4.5 rounded up! This is probably one of the best contemporary middle grade novels I've read in a while (and I read it in one sitting!). Ellen Outside the Lines follows Ellen, a young autistic teenager as she/they learns to grapple with life outside of their norm on a school fieldtrip to Barcelona. On the fieldtrip, Ellen is placed in a new group, away from her/their childhood friend and Ellen must learn how to handle things while navigating in the backdrop of Barcelona.

This book has a really great cast of characters, especially Ellen's new class project group. I have been to Barcelona myself and am really passionate about Catalan, so I was excited to revisit some places I've seen in real life! I was nervous at first because the class is a Spanish class going to learn Spanish in Catalunya, but the author clearly knows the region and included the Catalan language and characters as well as touched on the history of Catalunya, which is really nice to see.


Rep:
-The main character (Ellen) is Jewish, autistic, and queer
-Ellen's parents are both Jewish and speak Hebrew
-side nonbinary character, side gay male character
-Catalan language & characters

Thank you to Hachette and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!