Inside Out Girl

This not only had a lot of potential, but also a really good start, which made the rest of it super disappointing.<br />When the novel first opens, I, who didn't bother reading too much of the back of the book, thought to myself, sheesh this writer does not know ten year olds at all, the only way this scene makes sense is if the kid is special needs - and a quick check on the back and yes, she is - so I had a lot of respect for her ability to capture something so tricky.<br />The writing was strong and remained so, in some respects throughout - however, the plot did the following things that bothered me:<br />1 - I was primarily interested in the conflicts involved with raising a special needs child, especially this sort, but the author was more taken by fairy tale romance and teen angst, both of which detracted heavily<br />2 - it took on way more twists than were necessary or effective for one story, the premise of which was already a lot<br />3 - the novel went from far fetched to downright fantasy<br />4 - the author has read way too much Jodi Piccoult and as such the characters are simpering, one dimensional do gooders with smooth perfect one liners and there is basically no diversity to any of them<br />It's an easy read, and not painful, but pretty silly overall which was sad considering what a huge undertaking this would have and could have been.<br />

I generally love Tish Cohen's writing style. She definitely tells both sides of the story. When reading you get a sense of the characters not just from the protagonists opinion but there is usually good story telling that allows the reader to establish an opinion of the character without forming too much of a bias.<br /><br />This book is incredibly touching. It focuses on two adults, both of whom had been through a lot in their lives, and how upon first meeting each other really liked each other but both had their reservations. I love how both considered their children before taking the first steps in getting involved in a relationship. I loved how the author brought all the characters together. The little girl in the story who had a specific form of autism, really touched my heart. I have a lot of respect for parents that take on autism with fortitude, strength, forgiveness, and love.<br /><br />The book flows gently but it is easy to read at a fast pace because it is never boring. I definitely recommend.

I read several of the other reviews before writing this to see what others thought. For some reason this is a tricky book to review. I would agree with others when they say that there are too many plot lines and that expanding on one or two more would have been better than adding the rest.<br /><br />Rachel Berman is the editor of a parenting magazine that is going under, as well as the mother of a 12 and 14 year old. So, not only is she dealing with professional crisis, she is dealing with snarky pubescent children.<br /><br />Len Bean is a successful lawyer whose life was perfect until his wife died, leaving him with the solo challenge of dealing with a special needs child.<br /><br />The absolute best part of this book is the tenderness and exhaustion that expresses Len's love for his daughter Olivia. While I'm certain to those who have challenged children this book does an inadequate job at explaining the real ups and downs, I think for those of us who don't, it painted a better picture than we might be able to do on our own.<br /><br />Rachel and Len's worlds intersect both by accident and because their children attend the same school. A bond forms between them, which requires that they help the three children deal with each other and their own issues. Both Len and Rachel have private issues that they must reveal to the other, which adds to the extreme complexity of their lives.<br /><br />For the most part, the plots all wrap up neatly, which is actually unfortunate. I'm not sure that Tish Cohen intended for the book to end this way, it feels like she stopped writing. Walking through the pain of one or two of the story lines would have been more emotionally fulfilling and the book would have been richer for it.

Another cast of oddball characters from Tish Cohen, this one is a keeper. Like Turtle in 'The Bean Trees', Olivia Bean is great kid character. Goofy, tragic and funny at the same time, it makes for an easy read. <br /><br />Olivia suffers from a Non Verbal Learning Disability, she doesn't recognize tone, facial expression or humour cues, strictly verbal ones. Makes her completely charming and unintentionally funny. I learned a lot about rats too, as she's obsessed with rodents. Rattus rattus.

