When Good Geeks Go Bad

Everyone thinks Ella is such a goody two-shoes – she always does her homework, wears the correct school uniform, and has definitely never had detention. But mean girl Olivia really has it in for Ella; between this, her mum’s recent disappearing act and her dad’s complete inability to understand teenage girls, Ella has had enough of toeing the line. She doesn’t set out to become a rebel, really she doesn’t. It just sort of… happens.

It starts with little things, like wearing trainers to school and talking back to Olivia, but then she gets noticed by the kids she and best friend Jas have dubbed the “BUTTS” – Bad Unruly Tedious Twitty Show-Offs. And it feels pretty good: they laugh at her jokes and invite her to hang out. Except the “BUTTS” version of rebelling involves breaking much bigger rules than just the school uniform code…

Heartwarming and humorous, Ella’s story wittily deals with everyday teenage angst – friendships, frenemies, clueless parents and, ultimately, doing the right thing. Ella has a pretty good reason to feel like things are stacking up against her and you can’t help but feel for her, while all the issues raised are handled with sensitivity, wisdom and understanding.