What can you do when the adult world lets you down?
Suspended from school and prone to rages, twelve-year-old Kate finds her own way to get on with her life, despite the messed-up adults around her. Her gran, for one, is stubborn and aloof — not unlike Kate herself, who has no friends, and who’s been expelled for “behavioral issues,” like the meltdowns she has had ever since her mom dumped her with her grandmother three years ago. Kate dreams that one day her mother will return for her. When that happens, they’ll need money, so Kate sets out to make some.
Gran nixes her idea to sell psychiatric advice like Lucy in Peanuts (“You’re not a psychiatrist. You’ll get sued.”), so Kate decides to open a philosophy booth to provide answers to life’s big and small questions. She soon learns that adults have plenty of problems and secrets of their own, including Gran. When she finds that her grandmother has been lying to her about her mother, the two have a huge fight, and Gran says she can’t wait for Kate to finish high school so she’ll be rid of her at last. Kate decides to take matters into her own hands and discovers that to get what she wants, she may have to reach out to some unexpected people, and find a way to lay down her own anger.
Key Text Features
quotations
dialogue
literary references
signs
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.
What can you do when the adult world lets you down?
Suspended from school and prone to rages, twelve-year-old Kate finds her own way to get on with her life, despite the messed-up adults around her. Her gran, for one, is stubborn and aloof — not unlike Kate herself, who has no friends, and who’s been expelled for “behavioral issues,” like the meltdowns she has had ever since her mom dumped her with her grandmother three years ago. Kate dreams that one day her mother will return for her. When that happens, they’ll need money, so Kate sets out to make some.
Gran nixes her idea to sell psychiatric advice like Lucy in Peanuts (“You’re not a psychiatrist. You’ll get sued.”), so Kate decides to open a philosophy booth to provide answers to life’s big and small questions. She soon learns that adults have plenty of problems and secrets of their own, including Gran. When she finds that her grandmother has been lying to her about her mother, the two have a huge fight, and Gran says she can’t wait for Kate to finish high school so she’ll be rid of her at last. Kate decides to take matters into her own hands and discovers that to get what she wants, she may have to reach out to some unexpected people, and find a way to lay down her own anger.
Key Text Features
quotations
dialogue
literary references
signs
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Aug 6, 2024 |
| Specifications | 248 pages | 5 in x 7.5 in |
| Keywords | absent and single parents; grief and loss; dysfunctional and broken families; children and parents; grandparents and grandchildren; family issues; intergenerational and multigenerational; toxic relationships; homelessness and living on the streets; making new friends; problem solving; accountability; self-reliance; self-empowerment; self-improvement; challenges of adolescence; coming of age; female protagonist; |
|
Supporting Resources
(select item to download) |
Excerpt |
| Written By |
DEBORAH ELLIS<\/strong> is the author of The Breadwinner<\/em>, which has been published in thirty languages. She has won the Governor General’s Award, the Middle East Book Award, the Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. A recipient of the Order of Canada, Deborah has donated more than $2 million in royalties to organizations such as Right to Learn Afghanistan, Mental Health Without Borders and the UNHCR. She lives in Simcoe, Ontario.<\/p>\n |
| Written By |
|
DEBORAH ELLIS<\/strong> is the author of The Breadwinner<\/em>, which has been published in thirty languages. She has won the Governor General’s Award, the Middle East Book Award, the Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. A recipient of the Order of Canada, Deborah has donated more than $2 million in royalties to organizations such as Right to Learn Afghanistan, Mental Health Without Borders and the UNHCR. She lives in Simcoe, Ontario.<\/p>\n |
| Audience | ages 9 to 12 / grades 4 to 7 |
| Key Text Features | quotations; dialogue; literary references; signs<\/p> |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5 |
Commended, New York Public Library Best Books for Kids, 2024
Nominated, Forest of Reading Red Maple Award, 2025
Commended, Kobo Best Books of 2024, 2024
“
A hard-hitting story that also shows how young people can make a difference.<\/p>” —Globe and Mail
“
Heartfelt ... With engaging dialogue and realistic issues surrounding drug addiction, broken families, and bullying, The Outsmarters<\/em> is a must-read for coming-of-age readers.<\/p>” —Canadian Children's Book News
“
An absorbing, smartly paced novel ... Narrated in Kate's tough yet sympathetic voice and replete with complex characters navigating difficult issues, this hard-hitting, hopeful story also holds warmhearted moments of friendship and community, which are even more powerful for being hard-won. STARRED REVIEW<\/p>” —Publishers Weekly
“
Ellis offers an emotional, inspirational, and relatable story ... A compelling and poignant book that celebrates a courageous young girl's journey toward growing up. STARRED REVIEW<\/p>” —School Library Journal
“
Ellis's storytelling is immersive, her writing precise and wise, with moments of cataclysmic heartbreak and fragments of hope mixing together to bring readers a potent emotional experience. Deftly written, with brilliantly layered and memorable heroines in Kate and Gran, The Outsmarters<\/em> is a standout. STARRED REVIEW<\/p>” —Quill & Quire
“
Kate's first-person narration allows her quirky, perceptive, and wryly funny worldview to shine … An insightful young person makes a powerful difference in this emotionally astute work.<\/p>” —Kirkus Reviews
“
Issue-filled but not issue-driven, well-paced, and not too modern to feel stuck in time, Ellis' tale of the families left behind by addiction will resonate with readers ... who seek strong-willed female protagonists that stick in your heart.<\/p>” —Booklist
“
Told from Kate's point of view, this is a powerful and evocative story about finding one's strength and surviving against the odds. But this isn't an individual-against-the-world story; part of the beauty of Ellis' novel is Kate's slow-growing ability to engage with the people around her.<\/p>” —Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
“
The subject matter here is heavy, ranging from child abuse to the opioid crisis, and the adults aren't particularly reassuring, having all let Kate down at some point ... but the burgeoning relationships she's formed will give readers hope that even if everything isn't going perfectly for Kate, she will be okay.<\/p>” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“
A compelling read that will leave readers feeling hopeful and with a better understanding of kids with tough home lives.<\/p>” —Youth Services Book Review
“
The Outsmarters<\/em> is an encouraging look at how hard work can bring about second chances.<\/p>” —CM: Canadian Review of Materials
“
Deborah Ellis has written another first-class story with a memorable main character in The Outsmarters<\/em>.<\/p>” —Winnipeg Free Press