Odd Girl Out

Her parents' divorce has Maaryah bidding bye-bye to Dubai and her life of luxury . . . and hello to dreary London, where things get . . . complicated. There are house parties, annoying-yet-hot boys and the isolating reality of being the only hijabi in a massive school. Can Maaryah stay true to herself, even when another bombshell rocks her world . . . ? Odd Girl Out has been shortlisted for multiple awards including the Warwickshire Teen Book Awards, Redbridge Book Awards, Redhill Academy Trust YA Book Award, Girls Day School Trust Awards & the Muslim Book Awards. It has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal, longlisted for the Branford Boase Award and won the Strange Incorporated Award.

Her parents' divorce has Maaryah bidding bye-bye to Dubai and her life of luxury . . . and hello to dreary London, where things get . . . complicated. There are house parties, annoying-yet-hot boys and the isolating reality of being the only hijabi in a massive school. Can Maaryah stay true to herself, even when another bombshell rocks her world . . . ? Odd Girl Out has been shortlisted for multiple awards including the Warwickshire Teen Book Awards, Redbridge Book Awards, Redhill Academy Trust YA Book Award, Girls Day School Trust Awards & the Muslim Book Awards. It has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal, longlisted for the Branford Boase Award and won the Strange Incorporated Award.

From the lauded, bestselling author of the Cazalet Chronicles, in Odd Girl Out , Elizabeth Jane Howard reveals with devastating accuracy a marriage put in a most destructive situation. Anna and Edmund Cornhill have a happy marriage and a lovely home. They are content, complete, absorbed in their private idyll. Arabella, who comes to stay one lazy summer, is rich, rootless and amoral – and, as they find out, beautiful and loving. In her elegant prose, Howard traces the web of love and desire that entangles these three and will, ultimately, leave one of them behind. 'Her talent seemed so effervescent, so unstoppable, that there was no predicting where it might take her' – Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall

From the lauded, bestselling author of the Cazalet Chronicles, in Odd Girl Out , Elizabeth Jane Howard reveals with devastating accuracy a marriage put in a most destructive situation. Anna and Edmund Cornhill have a happy marriage and a lovely home. They are content, complete, absorbed in their private idyll. Arabella, who comes to stay one lazy summer, is rich, rootless and amoral – and, as they find out, beautiful and loving. In her elegant prose, Howard traces the web of love and desire that entangles these three and will, ultimately, leave one of them behind. 'Her talent seemed so effervescent, so unstoppable, that there was no predicting where it might take her' – Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall

A deeply personal memoir of late autism diagnosis. What do you do when you wake up in your mid-forties and realize you've been living a lie your whole life? Do you tell? Or do you keep it to yourself? Laura James found out that she was autistic as an adult, after she had forged a career for herself, married twice and raised four children. This book tracks the year of Laura's life after she receives a definitive diagnosis from her doctor, as she learns that 'different' doesn't need to mean 'less' and how there is a place for all of us, and it's never too late to find it. Laura draws on her professional and personal experiences and reflects on her life in the light of her diagnosis, which for her explains some of her differences; why, as a child, she felt happier spinning in circles than standing still and why she has always found it difficult to work in places with a lot of ambient noise. Although this is a personal story, the book has a wider focus too, exploring reasons for the lower rate of diagnosed autism in women and a wide range of topics including eating disorders and autism, marriage and motherhood. Odd Girl Out gives a timely account from a woman negotiating the autistic spectrum, from a poignant and personal perspective. 'Some books make a big difference, this is one of them' – The Sun

A deeply personal memoir of late autism diagnosis. What do you do when you wake up in your mid-forties and realize you've been living a lie your whole life? Do you tell? Or do you keep it to yourself? Laura James found out that she was autistic as an adult, after she had forged a career for herself, married twice and raised four children. This book tracks the year of Laura's life after she receives a definitive diagnosis from her doctor, as she learns that 'different' doesn't need to mean 'less' and how there is a place for all of us, and it's never too late to find it. Laura draws on her professional and personal experiences and reflects on her life in the light of her diagnosis, which for her explains some of her differences; why, as a child, she felt happier spinning in circles than standing still and why she has always found it difficult to work in places with a lot of ambient noise. Although this is a personal story, the book has a wider focus too, exploring reasons for the lower rate of diagnosed autism in women and a wide range of topics including eating disorders and autism, marriage and motherhood. Odd Girl Out gives a timely account from a woman negotiating the autistic spectrum, from a poignant and personal perspective. 'Some books make a big difference, this is one of them' – The Sun

Rooted in the extensive expertise she has developed since "Odd Girl Out" was first published as well as up-to-date research, Simmons offers a new chapter on technology, including a focus on cyber bullying and what parents and teachers can do to deal with the problem, as well as advice to girls on how to avoid drama online. Working directly from her experiences with schools and families over the past decade, she also brings us new classroom initiatives and step-by-step suggestions for parents. With illuminating, timely additions, this definitive resource is now even more relevant, still shining a powerful spotlight on the most pressing social issues continuously facing our girls.

Rooted in the extensive expertise she has developed since "Odd Girl Out" was first published as well as up-to-date research, Simmons offers a new chapter on technology, including a focus on cyber bullying and what parents and teachers can do to deal with the problem, as well as advice to girls on how to avoid drama online. Working directly from her experiences with schools and families over the past decade, she also brings us new classroom initiatives and step-by-step suggestions for parents. With illuminating, timely additions, this definitive resource is now even more relevant, still shining a powerful spotlight on the most pressing social issues continuously facing our girls.