I'm not a parent. And in the last couple of years, I haven't had much interaction with children (although that will change as my nephew grows up). As I began reading <i>Inside Out Girl</i>, my first challenge was to try and see everything through a parent's eyes. I had to work hard not to dismiss Rachel as an over-the-top mother figure and not to roll my eyes at the behaviour of Olivia, Janie, and Dustin. This is a world I have never really inhabited—even my childhood was atypical, as I tended to get along with my parents more so than makes for an interesting work of literary fiction.<br /><br />Thus, I first laud Tish Cohen for opening my eyes and making me empathize with parents, both those of "ordinary" teenagers and of children with special needs. It's a tough job. I knew that, but I haven't always comprehended it. Cohen manages to portray Rachel as obviously overprotective yet make it seem like this is the most natural reaction to the world. I can glimpse now the worry some parents experience when letting their children confront the world.<br /><br />The motif of confrontation runs through all the various plots in <i>Inside Out Girl</i>. There's so much more to this book than the vicissitudes of life of Olivia Bean, a ten-year-old with non-verbal learning disorder. In addition to being a mother, Rachel is the owner of a parenting magazine that, owing to its refusal to change with the times, is about to go bankrupt. Olivia's father, Len, must deal with the fact that he has cancer. And Janey, Rachel's daughter, explores her sexuality and her crush on the girl next door. With these plots in place, Cohen creates dynamics that make <i>Inside out Girl</i> more than just a feel-good book about having a child with special needs. It's a story about a family, or two families that become one family, and how parenting—and life—can't be perfect.<br /><br />Janie's subplot was one of my favourite parts. I loved the various episodes Janie experienced as the book progressed, from crossing out "guy" and replacing it with "goddess" in her <i>Seventeen</i> article to planning the perfect sleepover with Tabitha Carlisle (and we all knew how <i>that</i> was going to turn out). Sure, it was a little predictable. But Cohen gets us inside Janie's mind, lets us understand what she's going through—not just in regards to her sexuality, but her feelings about her mother, and about Len and Olivia. And as Janie grows, becomes more confident and a better person by discovering a desire to stand up for Olivia, we are more affected by this process than we would be had Cohen kept Janie closed off to us.<br /><br />Were that the case for her brother, Dustin! If there is a neglected character in <i>Inside Out Girl</i>, he is it. Unlike his sister, we get very little access to Dustin's thoughts. He mostly serves as a stereotypical 12-year-old boy, into skating and irking his sister. His purpose is more to make Rachel worry about his obsession with attending a skate camp than any character development on his part. I view that as a missed opportunity; boys have problems too! It's not that Dustin remains disconnected from the dynamic. We understand how he feels about Len, at least initially; however, we're always more detached from Dustin than we are from Janie, Rachel, or Len.<br /><br />I did get attached, too. <i>Inside Out Girl</i> played me like a well-tuned fiddle, and I found myself caring and my heart breaking even when some aspects of the plot were very contrived. The ending, overall, could have been better. It was both rushed in terms of pacing and unfulfilling. The attempt to abduct Tabitha, and Olivia's subsequent prevention of the act, was blatantly foreshadowed and not all that inspirational. Moreover, what happened to the Peytons? After emphasizing how much they wanted to adopt a child, Cohen just drops them as soon as Rachel offers to take Olivia. In her rush to arrive at what was obviously the ending of the book from the first page, Cohen skips over details that could have made the difference.<br /><br />So it's not perfect, but it does come close. The characters grow and change. Rachel loosens up in her parenting and (of course) manages to save her magazine. Len and Rachel find happiness, and Olivia's future is assured, at least for now. Janie doesn't win Tabitha Carlisle, but that's probably for the best. And Olivia finally gets the birthday party she's been wanting all summer (it's not her birthday). <i>Inside Out Girl</i> is exactly what it needs to be: warm, quirky, and wonderful.

As publisher of Perfect Parent magazine, single mother Rachel Berman tries to live up to the title of her magazine and consequently she is at times overprotective of her children -Janie, 14 and Dustin, 12. Still trying to cope with a heartbreaking decision she made years earlier, she is not one to take chances and is surprised to find herself helping stranded motorist Leonard Bean and his ten year old daughter Olivia. Leonard is a single parent himself, struggling to raise Olivia who has NLD (Nonverbal Learning Disorder). Rachel and Len start dating but soon will be dealing with circumstances that will forever change both their lives. <br /><br />"Inside Out Girl" is a moving if somewhat melodramatic novel. Author Tish Cohen has created two believable lead characters - Rachel and Leonard - who are doing the best they can as single parents. Len is the more believable of the two as Rachel sometimes seems out of touch with the real world and her children's feelings. Olivia, of course, is the real stand out character. Cohen paints a vivid picture of what a child with NLD is like and it's heartbreaking to see how she is bullied and misunderstood by the other children and adults (and it's hard not to cringe at times reading about Olivia's hamster). Janie is the other standout character - she hides her feeling behind jokes and it is at times painful to read as she struggles to attract the attention of her first crush. Dustin didn't really register as a character for me. <br /><br />While the book is interesting and at times hard to put down, it is a bit overdone. There is not a lot of happiness in the book and a great deal of sadness. It seems like everything that can happen to these two families does - including illness, death, bullying, accidents, money worries, etc. A little of this goes a long way and a little humor would have made the book easier to read. <br /><br />"Inside Out Girl" is a well written novel, but tough to take at times. <br />

<br /><br />NOT an awesome start to the new year. NOT really my cup of tea, though there were parts that were super-sweet and fantastic. Just not enough to go higher than 3 stars. Rachel was almost ALWAYS annoying, right up to the last 3 chapters and that made it a tough read. And the secondary storyline with the daughter Janie felt forced and contrived. Like the trauma of having a special needs child who lost her mother wasn't drama enough for the book. It made the book feel false and again, annoying.

Okay, if you get into snarky children and mothers who allow anything and impossible situations and improbable lifestyles meshing, you'll like this book. I didn't. The relationship between Len and his daughter Olivia was the only part of this book I enjoyed. All the rest were one-dimensional twits. I made it to chapter 18 before quitting. At least I didn't pay for this book!

This book isn't out yet, but it is a wonderful novel about family and a little girl with Nonverbal Learning Disorder. Extremely well written and touching. I highly recommend it.

I gobbled it up. I was gonna toss at @ 50 pages in but that lesbian teenager peeked my interest.<br /><br />It's a 2008 publication sent at random to me from my 'books by the box' provincial librarian and I am grateful she sent me this for a great 6 hours of escape.