• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7

What can you do when the adult world lets you down?

Suspended from school and prone to rages, twelve-year-old Kate finds her own way to get on with her life, despite the messed-up adults around her. Her gran, for one, is stubborn and aloof — not unlike Kate herself, who has no friends, and who’s been expelled for “behavioral issues,” like the meltdowns she has had ever since her mom dumped her with her grandmother three years ago. Kate dreams that one day her mother will return for her. When that happens, they’ll need money, so Kate sets out to make some.

Gran nixes her idea to sell psychiatric advice like Lucy in Peanuts (“You’re not a psychiatrist. You’ll get sued.”), so Kate decides to open a philosophy booth to provide answers to life’s big and small questions. She soon learns that adults have plenty of problems and secrets of their own, including Gran. When she finds that her grandmother has been lying to her about her mother, the two have a huge fight, and Gran says she can’t wait for Kate to finish high school so she’ll be rid of her at last. Kate decides to take matters into her own hands and discovers that to get what she wants, she may have to reach out to some unexpected people, and find a way to lay down her own anger.

Key Text Features

 

quotations

dialogue

literary references

signs

 

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

Deborah Ellis is the internationally acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children, including The Breadwinner Trilogy; The Heaven Shop; Lunch With Lenin; Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees; and Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk About AIDS. She has won many national and international awards for her books, including the Governor General’s Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Children’s Africana Book Award Honor Book for Older Readers.Deborah knew she wanted to be a writer at the age of 11 or 12. Growing up in Paris, Ontario, she loved reading about big cities like New York. In high school, Deborah joined the Peace Movement, playing anti-Nuclear War movies at her school. Since then Deborah has become a peace activist, humanitarian and philanthropist, donating almost all of the royalties from her books to communities in need in Asia and Africa. Heavily involved with Women for Women in Afghanistan, Deborah has helped build women’s centers and schools, giving children education and finding work for women.In 2006, Deborah was named to the Order of Ontario. She now lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

Deborah Ellis' profile page

• Nominated, Forest of Reading Red Maple Award
• Commended, New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
• Commended, Kobo Best Books of 2024

The Outsmarters is an encouraging look at how hard work can bring about second chances.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Issue-filled but not issue-driven, well-paced, and not too modern to feel stuck in time, Ellis' tale of the families left behind by addiction will resonate with readers ... who seek strong-willed female protagonists that stick in your heart.

Booklist

Heartfelt ... With engaging dialogue and realistic issues surrounding drug addiction, broken families, and bullying, The Outsmarters is a must-read for coming-of-age readers.

Canadian Children's Book News

Kate's first-person narration allows her quirky, perceptive, and wryly funny worldview to shine … An insightful young person makes a powerful difference in this emotionally astute work.

Kirkus Reviews

Ellis offers an emotional, inspirational, and relatable story ... A compelling and poignant book that celebrates a courageous young girl's journey toward growing up. STARRED REVIEW

School Library Journal

The subject matter here is heavy, ranging from child abuse to the opioid crisis, and the adults aren't particularly reassuring, having all let Kate down at some point ... but the burgeoning relationships she's formed will give readers hope that even if everything isn't going perfectly for Kate, she will be okay.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Deborah Ellis has written another first-class story with a memorable main character in The Outsmarters.

Winnipeg Free Press

Ellis's storytelling is immersive, her writing precise and wise, with moments of cataclysmic heartbreak and fragments of hope mixing together to bring readers a potent emotional experience. Deftly written, with brilliantly layered and memorable heroines in Kate and Gran, The Outsmarters is a standout. STARRED REVIEW

Quill & Quire

An absorbing, smartly paced novel ... Narrated in Kate's tough yet sympathetic voice and replete with complex characters navigating difficult issues, this hard-hitting, hopeful story also holds warmhearted moments of friendship and community, which are even more powerful for being hard-won. STARRED REVIEW

Publishers Weekly

A compelling read that will leave readers feeling hopeful and with a better understanding of kids with tough home lives.

Youth Services Book Review

Deborah Ellis is one remarkable storyteller. ... [This] story is heartbreaking, hopeful, and leaves readers with memorable characters.

Sal's Fiction Addiction Blog