Inside Out Girl

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Author: Tish Cohen

Published: 2008

Genre: Fiction

About Inside Out Girl: An overprotective mother meets a widowed father and his unusual daughter.

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Review of Inside Out Girl

Rachel Berman is divorced, extremely overprotective of her children, and the publisher of Perfect Parent magazine. Len Bean is a lawyer and the widowed father of a ten-year-old girl with a nonverbal learning disorder. On her way to work one day, Rachel spots Len on the side of the road attempting to change a tire.

She checked her watch again. Nine fifty. How would it look if the publisher couldn't be bothered to show up to resuscitate her own magazine? She drove past a road construction crew, three or four men dressed in orange vests, the cause of the slowdown, and reached for her coffee, determined to relax and forget about the man, the child, and the tire jack. And she did relax, for about a minute. Until she remembered one small thing.

Men were easily distracted. So easily distracted, that her ex-husband, long before he vanished from their lives, nearly drove to work once with Janie's infant car-seat on the trunk of his convertible, his daughter strapped firmly inside.

Rachel wrenched the steering wheel to the right, pulled off the road, and thrust the car into reverse.

...from pages 27-28

Rachel and Len develop a relationship, although Rachel's children aren't overly thrilled to be associated with the much-bullied Olivia.


I read this book in a day because I didn't want to put it down. The story moved quickly, the characters were engaging and likeable, and I had to know what was going to happen to all of them. Even though I had a good idea what that was going to be, I still had to know for sure.

I liked Rachel although she was the kind of mother that would make any teenager crazy. Olivia was charming, challenging, and memorable. And I particularly liked Janie with her pseudo-punk-rock attitude and her plans to win the heart of the girl next door.

Nonverbal learning disorders were new to me. One of the signs of NLD is the inability to read body language or any of the other subtle cues that people use to convey meaning. There are other signs of the disorder but that one was the most striking for me. I think learning that such a thing exists is useful information for the real world.

Inside Out Girl was a heartwarming story that made me laugh often. It didn't make me cry but I wouldn't be surprised if other people needed to keep some tissues handy at several points in the story.

Reviewed by Lynn Bornath on 7 September 2008.

Find this book at Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, AbeBooks.com.


More Reviews

Barbara Bamberger Scott, Bookreporter.com
“...a crisp and involving novel that all parents would enjoy, and it's entirely suitable for older teens as well.”
Anthony Zanetti, Monsters and Critics, 14 June 2008
“...the whole book is pretty much a fantasy meant to appeal to a primarily middle-class female readership; it is not a book that would try to reach beyond with greater insights or artistic skill.”
Maryann Miller, Blogger News Network, 15 July 2008
“The resolutions of the central issues in the book are a little too neat and idealistic, but once engaged by the characters, the reader can overlook that.”
Jonita, The Book Chick, 2 October 2008
“The storyline was a little predictable at times, but if you’re willing to suspend your disbelief for a while, the novel is a very enjoyable read with a few good lessons imbedded in the story line.”
Sheri S., Bookopolis, 3 October 2008
“While there were instances when the fine line between heartwarming and cliché was blurred, the characters were still able to evoke genuine emotion out of me.”

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Added 07 September 2008.
Updated 28 August 2013.