Rich in character and heart.” — Marti Leimbach, author of DANIEL ISN’T TALKING “Brimming with heart, spirit, and most of all, hope.” — Michelle Richmond, author of THE YEAR OF FOG “Each character is richly drawn and the story poignant and tender.” — Patricia Wood, author of LOTTERY — Review
“A spirited, fast-paced novel, INSIDE OUT GIRL is rich in character and heart.” — Marti Leimbach, author of Daniel Isn't Talking
“Inside Out Girl had me from the very first page. Each character is richly drawn and the story poignant and tender. Olivia is a memorable character who will stay in my heart for a long, long time.” — Patricia Wood, author of LOTTERY
“INSIDE OUT GIRL is brimming with heart, spirit, and most of all, hope. Tish Cohen has written a life-affirming novel about the families we choose, those that are chosen for us, and the possibility of second chances.” — Michelle Richmond, New York Times bestselling author of THE YEAR OF FOG
“Inside Out Girl is a wise, witty gem, populated with characters who will live with each of us long after the last page has been turned. Olivia Bean has taken her place alongside my favorite literary heroes.” — Michael Palmer, New York Times Bestselling author of The First Patient
“In Inside Out Girl, we meet Olivia, a ten-year-old with ‘neurological differences.’ Compassionate, sweet, and even heroic - you’ll be glad you met her.” — John Elder Robison, NY Times bestselling author of Look Me in the Eye, My Life with Asperger's
Inside Out Girl had me from the very first page. Each character is richly drawn and the story poignant and tender. Olivia is a memorable character who will stay in my heart for a long, long time.
INSIDE OUT GIRL is brimming with heart, spirit, and most of all, hope. Tish Cohen has written a life-affirming novel about the families we choose, those that are chosen for us, and the possibility of second chances.
A spirited, fast-paced novel, INSIDE OUT GIRL is rich in character and heart.
Rich in character and heart.” — Marti Leimbach, author of DANIEL ISN’T TALKING “Brimming with heart, spirit, and most of all, hope.” — Michelle Richmond, author of THE YEAR OF FOG “Each character is richly drawn and the story poignant and tender.” — Patricia Wood, author of LOTTERY
Inside Out Girl is a wise, witty gem, populated with characters who will live with each of us long after the last page has been turned. Olivia Bean has taken her place alongside my favorite literary heroes.
In Inside Out Girl, we meet Olivia, a ten-year-old with ‘neurological differences.’ Compassionate, sweet, and even heroic - you’ll be glad you met her.
Cohen throws every imaginable obstacle at her protagonists in this thoughtful but overly dramatic tale of two single parents turned lovers. Rachel Berman, the divorced publisher of Perfect Parent magazine, is striving to be just that to her two children, rebellious teen Janie and 12-year-old Dustin. Len Bean, a widowed lawyer, meanwhile, tries to manage his daughter Olivia's learning disorder, a condition that causes her to repeatedly talk about rodents and dress inappropriately. When Rachel and Len serendipitously meet, they hit it off. Soon their lives and those of their children become intertwined, much to Janie and Dustin's dismay. As tension builds for the children, a secret from Rachel's past comes to the forefront, and Len receives bad news at the doctor's office. Regret, rejection and worry abound as the plot touches on the standard societal/familial issues (divorce, teenage sexuality, adoption), and Rachel fights to create her own legacy at work. Cohen's language is pleasant and the characters relatable, but the plot is so obvious that the narrative feels like a quirky soap opera. (Aug.)
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Adult/High School
This compelling, insightful story is surprisingly lighthearted in spite of several heavy themes. Rachel Berman is raising her 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son by herself, after a divorce. She's also working hard to keep her father's magazine, Perfect Parent , financially afloat. Len Bean, an attorney, is raising his 10-year-old special-needs daughter alone; his wife was killed in a traffic accident when their daughter was five. The three children attend the same school, where Olivia Bean is known as "Inside Out Girl" because of her strange dress and overreadiness to hug, not to mention her love of data about rats. Soon after Rachel and Len meet, and then begin dating, Len discovers that he has a fatal brain tumor; finding a home for Olivia after his eventual death coincides with Rachel's longing to know what became of the daughter she bore as a teen and surrendered for adoption. Meanwhile, Rachel's daughter is struggling with her passionate crush on the girl next door. Characters are complete, credible, and engaging. Olivia and her nonverbal learning disorder are presented cogently and without stereotyping either her personality or the responses that she draws from kids and adults. This is a romance novel worthy of readers' time.-Francisca Goldsmith, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia
