If you are in Australia or New Zealand (DVD Region 4), note that almost all DVDs distributed in the UK by the BBC and 2entertain are encoded for both Region 2 and Region 4. The UK and Australasia are in the same Blu-ray region (B). When heavily pregnant form tutor, Mrs Adler suggests Edie audition for the school play, Edie gets the lead and decides to nab herself a boyfriend by Christmas. She negotiates her way through failed dates with boys who would be better as friends, eating sausage rolls, and learning her lines. Despite her oldest friendship falling by the wayside with a huge argument, Edie makes friends with set-designer, Flora, who becomes very important to her. I really like the character of Flora because she is not afraid of being who she is around other people. She is also not scared to stand for what she believes in. I like how she influences Edie to try new things even if it is reading a DC comic instead of a Marvel comic. I found the debate on fictional heroes funny because it would be a normal thing to do with your friends (to have silly debates over nothing). ok I knoooow this is classed as a “kids book”, but I’ve never felt so represented in a book in my whole life and that’s saying something. i wish this book was around when I was 11, i feel like it would’ve made me understand myself better, and saved me many years of worry and confusion! Using verse rather than prose, the book follows Stevie’s thoughts and inner monologue, not only focussing on her feelings but also on her parental relationships, anxiety, friendships, and love of reading. And it is Stevie’s love of reading, especially about sea-creatures, that leads her to research in a library.

In case of emergency, at the beginning of the book, Edie only had her family and her best friend Oscar. However now Edie has multiple different people. This is one of the best children’s books I’ve ever read. The disability representation is phenomenal and it also has LGBT representation which was unexpected but very welcome! You've probably heard this already, but just in case you haven't; Edie has cerebral palsy, just like the author of this novel, Rosie Jones. You're probably seen Rosie around if you're into any of the comedy panel shows; she's often on Dave or the BBCs, being really quite extraordinarily funny. Her humour translates beautifully into this book.I love that the book is written in diary format, it feels like you are right there experiencing it all with Edie and not just viewing her life from a distance. The story is laugh-out-loud funny, with great one-liners and comments that make you think ‘yep, because it’s TRUE’! There is just the right amount of angst and cringe, it is fully relatable to teens/pre-teens. It’s the start of Year Eight and there’s a new girl in Edie’s class from America! Edie can’t wait to get to know Mia and her twin brother, Benjamin. This is Thrilling with a capital T! Especially as Mrs Adler sits Mia next to Edie in class. Mia has a hearing impairment and wears hearing aids. She seems shy and Edie knows how scary it can feel to join a new school. Maybe Edie can be the jam to Mia’s jelly? It’s time for… THE FRIEND MISSION! The Secret Sunshine Project follows a young girl called Bea. When Bea attended London Pride with her family , she had one of the best days ever. But after her father dies, Bea and her family move to the countryside to live with her Gran. As a massive fan of Rosie Jones, I was super excited when I saw that she had released a children's book. Even more excited when I found out that the central character of said book would have cerebral palsy. The disability that Rosie Jones lives with. I think this series is going to do really well, and I'll be here to cheer Edie (and Rosie) on with every volume.

Rosie's debut non-fiction book, Moving On Up: Beat The Bullies, Make Fearless Friendships And Deal With Funny Fails. On top of that Edie is trying to figure out where she fits in: do you have to define all friendships? And can you be a writer AND a performer, or do you have to choose between the two? Initially reluctant to be without her BFF, Edie argues with the school, but as Oscar begins trying out new hobbies, making new friends, and even getting a girlfriend, Edie begins to wonder if she had been allowing her disability and her reliance on Oscar as an excuse not to push her own limits. When an unexpected opportunity presents itself, Edie discovers that she has previously unrecognized talents and interests, and even begins to make some new friends of her own, but can she do it all without losing her best friend in the process? I read this with my 7 yr old daughter and we loved it. She says her favourite part is the end but then she does enjoy a good love story.She also is supported by Mrs. Adler. I think Mrs. Adler is a good role model for Edie because she feels that she can trust Edie enough to share things about her life which makes Edie comfortable enough to confide in Mrs. Adler at a time of need for Edie when she didn’t really have anyone to talk to. It’s such a happy book. Full of kindness and giggles, I am far from the target audience. I’m forty. I wasn’t reading it with or to a child. I was reading it for me. I really like Rosie Jones, and I can’t remember seeing any books with a disabled main character when I was a kid, and that would have been nice because my mother was in a wheelchair. I didn’t really like Oscar throughout the book because as soon as Edie branches out and finds an interest for her that doesn’t involve him, he becomes quite unsupportive. I think this is quite mean because Edie supports Oscar with his football training and matches. I wish there was more books like this when I was younger that I could’ve shared with my friends that were both educational, fun and interesting instead of being solely awareness focused. Written in diary format with awesome illustrations by Natalie Smillie, the story follows Edie - an eleven year old girl from Bridlington, Yorkshire, as she starts secondary school. Edie has cerebral palsy, a great family, a best friend called Oscar, and a positive, sunny disposition.