely pace doesn't lag, and the ending is hopeful without feeling clich . All in all, this is a tender, uncomplicated coming-of-age story that illustrates how hard it can be to fit in at any age. Ages 8 12.