Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com

Olivia Bean is an odd duck. She is ten years old, wears mismatched clothes sometimes inside out, never brushes her hair, and always talks about rats. She has NLV, which is Nonverbal Learning Disorder. It is a neurological condition that can prevent a person from understanding anything that is not verbal. They will comprehend your words but will not get subtext and can never understand sarcasm.

Len, her father, has been raising Olivia on his own ever since his wife died. It is a very hard life. Then in walks Rachel Berman and her two children, Jamie and Dustin. Jamie and Dustin go to the same school as Olivia and they don't openly tease her - but they wouldn't be caught dead in the same room with her.

As Rachel and Len's relationship becomes deeper, secrets held by all come apparent and empathy comes alive.

I really enjoyed this book. I am a teacher and I like trying to understand many types of learning disorders. My school is dealing with autistic children now more than ever, and since this is one form of autism it is good to understand it.

I feel that young people should read books like this to understand about those "weird" children that attend their schools and realize that they have feelings and can't help what they do. This story also spoke about bullies. Olivia is bullied and doesn't understand why. She isn't mean and wants friends but the other girls are cruel.

INSIDE OUT GIRL is a wonderful story that sends a good message about how we treat others. ( )

This was an excellent story with interesting characters. Rachel is an overprotective Mom and seems a bit strange at first, and her kids seem to act a bit younger than their ages, perhaps due to the overprotection. Olivia Bean, the young girl with non-verbal learning disorder, is fascinating and all the characters develop and change over the course of the novel. I cared about the characters and loved the book. ( )

I recently realized that I was falling behind in my 2009 reviews while trying to catch up on the leftover books from 2008. Inside Out Girl had been sitting on my review pile for some time patiently waiting for me to read it. I'm so glad that I finally did pick this book up as I really enjoyed it.
Inside Out Girl introduces us to Olivia and her father Len. Olivia has NLD which is a nonverbal learning disorder. We are also introduced to Rachel, a single mother of two, owner of a parenting magazine, and a overly cautious parent. When Len and Rachel start dating, Rachel's children are furious as they go to school with Olivia whom they know as "inside out girl". Before anyone knows it, certain circumstances will change all of their lives forever.
Ms. Cohen really knows how to weave and tale and made me really care about Olivia and what happened to her. There are many different situations that the characters had to deal with throughout the story. I thought that this helped me as the reader see the characters grow and change in ways for the better. I really enjoyed this story and am so glad that I finally gave it a chance. A great way to start 2009 off on the right foot. ( )

Rachel Berman is head of a Perfect Parentmagazine and single mother of a 12 year old boy and a 14 year old girl. Len Bean is a widower and father to a ten year old daughter, Olivia, who suffers from NLD, nonverbal learning disorder. Rachel and Len meet and suddenly their lives and the lives of their children are blending into a family, if not a dysfunctional one. Olivia is a joke at school and Rachel’s kids, Janie and Dustin, are not inclined to make her life any easier. Janie is dealing with her own hormonal and sexual issues that take center stage.

There are a few surprises here and there, but I don’t want to give any away. This was a very enjoyable book about issues that most families are dealing with. I loved her writing style and the story moved at a fast pace. I think you will enjoy getting to know Olivia, as I did, and becoming a little more informed about a disorder that is closely linked to autism (but not the same). And Janie’s story will bring back the early teen years when whatever someone said about you at school one day had the ability to ruin your whole life. My only complaint is that some things were a little too convenient. As readers, we are agreeing to suspend our disbelief, but that only goes so far.

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Inside Out Girl - Tish Cohen.

I finished this book on Saturday Evening. I kept putting it aside after a page or two here or there as I hadn't committed to read it completely. But when I picked up it on Saturday I read to the end until I fell asleep very satisfied. I loved this story.

It is the story of Olivia who has a non verbal learning disorder. It is the story of what a parent goes through when raising a child that has a disability. To make matters worse, Len is Olivia's father is a single parent who has suffered a devastating loss. It is all about his love and devotion to his remarkable daughter. There is another story line with a single mother Rachel, raising a preteen (Dustin) and a teen (Janie) and what she goes through in her struggles to raise her children as a single parent while running a magazine company that is not doing so well.

The book intertwines these two families in a way that helps to reveal several sub themes and leaves this book a good read for just about anyone! It is a believable, heart warming story of what seem to be real characters.

Olivia is the brave heart of the story. Her stories of rat dropping and feeding habits are quite amusing. Most of the antics of sweet, smart brave Olivia will have you cheering for her and her family through out the whole story.

