Ellie Pillai is Brown New by Christine Pillainayagam (author)

The perfect coming-of-age summer romance by the most spectacularly funny and original debut UKYA voice.

My name is Ellie. Ellie Pillai . . . And I suppose I am a little bit weird, but then, aren’t we all, just a little bit?

Most days, Ellie Pillai is somewhere between invisible, and not very cool – and usually she’s okay with that. But suddenly, Ellie feels different. Maybe it’s the new boy at school who makes her brain explode into rainbows every time she sees him (and also happens to be going out with her best friend), or maybe it’s her new drama teacher, the one who seems to have noticed she exists. Suddenly, her misfit style, her skin colour, her songwriting and all that getting lost in the music in her head seem to be okay too. Because maybe standing out isn’t a bad thing after all.

‘I adored this.’ Simon James Green, author of Alex in Wonderland ‘A feel good coming-of-age gem.’ Observer, Book of the Year ‘I loved the fresh and original voice.’ Bookseller, Highlights of the Season ‘A hilarious and heart-warming story.’ Aisha Bushby, author of A Pocketful of Stars ‘Warm, funny and hopeful.’ A M Dassu, author of Boy, Everywhere ‘A fresh, funny, feel-good story.’ Rashmi Sirdeshpande