Ellen Outside the Lines

Thirteen-year-old Ellen Katz is autistic and feels most at ease when her days are scheduled and the people around her fit into clear groups. She goes to temple with her parents, Abba and Mom, on Friday and Saturday, and her crushes have only ever been on girls. At her private middle school in Georgia, she has long relied on one close friend, Laurel, to help her read social situations. Laurel has always treated Ellen's autism as no big deal, which is a large part of why their friendship matters so much to her.

Lately Laurel has been making new friends and backing out of weekend plans with Ellen more often than not. Ellen hopes a school trip to Barcelona will bring them closer again, but the trip turns out very differently than she pictured. A new nonbinary classmate pushes Ellen to question her habit of sorting the world into two neat categories. She also struggles with homesickness, and a scavenger hunt-style team project sends the students across Barcelona to learn about Spanish culture.

The story follows Ellen as she works through the pain of drifting apart from an old friend while trying to build new connections. It is a story about change, about how difficult it can be to let go, and about the possibility that she can find a comfortable place for herself by accepting that life does not always follow the plan.