I believe this would be a great book club read or a great any day read. There are a number of surprises and journeys that the family members encounter in the duration of the book. I will leave it as a surprise for everyone. I was enchantingly surprised throughout the book with the depth of the story and the characters. I hated for the story to end.

Rachel Berman meets Len Bean quite by accident. He is a widowed lawyer with a daughter, Olivia, who has a learning disorder. She, on the other hand, is a divorced publisher of a parenting magazine. She has two rebellious children, 12-year-old Dustin and his older sister, Janie. All three kids have issues of their own. Some their parents know about, other issues will be revealed later on in the book.

This endearing story is about them. How love developed between Rachel and Len and how each of their offspring found their own place in a world that can be cruel at time. At times, it was laugh out loud funny. Other times, I was grabbing the box of tissue.

I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t fall deeply in love with this story as well as the characters. This author is extremely gifted and I will be looking for her first book, TOWN HOUSE. After reading INSIDE OUT GIRL, I bet you will too.

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As publisher of Perfect Parent magazine, single mother Rachel Berman tries to live up to the title of her magazine and consequently she is at times overprotective of her children -Janie, 14 and Dustin, 12. Still trying to cope with a heartbreaking decision she made years earlier, she is not one to take chances and is surprised to find herself helping stranded motorist Leonard Bean and his ten year old daughter Olivia. Leonard is a single parent himself, struggling to raise Olivia who has NLD (Nonverbal Learning Disorder). Rachel and Len start dating but soon will be dealing with circumstances that will forever change both their lives.

"Inside Out Girl" is a moving if somewhat melodramatic novel. Author Tish Cohen has created two believable lead characters - Rachel and Leonard - who are doing the best they can as single parents. Len is the more believable of the two as Rachel sometimes seems out of touch with the real world and her children's feelings. Olivia, of course, is the real stand out character. Cohen paints a vivid picture of what a child with NLD is like and it's heartbreaking to see how she is bullied and misunderstood by the other children and adults (and it's hard not to cringe at times reading about Olivia's hamster). Janie is the other standout character - she hides her feeling behind jokes and it is at times painful to read as she struggles to attract the attention of her first crush. Dustin didn't really register as a character for me.

While the book is interesting and at times hard to put down, it is a bit overdone. There is not a lot of happiness in the book and a great deal of sadness. It seems like everything that can happen to these two families doeS - including illness, death, bullying, accidents, money worries, etc. A little of this goes a long way and a little humor would have made the book easier to read.

"Inside Out Girl" is a well written novel, but tough to take at times. ( )

A heartwarming story that made me laugh often. Full review: http://www.canadianauthors.net/c/cohe... ( )

Inside Out Girl was just released last month by Harper Collins Canada and is on my 'You've got to read this one!' list.

Rachel is a single mother of two who obsesses over accident reports, parenting tips and ensuring her children are safe.It is out of character for her to pull over and help a man and his daughter change their flat tire. Len is the widowed father of Olivia. Surprising herself further, Rachel agrees to a date with Len. As they continue to date, Rachel's children are horrified to find out that Len's daughter Olivia is the ' Inside Out Girl" who attends their school. Olivia has non verbal learning disorder. Although very bright, she is unable to process facial and voice cues, resulting in socially inappropriate behaviour and anxiety. She often chooses to wear her clothes inside out, thus the name. She is extremely well informed about rats, frequently quoting rat facts in times of stress.

As she falls in love with Len, Rachel is forced to face some issues from her own past. Her children are also going through difficulties that she is unaware of. Could this relationship really work?

Cohen's writing is so real. I found myself furious at the bullying of Olivia, nodding in sympathy with Rachel's angst and applauding the parenting of Len.

Cohen has done a remarkable job with all the characters - they truly come to life - especially Olivia, who will make you laugh, make you cry and cheer for the little girl who can teach us all a thing or two - and not just about rats.

This would be a great read for a book club.

Tish Cohen is also one of the founding members of the grog I've mentioned before - The Debutante Ball. She also writes her own blog. I'm off to find a copy of Town House - Cohen's first novel for adults, which has been optioned for a movie. ( )

Cohen ("Town House") produces another winner with "Inside Out Girl." The title girl suffers from Non-verbal Learning Disability (NLD) and is ostracized because of it. Cohen writes remarkably well, and her characters all have depth that give her story a realism and humor that stand out.
Highly recommended. ( )