The Inside of Out by Jenn Marie Thorne

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Inside of Out by Jenn Marie Thorne Karen Coats Thorne, Jenn Marie The Inside of Out. Dial, 2016 [434p] ISBN 978-0-8037-4058-7 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 7-10 Hannah has been Daisy’s salvation from a friendless existence ever since sixth grade. Prior to that, Daisy had loved and inexplicably lost her first best friend, Natalie, who turned into a mean girl intent on freezing Daisy out. When Hannah comes out the summer before eleventh grade, Daisy wants nothing more than to return the favor of support, but when Hannah reveals that her girlfriend is Natalie, Daisy’s horrified. Determined to win Hannah back, not as a girlfriend—Daisy is straight—but out of what Daisy considers a toxic relationship, she dreams up a big project. With a bit of misdirection and an article by a cute college reporter that attracts international attention, Daisy has suddenly become the spokesperson for an alternative home-coming for everyone in the QUILTBAG and beyond, but she’s at risk of losing the one person who’s important to her. Energetically, even frothily plotted with a fresh, consistently engaging voice, this very current high school story is flavored with subtle back notes of insight regarding how tricky it can be to negotiate friendship and identity in today’s wash of gender fluidity and all varieties of privilege. Daisy is the main target of these wisdom nuggets; as a straight girl who can pretend to be gay without consequences, an ordinary girl whose claims to having been bullied are trumped up, and a white girl with enough money to be careless with her high school record and still have college as an option, she’s got a lot to learn about being an ally. Fortunately, her loyalty is recognizable under her impulsiveness, her friends are forgiving, and the times are right for stories like hers. [End Page 51] Copyright © 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois